The electrified trains in Sweden get their power via wires that hang above the rail. Pulling them along the entire Inland line's 110 km long stretch is hardly worth thinking about.

The solution that is now relevant is to first produce hydrogen gas by supplying electricity from the power grid. In the train the gas is then converted to electricity again.

- We expect to use renewable electricity and do so when there is otherwise low electricity consumption. This way we also get the price down, says Peter Ekholm, CEO of Inlandsbanan.

Not completely risk-free with gas operation

The feasibility study currently conducted by Inlandsbanan together with Statkraft will, on the one hand, investigate the feasibility of hydrogen-fueled fuel cells and, on the other, whether it is feasible to convert today's diesel engine to gas operation.

However, introducing flammable gas into operation does not occur without risks. Gas buses in Stockholm, for example, have caught fire, and very quickly then become completely burnt out.

- There is a risk in handling gas, we know that. But it must be woven into the other security work, says Ekholm.

If the plans are locked, Peter Ekholm expects fossil-free operation to become a selling point.

- Our customers on the transport side believe we will demand fossil-free in the future. And the same with our passengers, he says.