Knorr-Bremse's Cutting-Edge Solutions Power Up Bonn's New Light Rail Fleet
Kiepe Electric to supply traction converters and brake resistors for 32 bi-directional high-floor light rail vehicles to rail vehicle manufacturer CAF.
Attractive design that will house a reliable Kiepe drive: The design draft of the new CAF light rail vehicles for Bonn.
- Components from Kiepe Electric to be delivered from Q3 2024 onwards
- Modular design allows the traction converters to be adapted to special electrical and mechanical specifications.
Kiepe Electric, Düsseldorf, has received an order from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) to supply traction equipment for 32 new bi-directional high-floor light rail vehicles (LRV). The new LRV’s will enter service in Bonn, Germany. In recent years, CAF has established itself as a manufacturer of modern LRV’s for major German cities and has repeatedly relied on traction technology from Kiepe Electric, for example in Essen and Hanover projects.
Kiepe Electric GmbH is supplying two traction converters and brake resistors each for 32 light rail vehicles from CAF. The components for the vehicles from the rail vehicle manufacturer are to be delivered with the third quarter of 2024, and the first LRV is to commence regular service in Bonn in 2026. The owners of 16 LRV’s each are Stadtwerke Bonn Verkehrs GmbH (SWBV) and Elektrische Bahnen der Stadt Bonn und des Rhein-Sieg-Kreises GmbH (SSB). The transport companies wish to take customers along on the journey to a transport turnaround with modern local public transport - in this case with light rail. This counts towards the goal of climate neutrality for Bonn by 2035.
Alexander Ketterl, Managing Director of Kiepe Electric GmbH, is pleased about the market acceptance of the proven converter technology: "Our successful business partnership with CAF in the past years is now continuing in Bonn. This is a great recognition of our performance and shows that our highly efficient and energy-saving drive technology and corresponding system know-how are convincing in rail projects. We approach the renewed cooperation with high motivation." Other vehicle manufacturers also use drive technology from Kiepe Electric, for example in current light rail projects in Cologne and Dortmund.
Kiepe Electric and Bonn have a shared public transport history: Light rail vehicles equipped with Kiepe technology were already running through the former West German capital in the 1970s and continue to do so today. The high-floor LRV’s delivered in 2003 are currently present. Of course, Kiepe technology has evolved: The latest generation of traction converters from Kiepe Electric impresses with its modular design, which can be adapted to special electrical and mechanical specifications. This also applies to the application of the converters on high-floor light rail vehicle types. Here, strict requirements must be met regarding the weight management of the traction converters.
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