Île-de-France Mobilités: bendy e-buses for Paris

Île-de-France Mobilités, the entity responsible for organising public transport in the Paris metropolitan area, is awarding a contract to a consortium of Van Hool, Kiepe Electric and Alstom to build a fleet of 24-metre-long, all-electric, double-articulated buses.

The extra-long zero-emission buses will be used on two new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines between Viry-Chatillon and Corbeil-Essonnes and between Paris and Choisy-le-Roi. Although the companies have not yet released details yet on the number of buses, it is already clear that the buses are equipped with technology from Kiepe Electric and will be charged with Alstom’s SRS stationary charging system that the company presented in 2019. This system is a ground-based system that does not require an overhead or plug-charger. Alstrom says this is the first commercial application of the SRS charging solution in the bus sector.

According to Île-de-France Mobilités, these are the first 24-metre-long electric double-articulated buses in the capital region. The vehicles are said to combine the advantages of a tram with those of road buses and can carry around 140 passengers. On the above-mentioned routes, the buses mostly commute in their own lanes and are given priority at traffic lights.

The line between Viry-Chatillon and Corbeil-Essonnes, named T Zen 4, will replace the existing line 402, which is currently the busiest line in the Paris area. The second line, T Zen 5, is a new bus route that will connect the 13th arrondissement of Paris to Choisy-le-Roi via Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry-sur-Seine in just under 33 minutes.

Update 10.03.2022:

After the contract was awarded last October, the framework agreement has now been officially concluded. The organisation Île-de-France Mobilités has the option to order at least 56 of the 24-metre-long electric double-articulated buses from the consortium of Van Hool, Kiepe Electric and Alstom.

The double-articulated electric buses of the type Exqui.City 24 from Van Hool are driven by a traction system from Kiepe Electric and charged via the conductive static floor charging system (SRS) from Alstom. The extra-long electric buses are to serve the bus lines T Zen 4 and T Zen 5 in the south of Paris, a third line is planned as an option.

sustainable-bus.com, iledefrance-mobilites.fr (in French), vanhool.be, update: vanhool.be