Amsterdam and Cologne to get tram on rubber tyres

The news of joint development of a serial-hybrid-fuel cell bus was announced last Thursday at the annual meeting of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Network North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). After a warm welcome, Dr Jens Baganz, State Secretary at the economy and energy ministry, together with a representative of the Netherlands' State Secretary of transport, proudly opened the meeting with the announcement.

The Connecting Clean Mobility Conference of November 2007 already carried the promise of a flourishing partnership between the Dutch and German border regions. This hybrid-fuel cell bus project is a fine example. The cities of Amsterdam and Cologne have both committed to purchase two buses for first trials.

Prototype
And there it was, in front of the Hilton Hotel Düsseldorf, where the annual meeting took place: a long silver vehicle composed of series of standard components that can be added or left out at will. A bus, strongly reminding of a tram.

There was no test drive, but director Ruud Bouwman of VDL's Advanced Public Transport Systems (APTS), was happy to supply plenty information.

Advanced public transport
The bus will be a new version of the Phileas buses operated since 2004 in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. Phileas is an advanced public transport system using vehicles that can be driven both 'like a regular bus' or following a dedicated traffic lane with electronic guidance hidden in the tarmac – like a tramway, only with the flexibility of a bus. In the French city of Douai, where the Phileas was introduced in 2006, the vehicle is actually called le tram.

Double standards
Following its electronic guidance the vehicle can operate automatically. However, Dutch law requires a driver to be present.

Mr Bouwman gives more examples of the law being unable to cope with vehicles that are neither tram nor regular bus. “A tram must be fitted with a tram bell, while a bus has a horn. This vehicle has both. When the bus uses electronic guidance, it is by law a tram and the driver is obliged to use the bell. Without the electronic guidance, the driver must use the horn.”

The doors at either side of the bus are another tram-like difficulty for the law. And these doors also make it hard to fulfill the minimal seat requirements per metre. This vehicle clearly is ahead of its time.

Vice versa
The APTS director is very open about the difficulties to finance the building of the latest version. The Dutch Ministry of Transport demanded guaranteed German partnership before money could be granted. That is why the electric system is provided by Vossloh-Kiepe. Germany, in turn, first wanted to be certain that the Dutch would participate. With both the cities of Amsterdam and Cologne signing up, the problem was solved.

It was announced at the meeting that the Netherlands' State Secretary of transport, Ms Tineke Huizinga-Heringa has granted 3.9 million euros for development, building and testing. This covers two thirds of the Dutch part of the deal, which is somewhat larger than the German part. The other third will come from Amsterdam region, the city of Amsterdam, and private parties.

APTS and Nedstack (fuel cells) are the Dutch private partners. On the German side of the – in this case non-existent – border, partners are Vossloh-Kiepe (the electric system), Hoppecke, RWTH Aachen, and FH Köln.

Range of projects
The 3.9 million will be officially granted next Thursday, at The Hague central station's bus platform. Consortia of five more pilot projects will be present as well. The Amsterdam fuel cell bus trial is the sixth in a range of awarded projects, all involving innovative public bus transport.