Switching and emission-free. With these two catchwords, one could briefly describe the new offer, which was decided by the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (RBK), the city of Cologne and the transport company Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK) and presented today.
Bensberg and Cologne— Starting from the bus station in Bensberg, the district administrator of the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis, Stephan Santelmann, together with other representatives of the district and RVK managing director Eugen Puderbach started the first official premiere trip today in one of the Bergisch Gladbach locations certain hydrogen fuel cell hybrid buses.
District Administrator Santelmann was extremely satisfied with the welcome in Bensberg: “The extension of line 423 means an immense improvement on the way to the airport for the people in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district. Bergisch Gladbach, Bensberg and Rösrath are now connected to the airport without changing trains, from Overath and Kürten you only have to change the bus once in Bensberg. This was made possible not least by the political decisions in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis and in the city of Cologne. What is special is that the great offer on numerous journeys is completely emission-free and climate-friendly. “
Appointment with the city of Cologne at Konrad-Adenauer-Flughafen
Then you took the regular route together to the bus stop at Cologne Bonn Airport and met other Cologne guests here.
Andrea Blome, Deputy for Mobility and Transport Infrastructure of the City of Cologne, looks very positively into Cologne’s mobile future: “Our citizens of Cologne from the eastern parts of the city can now reach the airport in 13 minutes from the ‘Königsforst’ stop. This provides an attractive alternative to the private car. By strengthening local public transport, we are making a decisive contribution to the change in mobility in our city. ”
The RVK shareholders have supported the RVK project “Zero Emission” right from the start. RVK managing director Eugen Puderbach praised the courage of those responsible to commit themselves to a completely new technology: “We started dealing with alternative drives almost ten years ago and tested them.
If we hadn’t started our “Zero Emission” project in 2011 with the support of our shareholders, we wouldn’t be here today! We are now using five fuel cell buses in the Bergisch Gladbach / Cologne area and more buses will soon follow. ”
The participants drove almost completely free of noise and emissions to the TOTAL hydrogen filling station at the airport, which has been upgraded to refuel buses in recent months.
Johan Vanneste, CEO of Flughafen Köln / Bonn GmbH, praised the project when he welcomed: “As Cologne Bonn Airport, we are extremely interested in the further development of innovative, sustainable drive methods. In 2017, for example, we opened the first public hydrogen filling station in Cologne at our airport. We are now all the more pleased about the new connection with the fuel cell hybrid buses of Regionalverkehr Köln from Bensberg to Cologne / Bonn, from which all partners benefit. On the one hand, the airport is even better connected to the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis – a real asset for passengers from Bergisch Gladbach and the surrounding area. On the other hand, as the operator of the line, the RVK can easily fill up at the hydrogen filling station. A win-win situation in the name of sustainability! “
Hydrogen-fueled fuel cell buses are ideal for regional transport, as they enable comparable ranges of 350 kilometers and more to be achieved with diesel engines and have similarly quick refueling times. The only local “emission” of these vehicles is pure water or water vapor.
RVK line 423
The operating concept provides that bus line 423 will in future operate on the route between Bensberg and Konrad-Adenauer-Flughafen every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and then every hour until 11:30 p.m., On Saturdays between 6.30 a.m. and 11 p.m. every 60 minutes and on Sundays and public holidays between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. every 60 minutes. Every second bus continues from Bensberg as line 400 to the stop of S-Bahn line 11 to Bergisch Gladbach.
Source: RVK
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