VDL, Dutch bus manufacturer with plants in the Netherlands and Roeselare, Belgium, reports that Stadtwerke Oberhausen GmbH (STOAG) has ordered 15 new-generation VDL Citea LF-122 electric buses. They will be the first new generation coaches that VDL will deliver to Germany.
Battery-electric buses from VDL are not new territory for STOAG. Four Citea SLF-120/electric have already been running on line 979 between Oberhausen and Bottrop since 2019. Three of them, nos. 760 to 762, belong to STOAG, while the owner of the fourth, no. 2701, is Vestische Straßenbahnen in Herten. However, all four a based at the the STOAG depot, because Vestische does not have (yet) the necessary charging infrastructure installed.
Boris Höltermann of “VDL Bus & Coach Deutschland”: “In Germany, we are one of the market leaders in the field of electric mobility in local public transport, our expertise is widely appreciated.” VDL will deliver Citea of the new generation already this year to Belgium (regional transport company “de Lijn” for the Flemish part of the country), Finland (Kotka and Lahti), France (Bordeaux) and the Netherlands (Eindhoven).
The 15 e-buses for Oberhausen are scheduled to arrive in Oberhausen in December 2022. They will have a battery pack with a capacity of 429 kW, placed underneath the vehicle’s floor.
VDL gives the range of the new electric Citea – depending on the specific operating and weather conditions – as 200 to 300 kilometers. And to ensure that the cars can still stay on their line for a whole day, they will have roof mounted pantographs that can be used to recharge them on the line. To reduce the weight of the wagon, the side panels of the new Citea are made of composite materials.
18.02.2022
