On 15 March 2024, Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) opened the first construction phase of its new Porz electric bus depot on Kaiserstrasse in the Porz district. Only electric buses are stationed here, and it is also the only depot for electric buses in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia to date. We reported on this HERE.
The site was originally home to industry, the site lay fallow for a long time. It is surrounded by commercial enterprises – it is not really suitable for anything other than commercial use due to the proximity of a railway line and other businesses.
The second construction phase of this new Porz depot will open in 2026. When completed, the site will cover 63,000 square metres and 180 electric buses will be stationed here. KVB already operates one of the largest electric bus fleets in Germany with over 100 vehicles.
The Porz depot is characterised by particularly environmentally conscious planning and implementation of the plans. The site was contaminated due to its previous industrial use and first had to be cleaned up. And great importance was attached to taking ecological aspects into account in the new building. For example, rainwater is not simply channelled into the sewage system, but seeps away on the site wherever space permits.
The buses are recharged via roof-mounted pantographs while they are parked in the depot. For this purpose, the parking areas have been spanned with traverses on which there is a loading funnel for each bus. And the tops of the crossbars are fitted with photovoltaic modules. KVB: ‘We generate the electricity that our buses use ourselves. In this way, we are making a major contribution to climate and environmental protection. It also improves the quality of public transport.’
The ‘Alliance for Mobility’ in the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport has recognised these efforts by the KVB by nominating the Porz electric bus depot for the North Rhine-Westphalian Mobility Award. The prize, which is endowed with 30,000 euros, will be presented on 12 December at the Ministry of Transport in Düsseldorf. Until then, you can take part in an online vote to decide which of the proposed projects should receive the prize.
In addition to Cologne’s Porz electric bus depot, four other projects have been nominated:
– AGNES, digital map for large and heavy goods transport
– the citizen bus in the town of Lüdinghausen in the district of Coesfeld
– after-work parking in Düsseldorf
– the Heitkamp Brückenbau GmbH rapid construction bridge.
The proposed projects therefore come from all areas of transport.
