The bus operator ‘Rheingold Reisen Wuppertal Blankennagel GmbH & Co KG’ was founded in Wuppertal in 1929. Not only is it now 96 years old, it is just as old as the city in which it is based, as it has also only existed since 1929, when it was formed as a merger of six towns and municipalities, the largest and best-known of which were – and still are – the former towns and current districts of Elberfeld and Barmen.
Today, the ‘Blankennagel Group’ consists of ‘Rheingold-Reisen’, ‘Verkehr und Service Wuppertal GmbH’ and ‘Westfälisch Bergische Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH’ (WBV). With around 100 buses, it is now the largest private bus company in the Bergisches Land region. The Blankennagel Group operates in the greater Rhine-Ruhr-Berg area between Dortmund in the east and Meerbusch (between Düsseldorf and Krefeld) in the west. The company also offers travel services under the slogan ‘We make your journey golden’. The company also operates scheduled services on behalf of public transport companies – such as the Wuppertal WSW or the Düsseldorf DB subsidiary BVR – and school bus services.
The Blankennagel Group has a very diverse, ‘colourful’ fleet of vehicles. There are buses from the manufacturers (in alphabetical order) Güleryüz, Iveco, Isuzu, MAN, MCV and Mercedes. Senior boss Axel Blankennagel: ‘Our multi-brand strategy is one of the secrets of our success. We are not tied to any bus manufacturer, our own bus workshop is brand-free and can service and supply vehicles from all manufacturers.’ And he adds: ‘Güleryüz Deutschland is based some 500 metres from our depot (Dieselstrasse 15 and Dieselstrasse 51). Of course, that’s not uninteresting for us.’
The procurement policy in a nutshell: ‘We supply whoever has submitted the most favourable offer.’ This can also be well-known manufacturers such as MAN and Mercedes.
21 March 2025: lots of new things at ‘Rheingold’
On 21 March, ‘Rheingold’ celebrated several changes in the company with a big party. Firstly, senior boss Axel Blankennagel, who had been the third generation to manage the company, handed over the reins to his sons Tim and Jörn. He himself intends to work as a ‘consultant to the management’ in future.
The new depot in Dieselstraße
At the same time, ‘Rheingold’ also opened its new depot at Dieselstraße 15 in the Langerfeld district of Wuppertal on 21 March. The site is 22,500 square metres in size and there is a wide parking space for each of the 100 or so buses, which is easy to access. The administration and workshop buildings are also located here. And what impressed the author was that a decent coach today has its own on-board toilet. And at the Blankennagel Group’s new depot, there is a separate facility where the waste collected in the toilet is drained and disposed of. There is no need to travel to the nearest sewage treatment plant,
But above all: ten C 127 EVs from the Egyptian manufacturer MCV
However, the most important thing – at least from the author’s point of view – was that ‘Rheingold’ also put its first ten battery-electric buses into operation at this celebration. They were built by the Egyptian manufacturer MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles) in the neighbourhood of Cairo and are of the ‘C 127 EV’ type. MCV Deutschland GmbH, based in Bestwig in the Sauerland region, was founded to sell these buses in Germany (and neighbouring countries).
The new ‘Rheingold’ buses are 12,075 mm long, 2,550 mm wide and 3,200 mm high. Their wheelbase is 5,900 mm. The two doors are from the Dutch manufacturer Ventura and are each 1,250 mm wide. (Rheingold has opted for the two-door version, but the vehicle is also available as a three-door model). The entrance height is 320 mm, which is standard for low-floor buses. The unladen weight of the coaches is 13,600 kg, their permissible total weight is 19,500 kg. The 33 seats are supplied by the German manufacturer Kiel. A total of 90 passengers can travel in the MCV C 127 EV.
The body frame is made of stainless steel and the side panelling can be easily removed, which makes repairs easier after accidents. Both axles come from the German manufacturer ZF. The front axle with independent suspension is of the ‘RL 82’ type, while the ‘AVE 133’ portal axle is installed as the drive axle.
The electric drive is a central motor from the French manufacturer ‘OPmobility’, which delivers 250 kW (340 hp). The lithium-ion batteries (nickel-manganese-cobalt) come from the French manufacturer Forsee and have a capacity of 462 kWh, giving them a range of 400 kilometres. Recharging takes place at the depot via CCS combo plugs; there are two ‘sockets’ on the right-hand side of the vehicle, one in the front and one in the rear. (If you can’t access one of the sockets, there is a second one).
Heating and air conditioning work with a CO2 heat pump, supplied by Valeo from Paris.
The MCV C 127 EV comes with driver assistance systems:
- ECAS – air suspension with levelling and kneeling function
- EBS – electronic braking system
- ABS – anti-lock braking system
- ASR – anti-slip regulation
- ESP – Electronic Stability Programme
What else might be interesting? MCV Germany has received an order for 50 hydrogen buses from Austria, to be delivered in 2026. Fittingly, the Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard recently announced that it had received an order from MCV to supply 50 fuel cells. – These vehicles for Austria will be the first hydrogen buses that MCV will have built.
01.04.2025
