Together with the vehicle manufacturer Bozankaya Vossloh Kiepe has been awarded the order for the supply of ten double-articulated trambuses. Vossloh Kiepe is responsible for the complete electrical equipment of these state-of-the-art buses. The first vehicles of the "Trambüs" project are to be ready for operation in Malatya already in the spring of 2014.
The futuristic-looking vehicles of the manufacturer Bozankaya (which has branches in Salzgitter and Ankara) are not only going have a tram-similar design, but also double-axle drives with a tram-similar power supply from the overhead contact line. The 24 m long buses, which have 58 seats and room for 164 standing passengers, fulfil the high requirements for capacity of the public transport in Malatya.
The Düsseldorf company Vossloh Kiepe is responsible for the supply and assembly of the powerful electrical equipment. A reliable, integrated complete system has been developed especially for Malatya, in accordance with the customer's requirements and in compliance with the operating conditions.
Besides direct pulse inverters in IGBT technology the drive motors, the fully automatic current collectors, the braking resistors and the on-board power supply system belong to the scope of supply of Vossloh Kiepe. The on-board power supply system e.g. has to supply the air conditioning system and the 24 V system of the vehicle with power. The complete system is so designed that the braking energy can be recuperated into the overhead contact line system, which is then available to other vehicles.
The four-axle double-articulated bus is powered by two traction motors with a continuous output of 160 kW on the two centre axles. Moreover, the vehicle will be equipped with a diesel generator unit, which supplies so much energy that the vehicle can be operated off-wire during emergency operation.
The new transport system is to relieve urban public transport in Malatya considerably. The large number of buses and private minibuses are to be replaced by the trambuses, which also reduces the Co² emissions.
To start with, a line is to be set up from the inner city to the university, which is situated about 10 km east of the city. In the next few years an altogether 51 km long network (line length measured for a round-trip) is to be set up.