Electrifying Ride Through The Charming City of Baden
This post informs about new highlight in Baden, Switzerland. The bus line 5 operated by RVBW switched from conventional diesel fuel buses to battery electric operation. How does the system look like? What are the benefits for the operator, passengers, citizens of Baden and the local economy?
City of Baden
Baden is a medium size town located in canton Aargau in the northwest part of Switzerland. The city is definitely worth to visit (high recommendation based on our personal experience). Besides the beautiful and charming old town you can visit the spa that is just about to finish a larger renovation. In fact, thermal water is used here for centuries and the city was actually founded by the old Romans who were known for enjoying a warm bath. If you like to see the town from a bird’s perspective there is no better place than the ruins of the castle Stein located just a stone’s throw from the inner centre.
Besides the picturesque streets, church buildings or majestic bridges you can visit one of the many museums or just go for a walk along the river Limmat.
Baden has a rich industrial heritage as well. The world famous Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC) company opened its factories here and soon became an industrial giant that made Switzerland famous far behind the geographical borders. The “Swiss Made” equipment and machinery was exported to the entire world. High quality and innovative design were some of the success factors.
In 1988, the Swiss BBC merged with Swedish ASEA to create ABB as known until today. BBC and ABB have been shaping Baden for decades. Still today Baden is an important location for ABB with manufacturing facilities, engineering, marketing and sales and a corporate research centre in Baden-Dättwil.
ABB as a key player in e-mobility
Now why do we tell all this history of ABB in this article about electric buses? Simply because ABB has its share in this technology and some key components are in fact manufactured directly in Baden.
ABB has been one of the front runners in the transition into e-mobility. In the past both BBC (Switzerland) and ASEA (Sweden) were famous locomotive and train manufacturers. In early 1990s ABB merged its train building activities with DaimlerChrysler to create ADtranz. Later on, ABB sold its share and shifted the focus on manufacturing key electric equipment for rolling stock, such as traction motors, traction converters, transformers and recently also energy storage systems for vehicles.
ABB is a global leader in charging systems for cars, buses and trucks. The comprehensive portfolio includes both conventional chargers and especially fast chargers. You may also know ABB as a title sponsor of Formula E. Finally, ABB wants to lead by example by gradually replacing diesel engine trucks with a battery electric alternative. The former ABB Power Grids division, recently divested to Hitachi, is offering a full range of charging infrastructure for bus depots.
Future of electric buses in Baden
Public transport operator RVBW made the decision back in 2018 to gradually phase out existing diesel-powered buses and fully electrify the bus fleet by 2030. Each diesel engine bus that reaches its end of service life will be replaced by an electric bus. Urban routes are best suited for electrification and will therefore be prioritized. ABB was selected as a local partner to support this journey towards fully electric future.
Pioneer bus line no. 5
The first route utilizing electric buses is the line 5. Why this one? Line 5 runs between Baden Baldegg and Ennetbaden through dense residential areas en-route and the main hub for bus and rail services in the city center.
The electrification of bus line 5 was completed in Q2/2021 and the full-electric operation started on June 17, 2021. Charging stations for opportunity charging are located at the terminal stations.
Buses operated omn this line are products of HESS (Switzerland) and SCANIA (Sweden).
We have visited the end stop Ennetbaden, Äusserer Berg several times during summer and autumn 2021 and provide you with some impressions here.
Technical data of charging station
The high-power charging station has rated power of 300 kW. That allows a fast charging of the buses. The charging can be done within 2 to 4 minutes so that standard driving schedule can be kept.
Operational experience
Several months of operation have proven the electric buses on line no. 5 to be silent, clean and reliable means of public transportation. The expected savings of diesel fuel are estimated about 155’000 liters per year. In turn, it helps to avoid 410 tonnes of CO2 emissions for the same period.
References
[1] A clean, quiet, and electric ride through the Swiss town of Baden, https://new.abb.com/news/detail/79922/a-clean-quiet-and-electric-ride-through-the-swiss-town-of-baden
[2] E-mobility (series), https://mb-drive-services.com/category/e-mobility/
