Keeping Cologne moving

On a daily basis, more than 200,000 people come to Cologne to work, shop and to experience all that the city has to offer. Cologne is a metropolis in the west of Germany and is a big city with an importance for commuters and tourists alike. Public life in a big city means action and motion, i.e. mobility – and the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) provides this mobility with its buses and light-rail vehicles. The KVB is an absolutely essential part of public life – it is the drive and pulse of the city – not least for the approximate one million people living in this city.

Our product is mobility

KVB transports more than 850,000 passengers per day – people on their way to work, children and young persons on their way to school or university, tourists and inhabitants of Cologne. More than 360 light-rail vehicles (LRVs) and nearly 300 buses are in operation. More than 3,000 people, who are employed as drivers, in the workshops, commercial sectors and administration, ensure a high quality of performance is offered, day and night.

Customer focus

It is often said that public transport is a mass transport mode. Indeed, KVB transports more than 260 million passengers annually. Nevertheless, KVB focuses on each single customer, on his or her wishes, requirements and expectations. Fast transport, short train arrival times, appro­priate connections, cleanliness and security at the stations and stops as well as in the buses and LRVs, clear information, low prices, comfort, state-of-the-art technology, service and extensive availability are all high requirements that are decisive for KVB’s daily performance.

Communication is the magic word

Besides mobility, communication is the magic word in our modern society. Customers expect relevant and clear information. KVB provides information, for example, in the printed timetable book and also the 24-hour information service via mobile phones or the Internet. The KVB homepage (www.kvb-koeln.de) provides up-to-date information, facts and figures about the company as well as comfortable timetable and fare information. Moreover, customers can print their own tickets. At stops and in stations, all the important fare and timetable information is found, and this printed information is completed with optical electronic displays or acoustic announcements.

Bright LED letters, updated running texts as well as clear, large-format displays with departure information for many trains now characterise the electronic information system on the platforms of the overground stops and in the metro stations. The present optical information at the overground stops is increasingly being supplemented with acoustic systems. More and more electronic displays are also being used for buses.

Tickets – from the paper to the chip cards

KVB is a member of the ‘Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg’, a transport association. In a metropolitan area of more than 7,000km2, the customer finds a standardised transport and fare system. Apart from the long-distance trains, customers can make unlimited use of all of the buses, LRVs and mass transit vehicles offered, irrespective of the transport undertaking that offers the service.

The public transport in Cologne is an open system – there is free access to buses and LRVs, and a ticket vending machine is found in each vehicle. Stationary ticket vending machines at stops and stations, KVB’s full-service customer centres and 200 private sales points offer the full range of tickets. Finally, the customer can order a City-Ticket on their way to the stop by sending an SMS via their mobile phone. However, most of the inhabitants of Cologne are regular KVB customers. Every second household in Cologne owns some kind of advantageous permanent ticket in a practical credit card format.

Safety and security is our job

Although public transport is part of public life and takes place in public areas, we take great effort to ensure our passengers’ safety. We operate automatic door control with light barriers, step contacts or closed-edge sensors. But for years it has also been the KVB standard to ensure a feeling of security and to provide technical communication systems.

All of the LRVs are video-monitored and each boarding zone has an intercom via which the passenger can contact the driver at the touch of a button. Similar facilities can also be found on the platforms in the metro stations. Emergency intercoms via which the passenger can contact KVB’s control room at the touch of a button, emergency brake levers to stop trains entering or leaving the station in case of a hazardous situation in the track zone, emergency brakes on escalators, fire fighting equipment etc. have all been installed for critical situations.

Of course, passengers can also use their own mobile phones in the metro stations and tunnel sections.

Despite all the technical equipment, commitment to passengers is absolutely essential. For many years, more than 100 KVB employees have been present at metro stations and in the vehicles, to increase security and service.

Fast connections with the light-rail system

In a big city such as Cologne, distances can only be overcome with fast rail connections. Cologne’s rail network has grown during its history; its lines meet radially in the inner city and often run through the complete city into the region as diameter lines. On the left Rhine side, these inner-city-orientated lines are supplemented by two semicircular lines, i.e. the Ring metro line around the inner city and the ‘Gürtel’ line, which serves the residential areas and industrial parks in the outskirts.

There are 11 light-rail lines, which are served by double-headed trains at 10 minute intervals during the day. In Cologne, the light-rail system performs more than 80% of the transport. The lines are bundled on a route over a long distance so that the interval between trains is reduced to a few minutes.

Approximately 50km of the rail lines are underground – thanks to the dense rail network with its many interconnecting stops, people are always mobile in the inner city of Cologne, without long waiting times. A metro line is currently being built which is going to supplement the underground network. Known as the Cologne North-South light-rail line, this is a tunnel that will be 4km-long after its first construction stage and will begin at the Cologne main station and go straight under the densely built-up Old City to the so-called South City.

State-of-the-art for the light-rail

For more than 30 years, the Cologne light-rail system has been reconstructed. The ‘Electrical Tram’, which has been in operation for more than 100 years, will gradually be replaced by a light-rail system – which will not only include the vehicles, but also the lines, stops and stations. The old ‘tramway’ ran on rails in the road surface and shared road space with private traffic vehicles, as well as having to stop in the middle of streets. Passengers had to cross the lanes and climb steep steps to reach the tramcar.

The ‘light-rail system’ will have protected waiting areas (platforms), facilities at the stops including shelters, seats and information and security equipment. The new modern vehicles will also have important step-free boarding. No stairs will have to be climbed any more, neither to reach the platform nor to board the LRV.

The old tramcars from the 1960s have been removed from the Cologne network. Nevertheless, there will still be two different types of vehicles in Cologne – the high-floor LRVs with a floor height of 90cm and the low-floor LRVs with a floor height of 35cm. The low-floor technology was introduced at the beginning of the 1990s for a part of the network, the so-called low-floor network, to speed up the conversion from the tramway system to the light-rail system. From the very beginning, the low-floor LRVs on the East-West lines (Lines 1, 7 and 9) were very popular with passengers. In accordance with a decision of the City Council in 2001, the low-floor network was extended and today it also includes Lines 12 and 15.

The control room – the heart of operation

The operation of buses and rail vehicles has to be coordinated smoothly in respect of technical systems and human competences, more or less without the customer’s knowing.

The heart of KVB’s operations is its central control room. The complete line network is depicted on a huge panoramic board, red and green light spots, which flicker or light per­manently, stand for stops/stations, switches and signals. The complete metro and transport on some of the line sections above earth is computer-controlled and runs fully automatically. A computer-controlled operations command/ control system informs about the positions and timetable-punctuality of the trains operated.

Yet, the Cologne metro and light-rail system is not a closed transport system which is not affected by outside influence. Our trains do not only drive underground, but also above earth. Apart from a few exceptions, LRVs are operated on their own independent track formation, but the transport flow can be interrupted by disturbing incidents. Crossroads and pedestrian crossings, waits at signals, accidents, weather factors, technical defects or inappropriate human behaviour mean the operation of LRVs and buses has to be monitored and controlled despite all the technical equipment and automation.

The employees in KVB’s central control room perform this task day and night. They receive information about all incidents on the lines via the data line or by radio. Many monitors constantly check the platforms, escalators and lifts as well as traction power supply functions. Upon a disturbance or accident suitable measures are taken immediately. Thanks to close cooperation with the emergency services of the police and the fire brigade, quick help is ensured in an emergency.

State-of-the-art buses for line services and special services

Only approximately 20% of the transport in Cologne is performed by buses – nevertheless, these buses are important in supplementing the light-rail system in the suburbs and outskirts and as such connecting various parts of the city. Only a few lines go into the inner city: Lines 136 and 146, which link a densely built-up part of the city directly with the inner city, acting as a supplement to two light-rail lines, and Lines 132 and 133, which start at the main station and drive south through the Old City to the South City. The latter two bus lines transport more than 12,000 passengers daily – a performance that cannot be increased with the present traffic situation. Just on this route, the new Cologne North-South light-rail line is being built underground.

The flexibility of buses and the technical and traffic knowledge of KVB’s bus staff is essential when organising and carrying out special-purpose transport. At the World Youth Day 2005, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were transported to and from the Marienfeld in Kerpen to the final service by 600 of our own or hired buses. The same know-how and perfection are required not only for such large scale events, but also for the organisation of special shuttle services or tour programmes, e.g. for the long Cologne Theatre Night or for fair transport.

Depots and workshops

To meet future requirements, KVB has efficient workshops and workshop staff with excellent technical qualifications.

The infrastructure needed for the main­tenance and operation of vehicles always has to be ready, while complying with high safety standards, and therefore is further modernised at a high level. Uneconomical facilities or facilities that have become outdated have been replaced by the computer-controlled depot for LRVs in Cologne-Merheim, which meets the special requirements of modern vehicles. Moreover, two other LRV depots, in Braunsfeld and Wesseling, have been renewed and modernised thoroughly. In these depots, preventive and corrective maintenance is also carried out at night.

Modernisation of the main workshop in Cologne-Weidenpesch was a special challenge due to its listed buildings. State-of-the-art technology and history were melted together harmonically and impressively. KVB succeeded in converting a traditional workshop into a high-tech workshop without changing the appearance of the buildings.

The control room for the bus operation of Cologne is situated near the Cologne-Niehl port, in the North depot. This control room controls the operation of KVB buses and manages the duty rosters for approximately 650 bus drivers. The bus workshop, which meets today’s requirements for economic vehicle main­tenance, is also situated here. Through this, down-times are minimised and fast and reliable vehicle disposition is ensured. This is an important basis for KVB’s future competitiveness.

The funicular railway

For more than 50 years, Cologne’s funicular railway has dominated the northern panorama of the cathedral city. The Rhine was crossed by this railway for the first time on 26 April 1957. In 1998, Kölner Seilbahn GmbH became a subsidiary of KVB AG. KVB took over the commercial and technical control of the funicular railway, applied its marketing ex­pertise and invested heavily in the technical field, resulting in an improved quality of passenger transport and the funicular railway’s outstanding position among Cologne’s tourist attractions.

Vehicle refurbishment – LRVs given a new lease of life

KVB is breaking new ground in the development of its fleet of vehicles. Instead of buying new and expensive LRVs, a series of almost 30-year-old LRVs are to be refurbished. Once the vehicles have been completely rebuilt, they will meet the latest vehicle concepts. Special features will include a friendly interior design for passengers, heated passenger compartments with a/c functions, fully air-conditioned ergo­nomic cabs for the drivers, new seats and a modern outer design. All of the technical components such as brake systems, doors, electrical system and cable harnesses will be optimised with respect to their ease of maintenance and servicing, and brought up to scratch technically.

This vehicle refurbishment has been possible because of the good overall condition of the Type B LRV (Cologne model) from the 2100 series. The know-how and technical competence of KVB engineers has meant that a plan could be drawn up for the overall refurbishment. The first prototype should be converted in 2011, followed by a further 27 standard vehicles. A new lifecycle of 25-30 years is planned for these vehicles. The costs of this vehicle refurbishment are expected to be only half of those for investments in new vehicles