Cologne, Germany

Delivery: 1995-2002

Cologne Transit Authority, KVB (Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG) operates a network of approximately 270 km in length. As from March 1999 a fleet of 120 modern low-floor light rail vehicles of type K4000 is in service on the East-West routes 1, 7, 8 and 9.

The delivery of these vehicles was split up into three batches of 40 vehicles each. Commissioning of the first vehicle took place in September 1995. Since then the total mileage of this reliable fleet exceeds 35 Million km.
4 additional vehicles of type K4000 have been ordered by KVB in August 2000.

The design of the vehicle is governed as much as by the passengers´ needs as by the requirements of the operators and the maintenance personnel. Kiepe was responsible for the design, delivery and commissioning of the entire electrical system of these low-floor vehicles. This includes the entire propulsion system, the auxiliary power supply, the passenger information system and all heating and ventilation units.

The electronic components used, especially those of the propulsion system, can be considered as milestones with reference to low weight, low energy consumption and reduced maintenance requirements. Due to the outstanding service history, these components are also used in the vehicles built for other cities such as Düsseldorf (NF-GT-L), Saarbrücken (S1000) and Croydon (CR4000). The new high-floor vehicles of type K5000 are also equipped with components derived from the K4000.

The vehicles are equipped with two GTO direct pulse inverters that are directly fed from the overhead line. These power two maintenance-free asynchronous traction motors each. The fully sprung motors are completely sealed and self ventilated. The design of the propulsion system allows the regeneration of up to 35 % of the energy used for traction.

The microprocessor control with its embedded spin/slide correction system allows a jerk-free acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. The master controller group is equipped with a cruise-control setting, which allows the vehicle to cruise at a given speed. All system controls use a data bus that operates according to the internationally standardized CAN protocol. All functions that have an impact on safety in general are monitored using dedicated control lines that also serve on a back-up level. The train bus allows data transmission within a train consisting of up to four vehicles.

The two independent auxiliary static converters using state-of-the art IGBT technology are also equipped with a diagnosis and monitoring system. This powerful tool that monitors all electronic components helps to cut down maintenance costs to a minimum.

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