Hong Kong receives 35 new electric double deckers
The buses in question are Enviro500EV double deckers, i.e. the three-axle version of the Enviro400EV. Each bus is 12 metres long and has a total battery capacity of 472 kWh, with the ability to upgrade or swap these batteries if necessary.
In terms of deployment: MTR Corporation uses its 170 buses as feeders for the Mass Transit Railway system in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong, which features a ‘highly complex topography’ and steep hills. To conquer this, the buses were fitted with a heavy-duty version of VEDS to provide a peak output of 410kW and continuous output of 310kW.
In a statement, Voith explained: “The very demanding climatic conditions in Hong Kong are also a challenge for the buses, because the combination of high temperatures that regularly exceed 33C in summer, and a humidity that is often more than 80%, puts extreme stress on the vehicle technology. This is exacerbated by dense urban traffic involving frequent stops and low average speeds.”
However, the company states that VEDS has high-capacity energy management system which means even on a 3-axle bus with a maximum passenger capacity of 86 people, it will remain below capacity.
Through this project in Hong Kong, the three partners ADL, Voith, and MTR Corporation want to show that the use of e-buses can be successful even under challenging geographical and climatic conditions.
“With support from Voith, our next-generation electric bus has been designed from the ground up for the demands of Hong Kong’s world class transport system to deliver sizable passenger capacity alongside operational flexibility.,” says Andy Boulton, Managing Director Asia Pacific at Alexander Dennis. The remaining 26 vehicles in the total order are scheduled for delivery in the coming months.
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