Rhein-Neckar-Variobahn

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Rhein-Neckar-Variobahn
OEG car 4125 in RNV livery in Mannheim-Neuhermsheim
OEG car 4125 in RNV livery in Mannheim-Neuhermsheim
Numbering: 2215–2222 (RNV6ER) ,
3273–3288 (RNV8ZR) ,
4123–4148 (RNV6ZR) ,
4150–4162 (RNV6ZR) ,
5701–5716 (RNV8ER) ,
5761–5763 (RNV6ZR) ,
4349 (RNV6ZR)
Number: 83
Manufacturer: Bombardier Transportation
Year of construction (s): 2002-2013
Gauge : 1000 mm
Length: 30 530 mm (RNV6)
39 420 mm (RNV8ZR)
42 780 mm (RNV8ER)
Width: 2 400 mm
Smallest bef. Radius: <15 m
Top speed: 80 km / h
Continuous output : 4 × 95 kW (RNV6)
6 × 95 kW (RNV8)
Acceleration: 1.1 m / s²
(with 2/3 load)
Braking delay: 1.3 m / s² (service brake)
2.73 m / s² ( emergency brake )
Wheel diameter: 630 mm (new)
Power system : 750 volts DC voltage
Power transmission: Overhead line: SA Stemmann FB700
Number of traction motors: 4 (RNV6)
6 (RNV8)
Train control : Sifa, PZB
Coupling type: Scharfenberg (RNV6ZR) ,
Albert coupling (RNV6ER, RNV8ER, RNV8ZR)
Seats: 82 (RNV6ZR)
88 (RNV6ER)
100 (RNV8ZR)
129 (RNV8ER)
(including
folding seats)
Standing room: 90 (RNV6)
130 (RNV8ZR)
133 (RNV8ER)
(for 4 people / m²)
Low floor: 70%

The Rhein-Neckar- Variobahn ( RNV for short ) is a tram vehicle that was manufactured by Bombardier Transportation from 1998 to 2013 for Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH and its predecessors.

history

In 1998 the then still independent transport companies of Mannheim (MVV Verkehr AG), Ludwigshafen (VBL), Upper Rhine Railway (OEG) and Heidelberg (HSB) made the move to procure a joint vehicle type. Before that, in 1996, OEG had already procured six Variobahns of a different design. For comparison with these, the Siemens Combino prototype and the Darmstadt car 9864 made by the manufacturer Alstom were tested on various routes by all the companies involved. The results of the test drives led in December 1998 to an order for initially 36 Variobahns of a common type from the manufacturer ADtranz, later Bombardier, according to a joint specification sheet.

In view of the usability in the entire route network of the companies involved, the width of the wagons has been reduced by ten centimeters to 2.4 m compared to the OEG Variobahnen from 1996. The carriages ordered together are called Rhein-Neckar-Variobahn , the exterior design has been redesigned. With the abbreviation RNV for the vehicles, the designation of the joint transport company, which did not exist at the time, was anticipated.

They are divided into four variants through different car lengths (five-part or seven-part) and the design as one- and two-way wagons (see sections Upper Rhine Railway, Heidelberg, Mannheim and Ludwigshafen).

Originally only three variants were planned: Heidelberg and the OEG were to receive five-part bidirectional cars of around 32.5 m in length, 30.5 m long one-way wagons for Ludwigshafen and 43 m long one-way wagons for Mannheim. During construction it turned out that the car bodies could not withstand pressure tests and that the required axle loads could not be met due to the necessary reinforcement. As a result, the originally intended vehicle length was shortened by 2 m for the vehicles ordered for the OEG and a double door was dispensed with on each side of the vehicle. Heidelberg, however, changed the order to seven-part vehicles. The changes meant that car bodies that were already in the shell had to be scrapped and delivery of the first vehicles was delayed by around two years.

When the first vehicles were ordered, extensive options for additional vehicles were agreed with the manufacturer ADtranz. In three option deliveries, a total of 83 vehicles were produced by the end of 2013. As legal successor to ADtranz, both the first delivery and the option deliveries were made by the manufacturer Bombardier in the Bautzen plant.

Although the RNV celebrated the delivery of 71 Rhein-Neckar-Variobahn trains in 2010, vehicle no. 4149 did not make it into the Rhine-Neckar triangle at that time. It was delivered to Augsburg directly from the Bautzen plant in autumn 2010. There the car was used as a test vehicle for contactless energy transfer according to the Primove system. It was equipped accordingly by Bombardier for this purpose. After completion of the tests, the car was to be dismantled to series production and delivered to the RNV. Since it was damaged in the flood in August 2010 at the Bautzen plant, it was not taken over by the RNV. In 2013 it was nevertheless delivered to Mannheim, but remained the property of the manufacturer, which used it as a test vehicle at times. Outside of these times it is available to the RNV as a driving school vehicle, for which it has been appropriately equipped. To distinguish it from the line vehicles, it was given the different road number 4349.

On April 5, 2011, the RNV announced the redemption of a new option order for eleven additional vehicles of the type RNV6ZR; a twelfth car was supplied in this series as a replacement for the 4149 car that was not initially taken over.

While the 36 vehicles of the first delivery were still delivered in the "corporate colors" of the individual transport companies, all option vehicles were delivered in the RNV paint scheme of white / orange / blue. All vehicles of the second and third option deliveries are equipped with Mitrac Energy Saver energy storage systems from the manufacturer Bombardier.

All vehicles are approved according to both the tram construction and operating regulations (BOStrab) and the railway construction and operating regulations for narrow-gauge railways (ESBO).

Upper Rhine Railway

Variobahn in OEG design in Mannheim

From 2003, the OEG received ten five-part, 30.5 m long bidirectional wagons of the Rhein-Neckar type (wagon numbers 123–132, company name RNV6ZR ). With the first optional delivery, ten more vehicles (wagon numbers 133–142) ​​were added to the inventory from 2006. The seven wagons of the second optional delivery from 2009 (wagon numbers 4143-4148 and 4150) were procured by the successor company RNV and are equipped with MITRAC Energy Saver energy storage systems. Contrary to the order, car 4149 was initially not delivered to the RNV because it had suffered flood damage at the manufacturing plant in Bautzen. Instead, it served temporarily in Augsburg as a test vehicle for contactless energy transmission according to the Primove system . As the third and last option delivery, twelve additional vehicles were delivered between January and July 2013 (car numbers 4151–4162); these are also equipped with energy storage devices. One of these vehicles was built as a replacement for the 4149 car that was not taken over.

As the only substructure of the Rhein-Neckar-Variobahnen, the type RNV6ZR wagons have automatic Scharfenberg couplings for train formation. According to their location, the wagon numbers of the vehicles procured by the OEG in the common numbering of Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) have meanwhile been prefixed with a 4 (wagon number 4123-4142).

These vehicles are used - together with the three Mannheim wagons of the same type (No. 5761–5763) - primarily on RNV line 5 in single and double traction. Use in the entire rest of the RNV line network is possible and common.

Heidelberg

Variobahn in HSB design on Brückenstraße

From 2003, the Heidelberg tram received eight seven-part, almost 40-meter-long two-way cars of the Rhein-Neckar type (car numbers 273-280, operational designation RNV8ZR ).

From December 2009, eight additional Vario railways from the second optional delivery (wagon numbers 3281–3288) with the MITRAC Energy Saver energy storage system were put into operation in Heidelberg. They were procured by the successor company RNV.

The vehicles with energy storage can travel a distance of up to 2.4 km without overhead lines and then draw their traction current from the capacitors of the energy storage. An appropriately equipped section was planned for a new line in the area of ​​the University of Heidelberg in Neuenheimer Feld . Currently, however, the option of catenary-free operation is not being used as planned and with the revocation of the planning approval decision for the campus railway at the beginning of 2016, it is not in sight. A multiple unit equipped in this way cost around € 200,000 more. It is expected that in normal operation with activated energy savers in 15 years, € 300,000 in electricity costs will be saved per vehicle.

According to their location, the wagon numbers of the first eight Heidelberg vehicles in the common numbering of the RNV are now prefixed with a 3 (wagon numbers 3273–3280). The main areas of use for these vehicles are the Heidelberg lines 23 and 24. On the occasion of major events, individual vehicles are occasionally loaned to the Mannheim or Ludwigshafen sites. Car 3285 has been running on line 5 for several years. It was temporarily exchanged for two vehicles of the shorter type RNV6ZR with the Heidelberg location.

Mannheim

Variobahn in MVV design in Neuostheim

For use in the Mannheim / Ludwigshafen city network, MVV Verkehr AG received ten seven-part one-way vehicles approx. 43 meters long (wagon numbers 701–710, company name RNV8ER ) from the joint order for the Rhein-Neckar type . Car 701 was the first vehicle of the same type to be received and unloaded on August 1, 2002 at the Mannheim-Seckenheim OEG train station during a ceremony.

Three similar vehicles (No. 711–713) come from the first option delivery and were put into operation in May 2007. The first option delivery also included three five-part, 30.5 m long bidirectional vehicles of the type RNV6ZR (car no. 761–763), which are identical to the trams delivered to the OEG and are used with them in the pool.

The 5714–5716 wagons, which were procured by the successor company RNV, come from the second option delivery from 2010. Like the other cars in this delivery, they are equipped with MITRAC Energy Saver energy storage systems. According to their location, the wagon numbers of the vehicles procured by MVV Verkehr AG are now prefixed with a 5 in the common numbering of the RNV (wagon numbers 5701–5713 and 5761–5763). The seven-part vehicles are primarily used on RNV lines 1, 3 and 4. Use on all other lines in the Mannheim / Ludwigshafen traffic area (except for line 5) is possible.

Ludwigshafen

Rhein-Neckar-Variobahn of the VBL in Oggersheim

For use in the Mannheim / Ludwigshafen city network, Verkehrsbetriebe Ludwigshafen am Rhein GmbH received eight five-part one-way vehicles approx. 30.5 m in length (wagon numbers 215–222, company name RNV6ER ) from a joint order for the Rhein-Neckar type in 2003 . There were no subsequent deliveries of this type from option orders.

According to their location, the wagon numbers of the vehicles procured by the VBL are now prefixed with a 2 in the common numbering of the RNV (wagon number 2215–2222). The vehicles are used in the entire Mannheim / Ludwigshafen traffic area, with the exception of line 5.

Vehicle repairs

The regular maintenance of all railways is largely carried out in the RNV's own workshops. After the vehicles of the first delivery had been in use for 12 years, the car body and various mechanical components on vehicle 4126 were first thoroughly repaired in the main workshop of the RNV. Outwardly the most striking feature of this work was the repainting in the color scheme of the RNV. For the remaining 35 vehicles of the first delivery, similar work was put out to tender across Europe in April 2015. The contract was awarded to VIS Verkehrs Industrie Systeme GmbH in Halberstadt at the beginning of 2016 . In mid-2016, the 5706 and 3276 cars were the first vehicles in work there. Two vehicles are processed at the same time. The entire contract should be completed by the end of 2019.

Web links

Commons : Rhein-Neckar Variobahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. RNV press release, December 2, 2010: Last low-floor tram for the Rhine-Neckar region delivered ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rnv-online.de
  2. ^ Website of Stadtwerke Augsburg: Trams without overhead lines ( memento of the original from February 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sw-augsburg.de
  3. ^ Märkische Oderzeitung, August 9, 2010: Flood damages Bombardier plant
  4. RNV expands Bombardier fleet to a total of 82 trams. Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH, April 5, 2011, accessed on December 1, 2015 .
  5. RNV press release, December 21, 2009: The first RNV energy storage railways are going into use ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rnv-online.de
  6. Bombardier press release, December 18, 2009: New Bombardier trams from Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH are starting up with innovative energy storage devices
  7. a b Holger Buchwald: What will happen to the super railways? In: Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung . No. 126 , June 3, 2016, p. 8 ( rnz.de [accessed June 4, 2016]).
  8. RNV press release, December 21, 2009: The first RNV energy storage railways are going into use ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rnv-online.de
  9. Press release RNV, July 27, 2006: The vehicle fleet with low-floor comfort is expanding ( memento of the original from July 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rnv-online.de
  10. Press release RNV, June 14, 2007: New vehicle family offers more convenience for public transport customers ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rnv-online.de
  11. Tenders Electronic Daily, August 11, 2015: Specification text for repairing the car body