STOAG builds a charging station on Everslohstrasse

On Tuesday, February 14, the first transformer station for charging electric buses was set up at the Everslohstraße bus stop. The Everslohstraße stop on the corner of Kirchhellener Straße and Matzenbergstraße is one of four stops where electric buses will be charged in the future. STOAG has ordered 2022 solo electric buses in 15. Delivery is expected in (early) summer. The vehicles are used on lines SB97, 952, 953, 961, 956, NE2, NE4, NE7 and on some days also on line 954. All 15 buses are charged within a few minutes at the four charging stations Wehrstraße, Everslohstraße, Goerdelerstraße and Hirschkamp during the day and can then continue their journey. Charging takes place overnight at the depot.

Loading at the Everslohstrasse stop

The Everslohstraße stop is the first of the four charging stations to be erected, consisting of a transformer station, medium-voltage switchgear, charger and charging mast with charging hood. The transformer station is 3 meters x 8,50 meters in size and can be charged with up to 500 kW using a charging hood and the pantograph on the bus. The 46 t transformer station was lifted over the group of trees with a mobile crane and then positioned with millimeter precision in the intended location. The next step is to set up the charging mast. In the future, 47 charging processes will take place at the Everslohstraße charging station Monday to Friday, 29 on Saturday and 26 on Sunday.

The three additional charging stations will be built in the course of the month. Work on the construction of 18 charging stations at the STOAG depot has been underway since August of last year.

The stop was chosen as the location for the charging infrastructure because, on the one hand, there is the necessary space on the edge of a dense development and, on the other hand, this location is also an option as a (terminal) stop in the long term. Line 952 currently stops here. Such a long-term nature is important for the promotion. While the subsidy rate for the procurement of electric buses is 60% (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr) and 20% (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection) of the difference between a battery-powered bus and a comparable diesel bus, it amounts to the construction the necessary infrastructure to 90% (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr) of the eligible investment costs.