Hess saves Paris BRT after Van Hool bankruptcy

After over 18 months of delay, Paris’ Tzen 4 BRT line should be open before Christmas with full service in early 2026. The future of the project had been threatened by the bankruptcy of Belgian company Van Hool, that was building 30 Exqui.City 24m three-section electric buses for EUR 42M, with delivery scheduled to start in spring 2024. Only five had been delivered when the Koningshooikt factory was closed in May 2024. The transport agency for the greater Paris area, Île-de-France Mobilités, reached an agreement with the bankruptcy administrator and the Swiss company Hess for the lease of part of the factory, which enabled Van Hoopla staff to be recruited by Hess to complete the order. Alstom and Kiepe supplied and managed propulsion and electrical systems, including fast-charging batteries and conductive ground-based static charging system (SRS). each bus can accommodate up to 140 passengers. 

 

Most of the fleet has now been delivered to Corbeil Essonnes with testing in full swing. TZen 4 is a 14.8km BRT line from la Treille in Viry-Chatillon to Corbeil-Essonnes RER station, running every 5 minutes in dedicated lanes and replacing bus line 402, Paris’ busiest bus service with 26 000 passengers/day. It provides interchange with tram line T12 and RER Line D and it is expected to carry 40 000 passengers/day due to population and employment growth and an increase in commuting. Total project cost off EUR 140M. There was an option for 26 more buses, but this lapsed with the demise of Van Hool; Hess produces a similar product with its LighTram 24 three-section bus.