Trambuses in Paris, previously commissioned by Ile-de-France Mobilités to Van Hool, will now be manufactured by Swiss company Hess. 56 units are set to be in operation in the French capital.
As reported on the French media Ville rail & transport, the PTA went in search of a new constructor following Van Hool bankruptcy. VDL has in fact decided to discontinue Van Hool city bus production. Now the authority has reportedly reached an agreement with Hess.
The vehicle was officially presented at Busworld 2023. Already in March 2024 Van Hool crisis manager Marc Zwaaneveld (appointed in early 2024) told in an interview with De Standaard that production of trambuses for Paris is a high risk, as he specifically stated that those buses “cost too much to make”.
Hess to provide e-buses in Paris in place of Van Hool
Hess is reportedly able to resume production once it will have access to the twenty-five buses not yet delivered. Five of the thirty buses ordered have already arrived in Paris but the twenty-five remaining buses are still at the former Van Hool facility in Koningshooikt (near Antwerp) and need installation of traction system and technical equipments. The buses are built in cooperation with Alstom (ground charging system) and Kiepe Electric (batteries, auxiliary power inverters and cooling systems, power distributors).
‘Ile-de-France Mobilités’ appears to have reached an agreement with the receivers of the bankrupt Van Hool to unblock access to and from the buses. This agreement appears to be currently being formalised and it is now hoped that the twenty-five remaining tram buses can be delivered by mid-2025.
