Approaching a century of passenger service

Hamburg Hochbahn AG (HOCHBAHN), founded in 1911, conveys over one million passengers daily via three underground rail systems and more than 100 bus lines. As the largest transportation enterprise within the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (Hamburg Transportation Alliance or HVV), HOCHBAHN's 4,400 employees handle approximately 55 percent of the bus and rapid-rail service in the Hamburg metropolitan region.

CEP participation fits with Hamburg's Climate Protection Initiative

By participating in the CEP, HOCHBAHN hopes to achieve the following:

Evaluate hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the field
Prepare for introducing fuel cell vehicles to the market
Derive economies of scale and technical optimisation based on experience in the field

HOCHBAHN's activities with regard to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have the political backing of the Hamburg Senate and are an element in the city's larger Climate Protection Program.

Hydrogen technology in buses and Alsterdampfer*

(*steamships that travel the Alster, a large lake situated in the middle of Hamburg)

Buses powered by fuel cells have been in daily service on Hamburg's bus lines since 2003, as part of a pan-European project to study the performance of fuel-cells under operational conditions and the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel. Vattenfall and HOCHBAHN set up a comprehensive, technically self-sufficient infrastructure in Hamburg for extracting and storing hydrogen and fuelling the vehicles. Following negotiations with the manufacturer, the operational life of six fuel-cell buses was extended beyond the project, through 2009. Next-generation, optimised fuel-cell buses combining clean hydrogen technology with advanced energy storage will subsequently be placed in service in Hamburg, further reducing energy consumption.

Complementing this deployment on the streets is a fuel-cell passenger vessel which began service on the Alster in August of 2008. The ship is operated by Alster Touristik GmbH, a subsidiary of HOCHBAHN. This prototype aims to demonstrate, under actual passenger service operating conditions, that fuel-cell propulsion for watercraft is already feasible using current technology, and enables emissions-free solutions for eco-sensitive inland waterways and harbours.

In addition, HOCHBAHN has made two of Daimler's fuel-cell powered Mercedes A-Class sedans available to HOCHBAHN employees for official use since July of this year. By using these vehicles, HOCHBAHN will gain the hands-on experience needed to advance the development of fuel-cell technology, as well as further insight into the practical deployment of these vehicles in the field.

More information on Hochbahn's commitment to the environment and
protection of the climate can be found :: here,

Or at :: www.hysolutions-hamburg.de

For further questions, please contact Hamburg's Hochbahn directly at:
Hamburger Hochbahn
Mr. Heinrich Klingenberg
Phone: +49 (0) 40 32 88 44 79
E-mail: heinrich.klingenberg[at]hysolutions-hamburg[dot]de