Electrical systems specialist Kiepe Electric to supply additional Knorr Bremse’s 33 IMC® systems to San Francisco
The order is based on a joint procurement transaction by US mass transit operators King County Metro Transit in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco Municipal Agency (SFMTA) in California, dating from 2013. The 60 articulated buses originally ordered for SFMTA were supplied in 2015/2016 and are now proving their worth providing reliable everyday service as part of the city’s mass transit operations. These modern electric buses offer high availability and cope smoothly with any sections of route with no overhead lines owing to local diversions around roadworks by shifting to battery-powered mode.
The scope of supply for the 33 IMC systems in the latest order covers the complete electrical traction and on-board power system, including a powerful traction battery for sections of route with no overhead lines. Also included is the current collector system with an electropneumatic retriever specially developed for the North American market. Production of the IMC technology developed by Kiepe Electric mainly takes place at Kiepe’s US manufacturing facility in Alpharetta, Georgia.
