Our focal-points 2022 are:

• EFS energy flow simulation, for electrical transport systems
• Trolleybus-Checkpoint for coal-wear-monitoring
• HKL-02 – hanger clamp wihtout thimble, conductive

You want to learn more about InnoTrans2022 or book an appointment with one of our collegues? Contact us!

Many customers take advantage of this opportunity to

• solve an acute problem or a current question quickly and easily
• test EFS for future use
• have a good starting point for further digitization steps

The numerous users of the KRUCH-EFS system are independent of time consuming, external studies that need to be tendered, when it comes to everyday issues. Simply simulate yourself! It’s done quickly and safely with our validated energy flow simulation (EFS)!

We can currently offer a very good and limited “EFS entry package”:

• ~ 5km section
• 2-3 substations
• 2 types of vehicles
• 2 current questions (e.g. cycle compression, n-1 substations, new vehicles, critical points in the network, …)
• full range of EFS services (all modules!)
• including user training

Perhaps you currently have a topic that we fix together still this year?

Contact us at sales@kruch.at.  

EFS is the “mother” of all KRUCH Mobility 4.0 solutions. The tool is already a tested and proven tool for daily work in numerous local transport companies. Here you will find all information as well as references, videos and presentations on EFS.

We are very pleased that VAG Freiburg is also making use of the opportunities offered by EFS. The complete energy flow simulation model from KRUCH already calculates the entire Freiburg TRAM network. The most complex situations can now be set and simulated in a playful way. Together with VAG Freiburg, the EFS experts have defined which parameters should be simply varied and developed the “digital twin”. After completion of the development phase, it now includes 37 km of route network, 85 stops, 26 substations, 63 coupling switches, 2 energy storage systems and a charging station for electrical buses.

DSW21 Dortmund is also starting a first pilot project in route simulation with EFS. We are looking forward to the cooperation!

About EFS:

The energy flow simulation EFS highlights critical points in the electrical network and shows the current and voltage of consumers, such as trams or trolley buses, over each section of the route. The software analyzes substations and energy consumption of the vehicles in detail in all parts of the network.

Variation of numerous parameters of a transport system (electrical parameters, vehicles, timetable, infrastructure, etc.) is super-simple, and thus critical points in the network, timetable change effects on the energy supply or energy-saving potential are easily recognized.

Potentials for how the network can meet the new requirements for CO2 reduction can also be identified in this context.

Here you can find more information about the energy flow simulation.

These customers are already successfully using EFS in their network.

The question: Which innovative solutions support an integrated transport company in continuing to ensure a high level of passenger safety and increasing the overall feeling of safety?

To succeed in this challenge, one criterion in particular had to be met: the solution had to be innovative!

Jan Röhl (CEO, KRUCH)

“We are delighted by the success of our solution proposal! The market is requesting more and more intelligent, data-based, real-time solutions for the daily challenges in planning, maintenance and operations. With the establishment of KRUCH SIDOS (Simple & Intelligent Data Online Services) in 2016, we have set our strategical focus on Mobility 4.0 and keep developing our solution portfolio consequently. Thanks to the partnership with METRIOX, we enlarge our range of services significantly by “on-board hardware with rail certification.”

Our project entry

Thanks to our project “Driveway Analyzer: How the route detective tracks down hazards,” we were among the successful winners of the IÖB Challenge. The “Driveway Analyzer” is a cutting-edge early warning system that identifies danger points along public transport routes.

Our cloud-based software solution is designed to support transportation companies in their planning, maintenance, and day-to-day operations. The solution makes it possible to process and display real-time data from vehicles and the infrastructure, provides tools of analysis, and issues alarms autonomously when threshold values fall short or are exceeded. The “Driveway Analyzer” detects danger points along the route that trigger a high number of emergency braking incidents or accidents and helps to mitigate these incidents going forward.

We also supply sensors and measurement equipment to supplement the software for situations in which the relevant vehicle data is not already available.

Added value

Sudden heavy braking, such as braking with the rail (track) brakes or the streetcar emergency brakes, catches passengers by surprise and can result in injury. With the integrated “Driveway Analyzer” solution, these neuralgic danger points along the route are identified in advance. As a result, the appropriate traffic and driving measures can be implemented in the risk zones, minimizing the risk of accidents and improving passenger comfort significantly.

Did this solution pique your interest? Would you like to learn more about our other products?

Feel free to get in touch with us at: sales@kruch.com

As a hybrid event, acrps 2021 combines a physical trade fair with online webinars this year. “The ACRPS, with a focus on railway energy supply, is one of the most important railway events in Germany! We are looking forward to the numerous, high-quality presentations,” says KRUCH owner Jan Röhl.

Here you can go directly to our Mobility 4.0 products.

Click here for the acrps flyer.

Our fully automated checkpoint inspects the condition of the carbon brushes and the contact pressure of the current collectors on trolleybuses – every time they pass through – by means of 3D laser scanning and load cells. It delivers information about the need to replace the brushes as well as whether the contact pressure is correctly adjusted.

Maintenance personnel receive clear instructions in a spreadsheet format and have access to the complete measurement data as well as to 3D images in the cloud application.

This ensures that the service life of the pantographs is always utilised as effectively as possible and prevents the emergency replacement of carbon brushes, which would otherwise obstruct traffic. Big data analyses offer added benefits, including the detection of FL damage in a section of the route!

The long-term test results speak for themselves:As an example, the ROI break-even point for an operation with 100 trolleybuses in the EU is reached within a sensational two years.

More information about trolley checkpoint can be found here.

By introducing the world’s first trolleybus checkpoint, Kruch succeeded in providing support for the VBZ in this regard. With the establishment of the Trolleybus Checkpoint at the VBZ Hardau garage, every trolleybus undergoes a fully automated inspection when it enters the garage.
As a result, Kruch has not only implemented a tool for simpler bus inspection at VBZ, but has also made it possible to pinpoint weak points with the utmost precision and to mitigate safety risks even more rapidly.

Positive response

Above all, the technical and economic advantages – such as low maintenance requirements and reduced monthly costs – were what convinced the customer.

“Our primary reason for using the Kruch Trolleybus Checkpoint was to save time. This enabled us not only to utilise our staff resources in a more targeted way and reduce our employees’ workload, but also to further boost the level of safety in the Zurich transport network. The implementation of the Checkpoint itself could not have gone more smoothly. We are very pleased about the joint development of this innovative project and thank you for the excellent cooperation.”

The advantages of the Kruch Trolleybus Checkpoint

• optimises the use and replacement cycle of the sliding contacts
• provides information as to whether any contacts are damaged or worn
• detects even small hairline cracks, virtually imperceptible to the human eye
• automates the daily manual inspection of the sliding contacts
• improves work safety significantly
• provides faster and more accurate analyses of the status of your buses than can be achieved by manual inspection
• improves work safety substantially

How soon does the Checkpoint service pay for itself?

Based on our past experience and key figures, in the specific case of VBZ we can expect amortisation of the Checkpoint within the first year of operation.

We have also found that a maintenance contract should be regarded as essential, since this is an area that requires continuous optimisation and is linked to an online database and data connections. This means that the establishment of a Checkpoint cannot be viewed in isolation, as a fixed unit, but as a largely automated service providing streamlined bus servicing, which can best be offered through regular maintenance.

The point at which the investment costs will be recovered depends on a number of factors.  We would be more than happy to provide you with additional information about the possibilities offered by the Trolleybus Checkpoint.

You can find further information and explanatory videos here.

If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact us at +43 1 616 31 65 or by e-mail to sales@kuch.com

When it comes to trolleybuses, the majority of quality assurance depends on the sliding contacts touching the overhead contact line. If these are worn or broken, the bus can no longer be operated and the sliding elements must be laboriously replaced along the route. Up to now, these sliding contacts were checked daily and replaced when required. This process is time-consuming, dangerous and non-ideal.

We have taken on this challenge and developed a unique system. Our fully automated inspection unit (=Checkpoint) 

• inspects the sliding contacts’ condition by means of 3D laser scanning technology
• provides information on whether contacts are damaged or worn
• detects hairline cracks too small to be seen
• saves the time to perform manual daily checks of your fleet
• increases labour safety
• returns analyses on your buses’ condition faster and more precisely than manual checks

Here you find more information about our new mobility 4.0 product.

On the 18th September it is time again. The InnoTrans 2018 starts in a new round. Of course, the KRUCH team is once again a guest at the leading international trade fair for traffic technology this year!

„The KRUCH team will once again be taking the trade fair events from the visitors’ perspective this year. Each year, InnoTrans is the opportunity for us to exchange with industry specialists and introduce our new products. We are looking forward to interesting discussions!“, says KRUCH CEO Jan Röhl.

Since InnoTrans 2014

The „SMA“ signal mast, which was exhibited in full size at InnoTrans 2014, celebrated its „world premiere“ at that time. With the Energy-Flow-Simulation „EFS“, KRUCH presented a tool with which after a few minutes of training the most important situations can be simulated and evaluated in the railway technology every day. The numerous new developments in the field of catenary components underpin the claim of KRUCH to be one of the leading specialists in this product field. This year, the focus will be on the latest KRUCH product: the Trolleybus Checkpoint

Would you like to talk to us at InnoTrans 2018? Contact us at sales@kruch.com.
Find out more about our products and services here.

Mister Rovira, you were one of the lecturers at MATLAB Expo 2016. What exactly did you talk about?

Ferran Rovira: The focus was to present the collaboration between Mathworks and KRUCH. I talked about how it all began, where we are today and what our future will look like.

What was the feeling to talk in front of big names from car industry and other engineering fields? Could you hold the nerves?

Ferran Rovia: You know, the presentation was prepared in several months and I practiced it a lot. That really helped me to not enter in panic. But when I walked on stages and these hundrets of people stared at me, I felt a few butterflies in my stomach.

Of course! I already feel nervous when I read the names of the other participants. You really talked in front of the top liga!

Ferran Rovia: Yes, I was so impressed! Not only by the names of the companies but also by the quality of the presentations. For me the most expressiv was, that also big companies were very excited about EFS and that a small, family owend company like KRUCH could develop something huge like this.

What is EFS? Can you talk more about this?

Ferran Rovia: There is a YouTube video, where I describe what EFS means. Even though I had a terrible cold that day we made the video, it is a very good introduction. For specific questions I prefer a one-on-one interview. Just send me an email to ferran.rovira@kruch.com and we will arrange a conference.

Mister Rovira, thank you for this exciting interview and have a nice time at MATLAB Expo 2016.