Stadtwerke Köln
Encyclopedia
Stadtwerke Köln GmbH. is the infrastructure and services company of the City of Cologne
.
The company undertakes water supply and electrical, gas, heat and steam energy supply through the subsidiary RheinEnergie. Other subsidiaries provice waste management and housing services for the city, in addition to operating the public baths. The subsidiaries Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) and Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) operate the cities urban and industrial transportation systems respectively.
On 29 August 2010 the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The company's three main business areas are electricity, water and natural gas supply. In 2009 the company supplied 14259 GWh of electricity, 7773 GWh of gas, and had a supply capacity of 660 GWh of energy in the form of steam and 1256 GWh of heat energy. The company operates four combined heat and power plants which use waste heat energy to provide heating to suburbs of Cologne, and also supplies some factories with steam.
Water supplied by the company in 2009 was 77.4 million litres of drinking water.
(limited company) owned by the City of Cologne and Stadtwerke Köln.
In 1992 the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahn (KBE) and Köln-Frechen-Benzelrather Eisenbahn (KFBE) merged into the Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) to form a new freight company; the KVB took over the passenger tram lines 16 and 18 of the KBE. A tram museum Straßenbahn-Museums Thielenbruch was opened in 1997 in the former 1926 wagon shed at Thielenbruch
.
The Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (KVB) operates the city's urban light railway system and buses, as well maintenance of vehicles and infrastructure work related to the mass transit system.
The light rail system consists of lines radiating from the city centre as well as ring lines; as of 2010 both high and low floor trains are operated, depending on route.
The company operates over 350 trains and ~300 buses, with more than 800,000 people transported each day.
The company operates four ports in Cologne; Niehl I, Niehl II, Godorf, and Deutz, as well as rail linked container terminals in Hürth
, Bergisch-Gladbach and Düren
and further afield; ~500,000 TEU
of containerised traffic and nearly 12 million tonnes of cargo were handled in 2009, making the port of Cologne the second largest in Germany after Duisberg. In total the ports have 14.5 km of quay length and an area of 1250600 m² (1.3 km²).
Niehl I is the primary container port with ~450,000 TEU of container traffic in 2009 and equipped with 36m reach gantry cranes allowing side stacked vessels up to 4 deep to be unloaded, other cargos handled include general dry bulk, fuel oils and paper. Niehl II handles cars, liquid goods including dangerous liquids and hydrocarbon gases. Deutz handles low value non-hazardous goods including sand, gravel, animal feed, grain, lumber and liquid chalk. Godorf handles bulk aggregates at Godorf I including salt, gravel, limestone; at Godorf II chemical and hydrocarbon products are handled.
The company's rail system has over 250 km of track with over 100 km of sidings, over 90 km of which is used for commuter trains. For rail freight the company operates its own trains. Along with over 500 wagons the main traction is by MaK DE 1002
, Vossloh G 1000 BB
, Vossloh G 1700 BB
and GM-EMD JT42CWR diesel locomotives, as well a leased electric locomotives of TRAXX
type. The company runs long distance trains as well as port operations.
KölnBäder GmbH is the subsidiary responsible for operating and running the city's swimming pools.
Wohnungsgesellschaft der Stadtwerke Köln mbH is the subsidiary which provides housing for city employees.
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
The company undertakes water supply and electrical, gas, heat and steam energy supply through the subsidiary RheinEnergie. Other subsidiaries provice waste management and housing services for the city, in addition to operating the public baths. The subsidiaries Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe (KVB) and Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) operate the cities urban and industrial transportation systems respectively.
History
The company was established in 1960 by Cologne City Council as the public utility company of the city.On 29 August 2010 the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Company structure and subsidiaries
Stadtwerke Köln is 100% owned by the city of Cologne; it acts as a holding company for six main group companies: GEW Köln AG (energy and water supply through the subsidiary RheinEnergie AG), KVB (Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG); urban transportation, AWB (AWB Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Köln GmbH & Co. KG); refuse collection, HGK (Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG); port operation and industrial railway, WSK (Wohnungsgesellschaft der Stadtwerke Köln mbH); housing, and KölnBäder GmbH; operator of the municipal swimming pools.RheinEnergie AG
The origins of the company GEW Köln AG (Gas-, Elektrizitäts- und Wasserwerke Köln AG) date to the 19th century. In 2002 the assets of the business were transferred to GEW RheinEnergie AG and GEW Köln became the holding company, also incorporated into the firm was RGW (Rechtsrheinische Gas- und Wasserversorgung AG). In 2004/5 the operating company was renamed RheinEnergie AG.The company's three main business areas are electricity, water and natural gas supply. In 2009 the company supplied 14259 GWh of electricity, 7773 GWh of gas, and had a supply capacity of 660 GWh of energy in the form of steam and 1256 GWh of heat energy. The company operates four combined heat and power plants which use waste heat energy to provide heating to suburbs of Cologne, and also supplies some factories with steam.
Water supplied by the company in 2009 was 77.4 million litres of drinking water.
Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG
City rail transport in Cologne dates back as far as 1877 when the first horse drawn railway was operated, by the 1900s electric trams had been introduced. During the first half of the twentieth century the network expanded in all directions, further expansion occurred in the second half of the century; in particular underground railways; by 1974 over 40 km of underground track and 13 km of overhead track had been built. In 1960 the company became an aktiengesellschaftAktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
(limited company) owned by the City of Cologne and Stadtwerke Köln.
In 1992 the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahn (KBE) and Köln-Frechen-Benzelrather Eisenbahn (KFBE) merged into the Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) to form a new freight company; the KVB took over the passenger tram lines 16 and 18 of the KBE. A tram museum Straßenbahn-Museums Thielenbruch was opened in 1997 in the former 1926 wagon shed at Thielenbruch
Thielenbruch (KVB)
Thielenbruch station is a terminal and former depot of Cologne Stadtbahn located in the quarter of Dellbrück in Cologne. It is the northern terminus of Stadtbahn lines 3 and 18.- Terminal :...
.
The Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (KVB) operates the city's urban light railway system and buses, as well maintenance of vehicles and infrastructure work related to the mass transit system.
The light rail system consists of lines radiating from the city centre as well as ring lines; as of 2010 both high and low floor trains are operated, depending on route.
The company operates over 350 trains and ~300 buses, with more than 800,000 people transported each day.
Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG
The Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln was founded in 1992 by the merger of the Häfen Köln GmbH. with the Köln-Bonner Eisenbahn and Köln-Frechen-Benzelrather Eisenbahn.The company operates four ports in Cologne; Niehl I, Niehl II, Godorf, and Deutz, as well as rail linked container terminals in Hürth
Hürth
Hürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne.-Geography:Hürth is situated about 9 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kottenforst-Ville.The town, consisting of...
, Bergisch-Gladbach and Düren
Düren
Düren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. It is located between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.-Roman era:Celts inhabited Düren's area before the Romans. They called their small settlement Durum . After the Celts other Germanic tribes settled this area...
and further afield; ~500,000 TEU
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
of containerised traffic and nearly 12 million tonnes of cargo were handled in 2009, making the port of Cologne the second largest in Germany after Duisberg. In total the ports have 14.5 km of quay length and an area of 1250600 m² (1.3 km²).
Niehl I is the primary container port with ~450,000 TEU of container traffic in 2009 and equipped with 36m reach gantry cranes allowing side stacked vessels up to 4 deep to be unloaded, other cargos handled include general dry bulk, fuel oils and paper. Niehl II handles cars, liquid goods including dangerous liquids and hydrocarbon gases. Deutz handles low value non-hazardous goods including sand, gravel, animal feed, grain, lumber and liquid chalk. Godorf handles bulk aggregates at Godorf I including salt, gravel, limestone; at Godorf II chemical and hydrocarbon products are handled.
The company's rail system has over 250 km of track with over 100 km of sidings, over 90 km of which is used for commuter trains. For rail freight the company operates its own trains. Along with over 500 wagons the main traction is by MaK DE 1002
MaK DE 1002
The MaK DE 1002 is a class of 4 axle Bo'Bo' diesel electric locomotives built by Maschinenbau Kiel in association with Brown, Boveri & Cie .-Design and operation:...
, Vossloh G 1000 BB
Vossloh G1000 BB
The Vossloh G1000 BB is a class of off-centre cab diesel-hydraulic B'B' 4 axle locomotives built by Vossloh in Kiel since 2002. When operating under Swiss owenership the locomotives have received the class Am 842, several units owned by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois are...
, Vossloh G 1700 BB
Vossloh G1700 BB
The Vossloh G1700 BB is a four axle B'B' medium power diesel-hydraulic locomotive manufactured by Vossloh Locomotives GmbH. in Kiel.The locomotive type is operated by private rail operators in Germany and Austria...
and GM-EMD JT42CWR diesel locomotives, as well a leased electric locomotives of TRAXX
TRAXX
Bombardier TRAXX is a modular product platform of electric and Diesel-electric mainline locomotives built by Bombardier Transportation, built in both freight and passenger variants...
type. The company runs long distance trains as well as port operations.
Other subsidiaries
Abfallwirtschaftsbetriebe Köln GmbH & Co. KG is the city's waste collection and street cleaning company.KölnBäder GmbH is the subsidiary responsible for operating and running the city's swimming pools.
Wohnungsgesellschaft der Stadtwerke Köln mbH is the subsidiary which provides housing for city employees.