New Flyer Industries XE40

The **New Flyer Industries XE40** is a battery-electric transit bus from New Flyer's Xcelsior line. On a full charge, the bus has a range of up to 404 kilometres (251 miles). The XE40 can be charged enroute with an OppCharge-compliant rapid charger or for extended down periods with a Combined Charging System plug-in charger. Both systems are supplied by Siemens.

## History

The XE40 was developed with the co-operation of the province of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, Red River College, New Flyer Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The $3 million project was announced in December 2010 with the provincial government investing $1 million. By January 2012, a prototype vehicle was being completed using a former XDE40 demonstrator bus. The prototype made its public debut at the Manitoba Legislative Building on June 1, 2012 and went on trial in Winnipeg.

The prototype bus used eight 15 kilowatt-hour (120 kilowatt-hour total) lithium ion battery module from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries located in the rear. The batteries could use overnight slow charging at the garage or enroute overhead charging. Supplied by Eaton, the overhead rapid-charger, featured two modules with a maximum output of approximately 200 kW each to a conductive rail. A pantograph located on the roof of the bus would make contact with the rail to recharge the bus.

In June 2012, the Chicago Transit Authority placed an order for two XE40 buses as a trial funded by the Federal Government's Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction program and Clean Fuels Grant program. Funding announced by Sustainable Development Technology Canada in October 2012 would allow for a trial of four XE40 buses with Winnipeg Transit. Chicago's buses entered service in October 2014, and Winnipeg's buses entered service at the end of November 2014.

While the first two buses for Winnipeg used Mitsubishi batteries with a 180 kilowatt-hour capacity, the last two used batteries from XALT Energy with a 200 kilowatt-hour capacity. Mitsubishi had decided to exit the battery sector in 2014. The buses for Chicago also used XALT batteries, but with a 300 kilowatt-hour capacity. In Winnipeg, the buses are mainly charged by an enroute overhead charger. Like the XE40 prototype, a pantograph on the bus is raised to make contact with electrified rails. In Chicago, the buses use plug-in slow charging only. It takes three to five hours to fully charge the bus.

At the 2017 American Public Transportation Association Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, New Flyer introduced their next-generation of battery-electric transit bus. New battery options allowed for a greater operating range. Working to new industry standards, new charging infrastructure allowed for complete interoperability. An overhead enroute charger supplied by Siemens has a pantograph that is lowered to meet conductive rails on the bus's roof. On a full charge, the bus has a range of up to 360 kilometres (225 miles).

A new generation of electric Xcelsior buses was launched in early 2021. With higher capacity batteries and improved packaging, the XE40 CHARGE NG has a range of up to 251 miles (using a 525 kilowatt hour battery). With 350 kilowatt hour battery and 440 kilowatt hour battery, the bus has a range of up to 174 and 213 miles, respectively. The CHARGE NG also uses Siemens ELFA 3 traction system.

## Operators

### Canada

* Brampton Transit - Brampton, ON **(trial)**
* Coast Mountain Bus Company - Metro Vancouver, BC **(trial)**
* Kingston Transit - Kingston, ON **(on order)**
* OC Transpo - Ottawa, ON **(on order)**
* Société de transport de Laval - Laval, QC
* Société de transport de Montréal - Montreal, QC
* Toronto Transit Commission - Toronto, ON
* Winnipeg Transit - Winnipeg, MB **(trial)**
* York Region Transit - York Region, ON **(trial)**

### United States

* Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) - Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, CA
* Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) - Alexandria, VA
* Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) - Albany, NY **(on order)**
* Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority - Austin, TX
* Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) - Columbus, OH **(on order)**
* Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) - Chicago, IL
* Columbia University Intercampus Shuttle (operated by Academy Bus Lines) - New York, NY
* King County Metro - Seattle, WA
* Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) - New York City, NY
* New Jersey Transit (NJT) - Camden and Maplewood, NJ **(on order)**
* Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) - Orange County, CA
* Roaring Fork Transportation Authority - Aspen, CO
* TriMet - Portland, OR
* University of Utah Campus Shuttle - Salt Lake City, UT **(on order)**
* Utah Transit Authority - Salt Lake City, UT **(on order)**
* Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) - Washington, DC

## Demonstrator and engineering units

Below is a list of known demonstrator and engineering buses.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE NG brochure. *New Flyer Industries,* October 2021.
2. ↑ How it works. New Flyer Industries.
3. ↑ Owen, Bruce Province says electric vehicle projects in the works. 9 April 2011. *Winnipeg Free Press* (Winnipeg). Retrieved on 2011-01-10
4. ↑ Manitoba puts up cash for all-electric bus. 26 April 2011. *Canadian Broadcasting Corporation* (Toronto). Retrieved on 2011-01-10
5. ↑ Selinger calls electric transit bus the future of public transport (01 June 2012). *Winnipeg Free Press* (Winnipeg). Retrieved on 01 June 2012.
6. ↑ Electric Transit Bus in Manitoba - Prototype Electric Transit Bus Development and Demonstration Final Report. Research Partnerships & Innovation Red River College, June 2017.
7. ↑ "New Flyer Announces its First Order for All-Electric Transit Buses from the Chicago Transit Authority." *New Flyer Industries,* 21 June 2012.
8. ↑ "New Flyer Awarded $3.4 Million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada to Further Advance Battery-Electric Bus Technology." *New Flyer Industries,* 26 October 2012.
9. ↑ "New Flyer Xcelsior® XE40 Battery-Electric Bus Enters Transit Service With The Chicago Transit Authority." *New Flyer Industries,* 30 October 2014.
10. ↑ Electric Bus Demonstration: New Flyer Battery-electric buses enter into service with Winnipeg Transit (Date Unknown). "Winnipeg Transit (Winnipeg). Retrieved on 25 September 2019.
11. ↑ Hoemsen, Ray. [https://cpb-ca-c1.wpmucdn.com/www.rrc.ca/dist/3/78/files/2019/05/Hoemsen-Next-Generation-Automobiles-Symposium-20151027-.pdf "Manitoba Battery Electric Transit Bus Fleet Development & Demonstration." *Red River College*, 27 October 2015.
12. ↑ "New Flyer Xcelsior® XE40 Battery-Electric Bus Enters Transit Service With The Chicago Transit Authority." *New Flyer Industries,* 30 October 2014.
13. ↑ Electric Buses. Chicago Transit Authority.
14. ↑ New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE brochure. *New Flyer Industries,* October 2017.
15. ↑ New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE brochure. *New Flyer Industries,* June 2019.

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