David AND Goliath. Each Braking System is a Powerful Piece of Work

As most of you discovered at InnoTrans 2024, our current braking solutions provide an ever-growing portfolio for our customers’ vehicles.  By Eelco Hoedemaker

Customers see the advantages of hydraulic braking systems not only in classic tram operations but also in monorails, light rail vehicles, driverless systems and even metro-like applications, and use HANNING & KAHL braking systems. This means that our product range as showcased at the InnoTrans is also expanding. Whether it be our smallest solution for the Alstom trams in Berlin or our biggest system soon to be deployed in the Siemens streetcars in Cleveland, all are powerful pieces of work made by HANNING & KAHL and optimally designed to meet the individual requirements of each respective vehicle platform.

More and more braking systems are also being supplemented by level control. This enables barrier-free access and is greatly appreciated by passengers and associations for the mobility impaired. Here, too, hydraulics are applied, using synergies with the hydraulic braking system. This saves space, weight and costs. These advantages mean we are also well positioned to serve new markets like North America. Successes with new projects in Calgary, Omaha, Cleveland and St. Louis show that we are on the right track, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for all their cooperation.

The Gripmaster® sanding system is also becoming very popular. This product is also used in heavy-rail mainline operations where it substantially intensifies braking force in inclement weather conditions. By intelligently scaling and designing the patented system for the British market in a cooperation project with Siemens, we demonstrably confirmed its effectiveness, and the system was awarded an innovation prize.

Our systems are designed for long service life. This includes ensuring compatible solutions in case of obsolescence. For this purpose, we established a proactive monitoring and development process many years ago to ensure the availability of your vehicles. In addition to our known communication channels, we recently set up an obsolescence portal online with a list of all current topics along with corresponding successor solutions. Simply visit obsolescence.hanning-kahl.com and register to make sure that you do not miss any information on product discontinuations (PDN) or product changes (PCN).