Walloon TEC gets its first electrified depot

The Walloon government has approved the Mobi’Park project for public transport company TEC. The project involves developing a new bus depot in Tilleur, in the province of Liège. Philippe Henry (Ecolo), Walloon Minister of Mobility, says this will be the first electrified depot in Wallonia.

A budget of 105 million euros has been allocated for the construction and commissioning of the Mobi’Park, which also includes the purchase of 32 e-buses and the installation of 34 charging stations, including two fast charging stations, one at the depot and one at the terminus.

Second largest TEC depot

“The Mobi’Park will replace the unsuitable and dilapidated Jemeppe-sur-Meuse depot. It will be the first electrified depot in Wallonia and the second largest TEC depot,” the Minister says.

This new bus depot project, which thus includes the purchase of 32 e-buses (14 articulated and 18 double-articulated buses), aims to respond to climate challenges and complement the tramway being implemented in Liège and high-quality service lines that will be built in the Liège region.

The Mobi’Park will house three of the four bus lines that will be developed in the Liège region.

€319 million budget for electrification of buses

Under the public service contract signed with the Walloon government for the period 2024-2028, the TEC’s objective is to increase the modal share of bus and tram travel to 10% by 2030 – it was 4% in 2017.

To achieve this, the TEC will invest 319 million euros in electrifying its buses between 2024 and 2028. The annual allocation has risen from 787 to 987 million euros, in part to cover the development and modernization of the network and the bus fleet.

Out of a total fleet of almost 2,000 vehicles, the TEC now has 730 hybrid buses in operation. The Wallon public transport company TEC now counts 350,000 monthly users.