Two new container cranes at the ÖBB’s Wolfurt cargo centre
The expansion of the Wolfurt cargo centre is progressing according to plan. Last week, Franz Bauer, ÖBB Infrastruktur Executive Director, Karlheinz Rüdisser, Landesstatthalter, Christian Natter, Mayor of Wolfurt, and Elmar Rhomberg, Mayor of Lauterach, inaugurated the second phase of the construction.
On June 22nd, the railway license was issued. Two container cranes were delivered and set up in spring. After detailed tests, the 350 tonne equipment is now available for the first container lifts. The 24-metre high cranes are also clearly visible from the Rheintalautobahn motorway.
CEO Franz Bauer: “The new configuration of the cargo center doubles the capacity for our customers, but also improves the cost-effectiveness and quality of goods handling. With the new terminal logistics facility we can ensure fast and cost-efficient handling of all handling processes”.
“The Wolfurt cargo centre is one of Austria’s most important cargo transhipment facilities. Environmentally friendly and efficient transport solutions give a boost to the Vorarlberg economy. It is therefore important that new capacities are created in a timely manner”, Karlheinz Rüdisser said about the construction progress.
The two new cranes in Wolfurt are equipped with technical innovations that allow very environmentally friendly operation. Wolfurt is one of the first plants in the world using a new laser measuring system. The crane recognises when the container is approaching the ground, a truck or a container stack. The lowering process is automatically ended smooth. This protects freight, containers, wagons and trucks, but also reduces the operating noise during the lifts.
The steel profiles of the cranes are also innovative. The surfaces are rounded, which reduces the wind exposed area. Rides on the crane runway therefore require considerably less energy than before.
A particular challenge in the expansion of the cargo center is the fact that the terminal operation must continue without interruptions despite the construction works. In the completed second phase of construction, the complete terminal configuration with four tracks for container trains, one crane runway and the surfaces for storage on the semi-finished side were completed in addition to the two container cranes. The entire terminal business is handled on this area from the beginning of July. At the same time, the construction works start with the dismantling of the existing handling area. In about one year, the new terminal will be fully operational.
Together with the cranes, ÖBB also puts into operation a new service and workshop building. In addition to handling goods and containers as well as storing empty containers, the containers are also serviced on site and repaired as required by the customer.
Facts & figures of the completed construction phase II:
- 2 container cranes: width 50 meters, height 24 meters, weight 350 tonnes, lifting capacity 41 tonnes
- About 2,000 meters of new tracks and 9 switches
- Service and workshop buildings with approximately 6,000 m³ of converted space
- Approximately 300 meters of crane tracks with storage for around 800 containers
- Approximately 10,000 m² of fixed areas for lanes and empty containers – in the final version of the empty container warehouse for 3,500 container units
- Groundbreaking ceremony in January 2015
- Completion date August 2018