Lenzing AG has been using freight cars from GATX for many years. Now the Austrian fibre manufacturer has ordered 22 cars type Snps. These freight cars will be customised for the customer: So, for example, the car length and stanchion distances will perfectly match the transport of 3-6 metre long round timber.
The natural raw material wood is the basis of the production of the Lenzing AG cellulose fibres. The tree trunks are predominantly transported by rail. There are always new challenges with the transport of this raw material: For example, when loading the naturally grown trunks, a deformation of the floor can occur or the stanchions can be damaged.
GATX have now developed a special timber-carrying freight car that will be used by Lenzing AG for the next 10 years for the transport of round timber. The details:
- Simple maintenance: Sections of the floor will be screwed together and can be easily replaced.
- Non-slip surface: The steel sheets of the floor will be covered with a non-slip coating so that the safety of the personnel is increased when stepping on the loading area.
- Telematics on board: In addition to the standard functions of tracking and tracing, additional data for the real-time determination of the payload will be collected – including a visual display on the freight car for the loading personnel.
- Technical Data: The cars have a length over buffers of 22.8 m and a tare weight of 23 t, so that the payload amounts to 67 t.
The special feature: As the customer already has an easily exchangeable stanchion system in use, GATX equips the new Snps cars with the same type of stanchions, thereby keeping tried and tested working routines. Regarding maintenance, the customer does not need to keep different types of stanchions on stock for their cars.
