The ÖBB’s expansion of the cargo center in Wolfurt Vorarlberg is progressing as planned. Sixteen months after the groundbreaking ceremony in January 2015, the first phase of the renovation was completed. From now on a modern and spacious facility is available for transhipment between road and rail.
Specifically, it is the area for wagonload traffic, where three tracks of a total length of 500 meters are available as of June 1. Loading roads were built to allow for easy transhipment between trucks and cargo rail cars. Wood, steel and concrete parts will be predominantly transshipped there in future.
For the loading of mineral oils, a designated 50 meters track section is available exclusively for oil transhipment. This area is equipped with a liquid-tight concrete shell, thus ensuring environmentally safe loading and unloading of mineral oils.
Franz Bauer, CEO ÖBB-Infrastruktur is pleased about the completion of the first stage: “The new system for wagonload traffic is a first milestone that is put into operation at the Wolfurt cargo center today. In total, we are investing EUR 225 million in our freight centers in Vienna – South, Wels, Linz and Wolfurt – which is an important step for shifting cargo transport from road to environmentally friendly railway”.
For Govenor Karlheinz Rüdisser the conversion is of great importance: “The expansion of the cargo center in Wolfurt is paving the way for Vorarlberg’s industry and economy. Just for heavily export-oriented enterprises, the expansion of rail infrastructure is a key project for the site development. With today’s launch of the first construction segment, an important stage goal has been reached.”
In the past three decades throughput volumes have been growing in the cargo center Wolfurt. The strong export orientation Vorarlberg’s dynamic companies led the existing plant to its capacity limits. Once the expansion will be completed in August 2018, the cargo center will be able to offer double the handling capacity than previously. Container trains can directly access two container cranes without shunting, and can be discharged immediately. Through sufficient area for interim storage, manipulation effort can be further reduced.
A storage area for a total of 3,500 units will be built allowing to quickly provide customers with suitable empty containers. Container maintenance complements the service workshops. All manipulation and service operations can be carried out particularly economically after the project is completed.
Works at the construction site in Wolfurt are pursued vigorously. By mid-2017, the entire logistics of container handling will be changed. Two container cranes will then be available, and rail traffic from the north will be fed into the cargo center. Switches that are currently operated manually, will then be controlled remotely. The final completion of the terminal is scheduled for mid 2018.
Facts and figures
- 4 new container loading tracks, each about 750 meters, 600 meters of them craneable
- Entrance of container trains without shunting
- 2 new container cranes
- 4 container reackstackers
- 700 slots for loaded containers
- 200 meters of sidings for parking of container cars
- 500 meters of new tracks for wagonload traffic (completed on May 31, 2016)
- 500 empty containers on new storage space
