Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) is the national railway company of Germany. It is organized as a stock corporation and is 100 percent owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. The company was founded in 1994 from the merger of these two state railways: Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR. The group counts 600 affiliated companies. Important subsidiaries are DB Fernverkehr for long-distance passenger transport, DB Regio for local passenger transport, DB Cargo for rail freight transport, and DB Schenker for the transport and logistics of goods. The subsidiary, DB Netz, operates large parts of the German railway infrastructure, making them the largest rail network in Europe. Climate and environmental protection are anchored in the “Strong Rail” strategy as one of the most important corporate goals of Deutsche Bahn AG.
With a complete new project, the Deutche Bahn intended to create the most modern maintenance plant for the ICE train in Europe. Even the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, was in Cottbus to honor the importance of this project. The new model of success was not to have a customer & supplier relation, but more a project related network character. Our partner LOGSOL has been a part of the entire project and responsible for the material flow concept and implementation. The whole maintenance hall is 450 meters long giving the possibility for a whole train to be reworked in one place, which is so far unique in Europe.
Greenfield planning
This project was a greenfield plan, and K.Hartwall was able to support it right from the beginning. As we were the discussions focus on efficiency and how to operate around the 450 meter maintenance line, it was clear that a very flexible system was needed for a ramp constallation with an 8 % inclined lane.
Implementation
The LiftLiner® tugger trains are now installed and training has been provided to the workers. K.Hartwall has also delivered a large number of Daughter Carts in two different configurations to be loaded onto the LiftLiner®
The main benefits of the system for Deutsche Bahn:
- Reliable material flow with the necessary capacity
- Easy loading and unloading from either side
- Improved ergonomics for the workers, mainly due to the electric tilting
- Improved safety
The next steps
Deutsche Bahn plans to build a new hall in 2026. We hope the implementation of the electric LiftLiner® tugger trains continue.
