Railway logistics: ContainerMover scores with HBC radio control.

“Complete handling finished in 5 minutes”

Transporting goods on railway has a whole range of advantages: reliability, predictability and safety make rail transport an attractive option, both from the standpoint of logistics and efficiency. In addition to that, emissions are minimal. However, only locations connected to the railroad system are accessible with the train. This is why a combination of train and truck freight traffic has proven to be an especially cost-efficient solution.

 

Sophisticated construction

In order for this combination to work together efficiently, a functioning interface between train and truck is crucial. This is the starting point for the horizontal handling system ContainerMover 3000^® from the Swiss company InnovaTrain. The innovation enables a fast transportation of many different standard swap containers from the train to the truck. It is based on a lifting and horizontal shifting construction made by the machine manufacturer Neuweiler AG from Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) and is installed in a modular fashion onto the truck chassis. The counterpart on the container wagon is a wagon adapter. “This adapter is simply set onto the container wagon and is fastened with the pins”, explains Pieter van den Bold, CEO of InnovaTrain. “Changes to the wagon are not necessary.”

 

Reliable HBC radio system

A decisive advantage of the new handling system is the wireless control. The project managers at Neuweiler and InnovaTrain decided on the renowned radio system FST 727 eco by HBC-radiomatic. In the special version for the ContainerMover, the radio system has two rotary switches and a joystick. With the two rotary switches, the operator selects the required function and the movement direction. The joystick is then used to control the machine precisely and safely with the respective setting.

 

The operator remains mobile

In this specific application for the handling of a container, the truck is first positioned exactly parallel to the rail wagon with the help of a camera and two distance lasers. The handling from the rail wagon to the truck is then performed completely with the HBC radio system, which means that the operator can move freely during the entire operation. It is, therefore, possible to select a position with an optimum view on the working situation and move the container safely and precisely, without losing time. “Thanks to the new technology and the HBC radio control, the entire handling is finished in 5 minutes,” stresses Pieter van den Bold. “This will make the combination of train and truck for freight transportation even more efficient and attractive in the future.”