GERMANY: Leasing company Railpool has broken ground to launch construction of an eco-friendly locomotive workshop at its Hamburg Billbrook site.
‘By investing in a future-proof workshop infrastructure, we are making an important contribution to the rail industry by providing the maintenance capacity required for the growing volume of rolling stock’, said CEO Torsten Lehnert at the ceremony on December 7. ‘The spacious new locomotive workshop building will enable a wide range of services from maintenance work to overhauls with the shortest possible throughput times.’
The total floor area will be approximately 4 000 m², of which around 800 m² would be used for office, training and welfare facilities.
The offices will be heated with waste heat from the workshop. The roof will have photovoltaic panels, and extensive greenery.
‘When planning the workshop design, the focus was not only to allow for space for a variety of maintenance options but also on maximising the efficiency of processes for the benefit of our customers and employees’, said Christoph Engel, Managing Director of Railpool Lokservice. ‘Increased storage capacity, easier delivery of materials, simplified logistics, for example during overhauls, and powerful overhead cranes will, among other things, ensure even faster throughput times and make the work of our employees easier.’
Main construction is scheduled to begin in early 2023, for completion in December.
