Bridge construction is one of the major challenges in the expansion and maintenance of railway lines. In Fridingen in Baden-Württemberg, such a gap is about to be closed. Wiesbauer has come up with a special solution for shunting with its Cometto SPMT fleet.
A blue steel colossus awaits in the picturesque region between hills, green meadows and clear water. The bridge element is 61.2 metres long and 8.15 metres high and has to be lifted into its final position. The crawler crane with its imposing jibs has already taken up its position for the manoeuvre. The bridge weight of 426 tonnes makes it clear that a lot of lifting capacity is required here. The Cometto SPMTs are therefore the ideal means of transport for moving the bridge from the pre-assembly site to the pick-up position within sight of the railway line.
First longitudinal travel, then transverse travel
During the planning stage, there are a number of aspects that need to be taken into account, which are the icing on the cake for such heavy-duty projects. The special width of the bridge of 7.65 metres fits exactly to the loading area length of the 6-axle SPMT. In consultation with the engineering office, two self-propelled modular transporters are therefore positioned under the outer junctions of the bridge at right angles to the long side.
But a "classic" linear journey is not enough. "The transport begins with a longitudinal run of around 30 metres," says Joachim Kolb, Sales Manager at Cometto, describing the start scenario. "The SPMT axles are then rotated by 90 degrees, followed by a transverse travel of around 12 metres to the end position." The Wiesbauer employee performs these manoeuvres with the necessary calm via remote control.
Reliable even under high loads
The capacity utilisation of the two Cometto SPMTs of type MSPE48 is around 82 percent each with an axle load of 44 tonnes. "Even in this load limit range, the Cometto SPMTs deliver perfect performance," says Marco Wilhelm, project manager at Wiesbauer, praising the reliability and precision of the self-propelled transporters throughout the entire project.
The job is finally completed in its entirety when the crane picks up the element and lowers it into the prepared position with millimetre precision. The puzzle is complete. In Fridingen, travellers will soon be able to enjoy the wonderful panorama from the train.
Date of publication: 06/2024