- Published: October 17, 2024
- Updated: November 20, 2024
With Germany’s planned coal phase-out, mining in the Hambach and Garzweiler open-pit mines in the Rhineland region is ending. After the mines are shut down, RWE Power plans to transform the area into a landscape of forests and lakes. To fill the future lakes, 9,120 pipes will be needed and delivered over the next few years. RheinCargo is partnering with project company DREMAR to handle the transport logistics.
What’s being transported?
The project involves moving special pipes 8-12 meters long and 2.235 meters in diameter. They will be used to construct a 45-kilometre pipeline connecting the Rhine near Dormagen to the former mining areas. The pipes are manufactured in Turkey and Algeria and arrive by ship at the port of Brake on the Weser River. From there, RheinCargo takes over and transports them by rail to RWE Power’s Grevenbroich facility in the Rhine-Neuss district.
“Each train carries 40 pipes, with two pipes loaded onto each wagon,” explains RheinCargo project manager Necati Kula. “We use Siemens Dual Mode hybrid locomotives for the job. These locomotives can run on diesel power in non-electrified sections at the start and end of the route, eliminating the need to switch engines.”
Specialized freight wagons
RheinCargo has leased 45 special freight wagons for this three-year project, including two complete sets and five spares. The first train from Brake recently arrived, and the initial pipes have been unloaded in Grevenbroich.
“These wagons feature a custom securing system, extensively tested by our rail safety team and external experts,” says Kula. One of the Dual Mode locomotives has been branded with the slogan “Wasser marsch” (“Let the water flow”) specifically for the project.
About the specially branded locomotive
On October 13, 2024, EmmanuellScholl captured an exciting trio of locomotives: Smartron 192 045, Beacon Rail 185 595 and Dual Mode 248 068 leading. It was the first time we saw the dual mode locomotive in this special design – half water, half pipe.
248 068 is Rheincargo’s newest Vectron Dual Mode—the last one of a batch of seven—with internal fleet number DM4007. Its silver paint is primarily covered by new stickers—half of the locomotive shows a metal pipe, and the other half is very watery. The slogan is ‘Wasser Marsch!’ or ‘water march!’
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