A premiere for a private railway
Setting a new standard for timber transport solutions. The new wagons that SETG presented recently can carry 2,500 m³ of logs or 4,200 m³ of sawn timber, representing a payload of 2,300 t per train. The wagons, which at 8.8 m2 offer the largest loading cross-section of all of Europe’s stake wagons, are produced in Slovakia. Three specialists from the Austrian private railway company provide more background information.
The specifications and design of the ‘Sflexwood’ railway wagon come from the Austrian railfreight operator Salzburger Eisenbahn Transportlogistik GmbH (SETG). They reflect many years of experience in the transport of logs and sawn timber by rail. Customers’ and shippers’ requirements were incorporated into the unit, as has SETG’s operational experience.
The new wagon has a payload of more than 68 t and sophisticated and flexible stake spacing for different timber lengths. It was also designed to be as energy-efficient as possible. The absence of end walls reduces the locomotive’s energy consumption by around 25% which, in these times of high prices for traction power and diesel, has a strong cost-reducing effect for the entire forestry industry.
European one-stop shop
SETG recently expanded its stake-wagon fleet by an initial 180 new ‘Sflexwood’ units, which will be pulled by SETG’s own traction, just like the ‘Snps-XL’ wagons deployed so far.
Sales manager Rashid Engler pointed out that “the move means SETG’s one-stop timber logistics services have been fortified by a revolutionary design that can be used flexibly in more than 20 countries in Eurasia, just like our locomotives.” Logs measuring 2.4 m or longer and sawn timber packages 2.84 m wide can be loaded without any problems. “We can also provide synergy effects thanks to our convenient sawn timber reloading options,” he added.
Said Cosic, the head of SETG’s wagon fleet, added that “valuable information from thousands of wagon analyses was valuable when designing the unit. We’re also happy to have found the right partner for production with Tatravagonka Poprad.”
Furthermore, the ‘Sflexwood’ complies with all TSI WAG, TSI Noise and UIC specifications, ERRI recommendations, AVV regulations as well as EN standard regulations, and has Y25Ls-K bogies for a wheelset load of about 22.5 t,” Cosic elaborated.
He also pointed out the optimised stanchion system with square plug-in stanchions together with adapted stanchion extensions, which make the system easy to operate and maintain and quick to dismantle.
Innovative and efficient
The technical steering system as well as the operating elements are located under the wagon on the lateral longitudinal beam and are thus protected from impact during loading and unloading.
Because the ’Sflexwood’ is made for wood its wagon floor is also made of 70 mm larch planks. This should ensure cost-effective maintenance and a long service life for the fleet. Moreover, the unit is prepared for the DAK.
Chief executive officer Gunther Pitterka is particularly proud of the fact that SETG has become the first private railway enterprise to put a newly-built stake wagon on the tracks.
“The fact that these robust stake wagons consume about 25% less energy than wagons that have end walls is a particularly valuable feature in these financially challenging times.”