ProRail, the Dutch rail infrastructure manager, awarded Siemens Mobility a EUR 110 million contract to modernise and optimise the Kijfhoek freight railyard, the largest yard in the Netherlands.
The contract includes providing a state-of-the-art fully automated system to manage yard operations and 15 years of maintenance services.
Siemens Mobility will provide its Trackguard Cargo MSR32 automation solution, which will allow the yard to operate its marshalling and humping operations with a high degree of efficiency, reliability, and safety. In addition, the highly digitalised maintenance services will improve general operations and reduce the overall life cycle costs.
The project is intended to start in mid-2023 and to be completed in 2024. Kijfhoek will continue to operate at least 50 per cent of capacity during this work.
“With the modernisation of the systems we are investing in the safety and availability of Kijfhoek for the coming decades. Kijfhoek is an important hub for rail freight transport, where wagons are sorted quickly, efficiently, and safely. Through this project, we facilitate the growth of rail freight transport in the future,” Ans Rietstra the COO of ProRail said.
Trackguard Cargo MSR32 is a proven system specifically designed to efficiently manage and organise the movement of rail cars in freight yards. It allows for the rationalisation of operational sequences at all levels, from train arrival to train departure, and provides the maximum possible automation of all work cycles and humping operations. This includes the route and speed control units for all points, retarders, and propelling systems, as well as the radio-based integration of the humping locomotive to closely manage the humping speed.
Located south-east of Rotterdam, the Kijfhoek freight railyard encompasses 50 hectares, with 14 arrival tracks, 41 classification tracks and 12 stabling tracks. The marshalling yard is a vital link between the Rotterdam ports and major industrial areas in Europe.
The yard was completed in 1980, and in 1999 Siemens Mobility installed the existing MSR32 system and in 2007, the marshaling yard entered substantially modernisation with the commissioning of the Betuweroute.
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