Just-in-time logistics

In Germany alone more than 2.5 million meters of long rails are transported annually. Vossloh organizes just-in-time rail shipments and offers comprehensive service for rail replacement.

Common rail types from established rail manufacturers are stored at our welding and processing plants. These primary products are welded together in stationary welding yards, and rail lengths, adapted for the rail construction site, are assembled, rail joints and insulated joints are manufactured directly at our works. Our fleet of long rail transport units and flat wagons are on standby – short-term and international, thanks to GPS.

Vossloh doesn’t just implement intelligent solutions for switch solutions, but also for logistic services.

These solutions cover the transport of pre-installed switches from the works with special switch transport wagons, which can transport diverse switch types and sizes on their inclinable loading area. In order to monitor the location of the transported switches, all transport vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking.

Thanks to the just-in-time delivery with immediate application on the construction site, the potential risk of wear and tear or damage to the switches is minimized, because these must not be unnecessarily stored on the line.

The proper unloading of the tracks or the pre-installed switch parts on site at the construction site along with the positioning are done with the aid of a rail crane, without additional assembly work at the construction site.

Alongside the preparation of the required infrastructure and equipment, Vossloh also takes responsibility for the entire logistic project management, which also includes transport and vehicle scheduling, the organization of the unloading times and returning of the empty vehicles. The related coordination and operational planning of work train locomotives, work train drivers, and the crane including the crane operator are also part of the service offer.

The Vossloh rail replacement production line includes the unloading, replacement and welding of new rails as well as removal of old rails as part of the standard service.

Vossloh also offers removal and tightening of rail fasteners, tension equalization and exchange of rail fastening pads from one source. The rail replacement system has numerous advantages over conventional processes. One characteristic example, is that the rail replacement on slab tracks for high-speed lines in sections was first possible through the system approved by Deutsche Bahn. Because these lines often have large cambers in the turns, two-way excavators are at risk of tipping.