Railway technology for Bremer Straßenbahn AG Roof working platform with controllable gap bridging
In its approximately 30 years of service, a tram covers an average of 1.8 million kilometres. To ensure that every kilometre is covered safely, trams have to be regularly serviced and - if necessary - repaired. And to ensure that the technicians working on, under and above the vehicle can move safely, railway technology from Blumenbecker is used.
The city in the north of Germany lies on both sides of the Weser and is known for its musical animals and a UNESCO World Heritage city centre. A popular means of transport meanders between maritime flair, fairy tales and picturesque history. Bremer Straßenbahn AG - BSAG for short - takes residents and tourists alike to their destinations. Every day, almost 300,000 people travel on one of the modern buses or trams.
»You start with the working pit in order to plan the roof working platform perfectly.«
Hendrik Henicke, Project leader
Service workshop at the Flughafendamm headquarters
Buses and trams are parked here for general inspections, wheel changes, overhauls and major repairs. Blumenbecker has carried out several projects here since 1995. The largest of these was the planning, construction and installation of three roof working platform strings for trams in the newly built hall. Originally, only one vehicle model was to be repaired and maintained here. Then the decision was changed so that the roof working platforms would be suitable for two different models.
The subsequently planned gap bridging required both sides to be well harmonised. In addition, the customer wanted a platform without studs. ‘You start with the working pit in order to plan the roof working platform perfectly,’ says Hendrik Henicke, project manager at Blumenbecker Technik GmbH. The result was a steel construction with controllable gap bridging. At Blumenbecker, this type of gap bridging is also known as the ‘bone principle’. At the touch of a button, the gap bridging device, a kind of tread strip, swivels horizontally along the entire length of the steel construction towards the vehicle and automatically switches off the infeed movement by means of a contact strip.
»They know what they're doing. You know what you're getting: quality at a fair price.«
Rüdiger Brenke, Service workshop manager, BSAG
Service workshop at the headquarters Flughafendamm
The new service hall was inaugurated at the end of 2019. Since then, the trams have been serviced there on three tracks. ‘BSAG has been our customer for a long time. Until now, however, we had only handled smaller projects for them. This was the first major project,’ reports Henicke proudly. Rüdiger Brenke, workshop manager at BSAG's service workshop at its headquarters in Flughafendamm, sums it up: ‘Blumenbecker is reliable and competent. We have enjoyed a good and trusting partnership for years.’
Key data on the project
| 36 m long roof working platform with 3 tracks
| 39.5 tonnes of steel construction
| 45 m railing | 90 m fence length
| Approx. 200 m² area
| 216 m safety edges
| 6 front guardrails with vertical and 6 m lengthwise traversing
| Gap bridging for different vehicles with an infeed of up to 500 mm
Climbing onto the roof
Since the first major order, several orders have been received from BSAG. Blumenbecker planned and installed front fall protection systems that were customised to the client's requirements. To increase the safety of the technicians, BSAG also commissioned Blumenbecker to install fencing. A fencing system from Axelent was retrofitted between the roof working platform strands.
The advantage: greater safety and, as all the fences were planned and erected according to the same principle, the technicians can find their way everywhere, even when they enter the platform for the first time. ‘Blumenbecker worked closely with us to find solutions that were exactly right for us and our needs. The conversions went smoothly, even during ongoing operations,’ explains Rüdiger Brenke.Auxiliary bogies were also ordered. They are the centre of gravity for the wheels. While the trams are in the workshop, the technicians usually remove the bogies.
They therefore needed ‘spare wheels’, also known as auxiliary bogies. And that's what they got. Brenke's verdict on his supplier is a round one: ‘They know what they're doing. You know what you're getting: quality at a fair price.’ One thing is certain in railway technology: safety is important, for both man and machine. The technicians must be able to move safely in their work. So that almost 300,000 people will continue to travel safely through Bremen on BSAG vehicles every day.
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