Automation contract completed

Rail freight manufacturer Astra Rail/Greenbrier Europe and leasing company Nacco have supplied GB Railfreight with 50 hopper wagons to support the biomass haulage contract awarded by Lynemouth Power. Each with a payload of 70t, these auto-loading and discharging wagons run in two rakes (coupled groups) of 24 between the Port of Tyne and Lynemouth Power Station, delivering 37,000t of biomass per week.

The Rotork design for auto-loading and discharging enables all controls, hand valves and visual indicators to be located in one place, providing safe and convenient access. Top and bottom hopper doors are operated by a magnetic sensor valve from a lineside magnet. This allows any wagon in the rake to be the arming wagon.

The fully automated control system enables quicker loading and unloading, requiring only supervision without manual intervention during operation. The design also allows wagons to be separated and used in other rakes without any further configuration.