DB Schenker Rail tests auto box
DB Schenker Rail Automotive said it has created a new box for the transportation of automobile parts from Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, Germany, to a new plant in Kaluga, Russia.
Beginning in April, the company will test the box — designed specially for the automobile industry by the experts at Schenker Automotive Railnet in cooperation with Volkswagen Logistics — before it decides in summer whether to begin series production.
The boxes, which resemble containers, offer an inside loading height of three meters, which is compatible with loading racks used in the automotive industry, whereas conventional containers have a loading height of just 2.69 meters. The boxes can hold up to 26.5 tons of material and can be transshipped either by cranes or mobile handling equipment. This means they can be transferred from the standard Central European gauge to the Russian wide-gauge carrying wagons by existing crane facilities.