The tests of the rail containers took place at the Przyjaźń Coking Plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza, from where coke is transported to, among other places, the Port of Gdynia.
During the tests, the main aspect that was checked was the fit of the new type of railcars with the existing loading infrastructure at the coking plant. The innovative container trains on a single platform hold 2 containers with a total volume of 90 cubic meters, compared to the traditional railcars, which have a volume of 72 cubic meters. This will make it possible to increase freight weight by about 40 percent. Importantly, a train set of 44 platforms with 88 containers can carry 2,200 tons of coke at a time.
- Above all, the innovative railcars will contribute to increased efficiency. They will accommodate a greater volume of coke, and will also minimize losses associated with the operation of the railcars themselves and reduce the degradation of the coke, e.g. through the unloading method. Unloading will be based on tilting the container and dumping its contents, rather than aggressive unloading with bucket unloaders as before - points out Piotr Kiliszek, President of the Management Board of JSW Logistics, and adds: - Transportation will be more efficient and environmentally friendly. I am full of optimism and I hope the tests will go well.
The final stage of testing will involve transporting coke to the Port of Gdynia and checking the unloading infrastructure. The unloading of containers can be carried out in 3 ways: with a FUCHS-type bucket unloader, with a Kalmar-type forklift with the help of which the container is lifted and tilted along the horizontal plane of the container, and with a port crane with which the coal cars are unloaded. Representatives of the rail container company declare that unloading time can be reduced from 24 to 8 hours.
