Well car

Double-deck container wagons (English double stack car or stack car) and general low bed wagons (english well car (U.S.) or well wagon ( UIC) ) are a form of rail freight cars, which are similar to flat wagons used primarily as container wagons, but for loading are optimized with two stacked containers. For this purpose, the loading platform is lowered, and the lower container is set into a trough between the bogies.

Description

Container to be transported in double deck loading, goes back to deliberations at Southern Pacific Railroad ( SP), together with Malcom McLean, in 1977. In the same year the railway company responsible for ACF Industries to build special wagons. Initially, these double-deck container wagons were used only restricted to the railway company American President Lines decided in 1984 to take over this car form, and the first equipped with deep-bed flat car train route from Los Angeles ( California ) to South Kearny (New jersey) sailed - the so-called "Stack Train" ( stacking train ) operated the flight at regular intervals thereafter.

Double-decker container trains are to be found primarily in Canada and the United States, where they now take over 70 % of intermodal freight transport (especially to and from seaports ). They benefit from the fact that in North America, most routes are not electrified, as despite low bed wagons loading still need a double-decker container train a very high gauge.

CSX Transportation lists three categories for double-deck trains (measured above top of rail )

  • Bunk -1 with 5.54 m (18 ft 2 in )
  • Bunk -2 with 5.84 m ( 19 ft 2 in )
  • Double-deck 3 with 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in )

In the U.S., a number of railway lines currently (partly with government support ) modified for use with double-decker container trains. Since the extensive electrification is far ahead of the implementation of double-decker container trains, the contact wire depends on most electrified lines too low - one exception to this is especially India, where historically a very large gauge is applied and you are able to some freight lines to electrify with a contact wire at 7.45 m height. Normally, the broad gauge networks in India, Pakistan, Finland, Russia and Kazakhstan have been built with a contact wire to 6.50 m. The Indian trails in the Munda port special economic zone transport containers stacked even on normal flat cars. This is due to the broad gauge, while on standard gauge also low bed wagons are used to keep the center of gravity low.

Not Invited double-decker container train

Load of double-decker container trains in the APM Terminal Portsmouth in Virginia.

Outside of North America the following sections by double-decker container trains are operated:

  • Australia - double stack containers trains between Perth (Western Australia ) and Adelaide via Darwin to Parkes ( New South Wales) with 6.5 m high gauge.
  • India - Mundra Port used diesel trains and flat cars. Here also high cube containers can be transported in double deck loading. In the west corridor between Jawaharlal Nehru Port ( JNPT ) near Mumbai and Delhi, a double-deck container transportation is planned with electric traction. For this, a 25 kV 50 Hz electrification and a contact wire height of 7.54 m above the rail is provided. The infrastructure to be used for train lengths of 1500 m and a gross weight of 13,000 tons.
  • China - double-decker container trains are also operated with 25 kV to standard gauge. These were originally just a standard ISO 8'6 " container along with a reduced height 8'0 " Container - even after the upper line is raised, you can indeed two ISO containers stacked but not two 9'6 " hi- cube container.
  • Panama - The Panama Canal runs parallel to the Panama Canal Railroad used diesellokbespannte double-deck container wagons on its standard gauge track.

In Europe the lower loading gauge allows no such container trains. The nominal height of the contact wire is 5.00 to 5.75 m with tolerances up to 6,50 m ( EN 50119 ). The TSI specifies that the pantograph in the range from 4.8 to 6.5 m (clearance GC) or 4.5 to 6.5 m must ( gauge GA / GB) function, corresponding to the low British loading gauge less. The experience from China and Australia show that an efficient two-tier transport the contact wire height above top of rail should be at least 6.5 m.

BNSF Railway Kamloops Portsmouth (Virginia)
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