Made in Britain - VTG commissions first UK tank wagon build for Total
Birmingham, 28 July 2008. VTG has commissioned a multi million pound UK build of bogie tank wagons, as part of a long-standing relationship with multinational energy company Total.
Under the new deal VTG will replace Total’s current fleet of bitumen wagons with 30 innovative, British built vehicles, which will have a number of new features to make bitumen transportation more efficient.
The new, purpose built, tank wagons will be fitted with a higher level of insulation than the previous design to help reduce the heat loss from the bitumen, which is loaded at temperatures of between 160-180°.
The new design will also increase wagon payload to over 74 tonnes. Contributing to this are the Axiom TF25 bogies, which are lighter than previous models, allowing an extra tonne of payload per wagon.
Underpinning Total’s commitment to minimising the impact of their freight movements on local communities, the TF25 bogies will reduce the noise levels generated by the bitumen rail wagons, as they are substantially quieter than their predecessors.
The new wagons will also be fitted with a positive vent valve, which by opening simultaneously with the footvalve, will eliminate the need for operators to go on top of the wagons to open the manlids before discharge. Making the unloading process quicker and safer, the vent valve will also reduce any bitumen odour as it has a small surface area and will draw air into the tank as it discharges, rather than releasing bitumen vapours to atmosphere.
Three British companies will design and build the new tank wagons on behalf of VTG. Detailed design will be carried out by Lloyds Register Rail, with Clayton Commercials manufacturing the tanks and underframes, and Marcroft Engineering assembling and completing the wagons at their workshop in Stoke.
The wagons, which will be delivered in April 2009, will be used to transport bitumen from Total’s oil refinery in Immingham, North Lincolnshire to the bitumen processing and distribution plant in Preston, Lancashire.
Mike Linley, general manager at Total Bitumen said: “ We have drawn on both Total’s and VTG’s Europe wide experience of bitumen wagons to produce a design which will not only be more efficient, but safer to operate and more environmentally friendly,”
Paul Lugg, Tank Fleet Sales Manager at VTG Rail UK said: “We have had a long standing relationship with Total Bitumen and we are pleased to be able to supply them with new wagons that will be both more reliable and more efficient”.
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About VTG:
VTG Aktiengesellschaft is one of Europe’s leading rail logistics and wagon hire companies. With about 48,400 rail freight cars, VTG has Europe’s largest private wagon fleet. In addition to the hiring of rail freight cars, the Group offers global tank container transport and comprehensive multi-modal logistics services mainly around rail transport.
With the combination of its three interrelated divisions Wagon Hire, Rail Logistics and Tank Container Logistics VTG offers its clients a high-performance platform for international transport of their freight. The Group has many years of experience and specific know-how in particular in the transport of liquid and sensitive goods. Its customers include numerous well-known companies from almost all industrial sectors such as, for example, chemicals, mineral oil, the automobile or paper industries.
In the financial year 2007 VTG generated operating revenues of EUR 541.4 million and an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 137.0 million. Via its subsidiaries and affiliates the company, which has its head office in Hamburg, is mainly present in Europe, Asia and North America. As at 31 March 2008 VTG employed 831 employees worldwide in consolidated companies. Since June 2007 VTG AG has been listed on the official Prime Standard market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SCN: VTG999).
Press contact:
Andrea Geeson
Telephone: 01444 473588
Fax: 01444 473599
E-Mail: andrea@woodhousecommunications.co.uk
