RheinCargo Begins Transporting Pipes for Future Lakes in Hambach and Garzweiler

Wedoany.com Report-Nov 20, Manufactured in Turkey and Algeria, the pipes arrive by sea at the port of Brake on the Lower Weser.

RheinCargo has started transporting large-diameter pipes for a pipeline that will supply water to planned lakes in the former Hambach and Garzweiler open-cast mines. Following the scheduled phase-out of coal mining in the Rhenish mining area, RWE Power aims to transform these sites into a forest and lake landscape.

A total of 9,120 pipes, each measuring eight or twelve meters in length with a diameter of 2.235 meters, are needed to construct a 45-kilometer pipeline between the Rhine near Dormagen and the mining areas.

From Brake, RheinCargo takes over the transportation by rail to RWE Power's site in Grevenbroich in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss region. Each block train carries 40 pipes, loading two pipes onto each wagon. Siemens Dual Mode hybrid locomotives are used for traction, enabling the use of on-board diesel engines in non-electrified sections without changing locomotives.

For this three-year project, RheinCargo has rented 45 special freight wagons, including two complete sets and five replacement wagons. The wagons are equipped with a special fastening system that has been thoroughly tested by RheinCargo's Railway Safety Department in collaboration with external experts.

One of the dual-mode locomotives has been specially branded with the slogan "Let the water flow." The first train from Brake has arrived, and the initial pipes have been unloaded in Grevenbroich. This marks the first time pipes of this size have been transported by rail in the region.