Working along the entire train over 170 metres

The special aluminium construction, which is 6.30 metres long and six metres wide, consists of two individual side platforms, each 4.95 metres long and rigidly connected to each other via railing frame units, as well as a practical, five-metre-long transverse platform for front and roof work at the front. The maintenance platform on maintenance track W3 can travel along the entire train fully automatically for a total of 170 metres via rails specially installed in the floor.

The DB Regio AG roof working platform not only offers the highest level of safety for the railway employees, but also sufficient space to be able to carry out several jobs at the same time. "In future, up to four employees will be able to carry out the necessary work on the side or on the roof of the wagons at the same time. Of course, this means an enormous increase in efficiency for us, because the maintenance jobs can be completed many times faster than before," says Lutz Schmidt, the segment manager responsible for the maintenance of the passenger coaches at Verkehrsbetriebe Baden-Württemberg. With the help of the roof working platform from Günzburg, Schmidt and his staff make sure that the trains get back on track quickly and expensive downtime is avoided. "There is an enormous savings potential for the railway here," says Schmidt.

In the passenger coach workshop at sidings 32 in Stuttgart, all 450 passenger coaches of Verkehrsbetriebe Baden-Württemberg are serviced, with each of the single- or double-decker coaches being checked through at intervals of three to four weeks. The classic summer and winter checks are just as much a part of the work programme as the maintenance of the air-conditioning units, which are usually mounted on the roof, or the repair of windscreen wipers on the front of driving trailers. Because the work platform is equipped with four powerful HQI spotlights, maintenance work on the roof can now also be carried out during the night shift. "Previously, we had only ever done this on the day shift for safety reasons," says Schmidt. To be as flexible as possible, the roof working platform was designed to fit three different types of trains. This makes the use of the special construction from Günzburg particularly efficient, as expensive set-up times are eliminated.

When it came to the new investment in maintenance technology, Lutz Schmidt's main concern from the very beginning was "to increase the overall work safety for our maintenance team." Until now, the workshop staff had been using ladders and small lifting platforms to carry out maintenance work on the wagons at heights of several metres.

For the work on the roof, each individual had to rope up as if climbing a mountain and secure themselves from falling with the help of a safety line. "It's quite clear that these jobs in particular were not done so gladly. Now, with the roof working platform, no one really needs to have a queasy feeling any more," says Schmidt happily.

Even the ascent is comfortable. The workers can climb onto both the lateral and the integrated transverse platform from the ground. The way up is fully automatic via the integrated electric motors, controlled by joysticks mounted on the side. The platforms of the roof work platform can be extended to a maximum height of four metres. Particularly practical: the working platforms can approach the wagons to a gap dimension of zero, so that there is no gap between the platform and the outer skin of the train. This not only increases working safety, but also the working speed, because in future neither tools nor screws can fall down. There is a highly sensitive contact strip on the cross platform. As soon as it comes into contact with the train, the platform stops automatically. "This means that we can virtually rule out damage to the outer skin of the train. In addition, the risk of accidents and injuries for our team is reduced enormously," says Schmidt happily.

"Of course, we placed the highest value on absolute safety during the construction. Due to our many years of experience in the development of access equipment, we know exactly which details to pay attention to in order to minimise the risk of accidents," says Ferdinand Munk, Managing Director of Munk Günzburger Steigtechnik. The access technology specialist from Bavaria is one of Europe's most innovative and successful suppliers of maintenance platforms for commercial and rail vehicles. Maintenance platforms from Günzburg are not only used by railways in Germany. The electrically adjustable platforms are also in great demand internationally. Within two years, Günzburger Steigtechnik has doubled its sales of special constructions. And the trend is upwards.

A lot of safety features were integrated into the platform of the DB Regio in Stuttgart: All platforms have railings, and there are also two emergency ladders on the frame construction. As soon as the transverse platform on the front side is hooked in, the roof working platform can only be moved at the lowest travel speed of four metres per minute. The entry and exit of the train is controlled via red-green signals for the train driver.

Like all quality products from Munk Günzburger Steigtechnik, the DB Regio roof access equipment is a product "made in Germany", manufactured at the Munk Group's headquarters in Günzburg. Munk Günzburger Steigtechnik grants its standard 15-year quality guarantee on the platform, which has been tested by DEKRA.