Our ZAGRO road-rail Unimog U 423 was invited to present its special capabilities to an audience of experts and guests of honour.
After several years of construction, the Research and Training centre "Zentrum am Berg" (ZaB) at Erzberg in the Austrian province of Styria celebrated its official opening. With more than four kilometres of underground workings, this is a unique facility in Europe for research and development in the fields of geotechnics and underground construction, as well as for education and training in the specialist areas of tunnel safety and underground construction. Not only the students at the University of Leoben as well as specialised companies in all areas of tunnelling, but also emergency organisations such as fire brigades have the opportunity to learn, research, test and train in the 1:1 scale tunnel laboratory.
On the day of the opening, ZAGRO demonstrated its Unimog U 423 road rail vehicle in action in the state-of-the-art railway tunnel to the amazed public and press. The special equipment of the U 423 with an automatic fire detection system as well as a fire extinguishing system for the engine compartment makes the ZAGRO U 423 an excellent choice for an underground operation. A special experience for the audience was the possibility to drive the ZAGRO U 423 through the tunnel by remote control from a safe distance and to stop it exactly at the place of operation by means of an 800-tonne wagon braking system also installed on board.
The ZAGRO team would like to thank Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. mont. Robert Galler and his team for the invitation to the opening of this facility, which is unique in Europe.
