Last week, two bright red ZAGRO E-MAXI M were delivered to Erfurter Verkehrsgesellschaft. The new owners proudly launched their battery-driven railcar mover into operation. The company has big plans. In the next 10 years, all 76 trams will be completely overhauled. The new railways should be bigger, more modern and more comfortable for the passengers. The electrical wiring will be replaced, and the interior equipped with LCD monitors, lighting via LEDs, air conditioning and sufficient seats. Furthermore, the multi-purpose area for strollers, wheelchairs and bicycles will be designed more generously.
Until final completion each tram must pass through various stations, including dismantling, installation and paint. This logistic challenge of moving the tram from one production station to the next is excellently mastered by our manoeuvrable ZAGRO E-MAXI M. Very small radii of 20 m are negotiated on a narrow gauge of 1000 mm.
The railcar movers prove to be very practical in everyday work and are easy to operate via radio remote control. Flexibility is the first preference. The ability to drive on the road, then pull in the flat area and start immediately with a shunting operation, saves a lot of time.
A heavyweight tram can easily be pulled or pushed into the depot at a high gradient. The "little" helpers replace the power of a whole tram. Thus, no tram must be taken out of circulation to transport the other tram to the depot.
In order to be able to move larger trailer loads, the two battery-driven railcar movers are coupled in master-slave combination. The vehicles are mechanically connected together with a coupling bar and electrically with a connecting cable. Each ZAGRO E-MAXI M gets its function: a master vehicle and a slave vehicle. In master-slave mode, the control is via the radio remote control of the master vehicle.
Plant manager and employees of the Erfurter Verkehrsgesellschaft are enthusiastic about the outstanding technology and are convinced of the timely completion of the large-scale project.
