Rolling highway of the future
HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering GmbH, a company of the HÖRMANN Group,presented an innovative carrier wagon concept for the RoMo (Rolling Road) at TRAKO in Gdansk, Poland. The trade fair is the largest trade fair for rail vehicles after InnoTrans and focuses on the Eastern European region. Exhibitors showcase modern transportation systems and major future investments in the sector. "Using the example of a virtual streetcar, which can be walked through with the help of VR glasses, and a scale model of an articulated train for the rolling highway, we demonstrated the range of our overall vehicle expertise in the transportation of people and goods," reports Stephan Gruss, Project Manager for RAMS at HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering. Frank Salzwedel, Managing Director of HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering, adds: "In discussions with customers, we were able to develop further ideas for new projects with our service portfolio."
Articulated train concept for RAlpin AG
RAlpin commissioned HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering to develop an innovative low-floor carrier wagon for transporting trucks by rail - an articulated train concept for the Rolling Road. The Rolling Road is a transportation system for accompanied, combined transport by rail. It is a special train in which complete trucks are transported by rail. This allows drivers to take driving time breaks on the route from Germany through Switzerland to Italy and, in future, electric trucks can be charged during transportation.
The new articulated train concept is a system in which articulated trains are positioned with a minimum distance of 0.3 meters between wagons. The articulated train consists of several modules, the so-called workshop unit. The modules are made up of different, short wagon bodies that are connected to each other via joints and are supported by these joints on the bogies. The innovative feature is that the transport capacity is increased by four articulated trains compared to existing RoMo vehicles - with the same train length. "The cross-trailer transport of the trucks also makes gigaliners possible," says Frank Salzwedel. A gigaliner is a large motor vehicle with a length of around 25 meters.
VR glasses bring the streetcar concept to life
In addition to the articulated train concept, the employees of HÖRMANN Vehicle Engineering presented a streetcar concept at the trade fair with the help of VR glasses. In cooperation with the Chair of Ergonomics and Innovation Management at Chemnitz University of Technology, visitors were able to immerse themselves in the virtual world of a streetcar prototype. This not only creates an experience that fascinates and increases the imagination, it also simplifies the decision of formal design variants and saves the costs of elaborately designed demonstrators.
The virtual model is used in the development process to carry out user-related optimizations, for example by means of ergonomics and usability studies or acceptance and design evaluations. "Our VR glasses inspire employees and customers alike and were the highlight of the trade fair stand," says Stephan Gruss.
