Locomotive Workshop Rotterdam opened festively: new facility strengthens port positioning

LWR is a joint venture between locomotive manufacturer Siemens Mobility B.V. and train leasing company Mitsui Rail Capital Europe (MRCE). The workshop for preventive and corrective maintenance, inspections and updates - usually within a day's time frame - has eight parking tracks and six working tracks. It is connected to the railway network via a switch on the main track. Locomotives reach and leave the site on two parallel tracks. With a sliding bridge, incoming locomotives are placed on the right track. Before they enter the workshop, locomotives are first cleaned in a washing area where diesel locomotives are also welcome. On the silage wheel bench, the train wheels of high-speed locomotives can be precisely profiled to the nearest tenth of a millimeter.

Unique for a European locomotive workshop and a technical tour de force are the test tracks with overhead contact lines by Siemens on which all network voltages of railway lines in Europe can be applied. In this way, LWR is zooming in on the increasing demand for maintenance of technically complex cross-border locomotives. Olaf Kuijper, director of LWR: "We took a good look at people’s knowledge and know-how when putting together the team. We not only have selected specialists from the rail sector, but also people with a commissioning background and two former Apache helicopter mechanics. They operate with military precision and a high level of safety awareness, which is just as relevant on railways. Consider, too, the use of personalized tools. We have adopted this approach for our entire team, which has an open culture; address each other’s behavior and mistakes. As a young company in a relatively conservative sector, we do things just that little bit differently. There is a genuine sense of ownership." The locomotive workshop is suitable for all types of electric locomotives.

The port of Rotterdam is the starting and ending point of over 250 international rail transports per week. LWR's location eliminates the need for lengthy locomotive movements, saving both time and money. Kuijper continues: "What I would like to mention is the tremendous cooperation that ProRail and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have shown, such as making the site at Maasvlakte 2 available and connecting it to the existing railway network. Partly due to their cooperation this new top location has been realized so quickly." The design and construction of the workshop have already considered future extensions of the railway network around the site. This makes future expansion of capacity and facilities easily possible. To minimize the CO₂ footprint, solar panels have been installed on the roof of the workshop providing 50% of the energy requirement.