Zeppelin rents hybrid excavator for high-speed railway project

Zeppelin Rental is supplying machines including the latest hybrid Caterpillar 336 ELN H excavator for earthworks on a new high speed railway between Wendlingen and Ulm.

The 336 ELN H is being used by earthworks contractor HEILIT + WOERNER – working with general contractor Hermann Kirchner Bauunternehmung GmbH – on an almost 7 km section of the new Deutsche Bahn railway that runs through the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb), a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg.

The excavator, rented from Zeppelin Rental’s Ulmer depot and part of the company’s ecoRent range of products, has recently been used to help build a bridge abutment and will also be working on the construction of embankments and acoustic barriers for the railway.

Zeppelin said the hybrid excavator uses 25% less fuel than the standard model. The system stores energy generated during swing, and then releases the stored energy for subsequent fuctions.

"The Deutsche Bahn sets high standards in terms of technology”, said senior project manager Matthias Bergmann, "The focus is on a reduced emissions of pollutants and low fuel consumption. By using the latest construction machinery from Zeppelin Rental we can meet these requirements."

Felix Tscholy, the HEILIT + WOERNER employee who is operating the machine, said fuel savings had been up to 10 l/hr; "I’m impressed, especially with the performance and lower fuel consumption at the same time, even though the wide variety of the subsoil and the onset of frost has made working conditions anything but easy.”

The new high speed railway is expected to be completed in 2021.