VTG Aktiengesellschaft and its project partner Chart Ferox presented the first tank wagon for transporting LNG in Europe under the brand LNG by Rail at a trade fair in Munich.
The tank wagon makes it possible to supply Europe with natural gas in future using rail transport regardless of the presence of pipelines, the companies said in a statement.
Heiko Fischer, CEO of VTG Aktiengesellschaft said, “three years from the project launch, the wagon has finally taken on physical form and can be touched and tested by customers and any other interested parties.”
VTG has developed and built two prototypes for transporting LNG by rail. Chart Ferox built the tank. It is fitted with insulation, which allows the liquefied natural gas to remain in the tank wagon for up to six weeks.
A vacuum has been created for the gas for this purpose between the inner tank and the surrounding outer tank. Special suspension and bearing technology for the inner tank inside the outer tank afforded particular effort in its development.
Extensive vibration calculations and tests needed to be performed by the VTG and the Chart Ferox designers for this purpose. In terms of capacity, two LNG tank wagons will replace four trucks and five tank containers on the road.
Operational authorization for the wagon was issued by the German Federal Railway Authority in mid-April of this year making now series production possible.
VTG has also signed a cooperation agreement with Brunsbüttel Ports to confirm their joint commitment to LNG as an environmentally-friendly energy source, the statement added.