Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd. recently completed the manufacturing of two (2) Rail Mounted Gantry Cranes for the Freightliner Terminal, Southampton. The Cranes are due for installation in august 2012 and are replacement cranes for existing cranes operating on site.

Each of the Liebherr gantry cranes has a span of 42.00m with an operational outreach of 21m on the wide leg side. Each crane will be capable of spanning 13 lanes. Seven lanes are being serviced by the current cranes. Lift height is 16.90m and safe working load is 40 tonnes under telescopic spreader. Each crane trolley is capable of slewing within a ±1900 range.

The Hoist has a speed of 23m/sec when fully loaded and 52m/sec under empty spreader. The crane will trolley at a speed of 70m/min when fully loaded and has a top travel speed of 100m/min.

The supply of these cranes will bring to 6, the number of RMG’s that Liebherr have supplied to Freightliner U.K. since 2008. The continued supply has been part of Freightliner’s on-going strategy to optimise productivity and efficiency at their terminals. It is envisaged that the cranes will eventually increase lift capacity by up to 80%, although the overall capacity will be increased in stages. The initial increase will meet the new demand driven by the recent gauge enhancements that has allowed 9’6 high cube containers to be hauled on standard wagons to the Midlands, Northwest and Scotland.

Both the Birmingham and Manchester terminals received upgrades to Liebherr cranes in recent years and these state of the art cranes are capable of productivity rates up to 35% more than the industry standard.

Speaking about the acquisition of these two Liebherr Cranes, Adam Cunliffe, Managing Director, Freightliner Ltd commented

“Freightliner remains the only rail freight operator to provide and continually invest within its supporting port and terminal network. The replacement cranes at Southampton represent the largest and most efficient port or terminal rail cranes in the UK. The cranes again confirm Freightliner’s unparalleled capital commitment to support its unique service offering, further enhancing the ability of our customers to reliably use rail as the preferred mode of choice for inland distribution.”