RAILPOOL inaugurated Europe’s most modern electric locomotive workshop

RAILPOOL Group, one of Europe’s leading rail vehicle rental companies, opened Europe’s most modern locomotive workshop in Hamburg Billbrook in the presence of Dr. Anjes Tjarks, Senator for Transport and Mobility Transition of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The workshop is operated by RAILPOOL Lokservice GmbH & Co. KG, part of the RAILPOOL Group.

The company has invested more than 20 million euros in this major project, with the aim of strengthening Hamburg’s rail freight hub. RAILPOOL Lokservice is currently the only private company in the Hamburg metropolitan area that offers and carries out maintenance work on electric locomotives.

Torsten Lehnert, CEO of RAILPOOL: “With the new built structure, we are underlining our willingness to invest in the maintenance of locomotives and thus further strengthening the reliability of our full-service rental business. By expanding our maintenance capacities, especially for heavy maintenance, we can ensure the quality of our vehicles even better. As the largest rail vehicle rental company in Germany, we are very proud to open the workshop doors for full operation today.”

The expansion will create up to 40 new jobs. At the same time, RAILPOOL Lokservice is taking responsibility for the qualification of young talent and has been an apprenticeship training company since the beginning of September. With perfected workshop processes, spacious workshop halls, extensive storage areas, state-of-the-art work equipment and future-proof office and training areas, the aim is to set new standards in terms of quality and efficiency.

Up to seven locomotives can be worked on at the same time. The wide range of services includes both operational maintenance work and overhauls. At the heart of the new site is the reprofiling facility.

The new building with a floor space of around 4,000m2 was constructed in an energy-efficient manner and with the aim of achieving the greatest possible sustainability: the building complex is connected to the city’s district heating network and the entire roof area is covered in greenery. A photovoltaic system with an output of over 60kW will supply the workshop with self-sufficient electricity on a seasonal basis. Charging points for the company’s own electric vehicles are also planned.

Anjes Tjarks, Senator for Transport and Mobility Transition of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: “This new, state-of-the-art workshop in Billbrook will significantly expand capacities for the maintenance of electric locomotives and further strengthen Hamburg as a hub for rail freight transport. It is a building block of the mobility turnaround to bring more hinterland traffic onto the rails in order to relieve traffic in the Hamburg metropolitan region. The fact that the new workshop was built using energy-efficient construction methods with a green roof and photovoltaic system demonstrates the company’s sustainable business practices. It is an all-round future-oriented package and I am delighted that it has found its home here in Hamburg.”

After a record construction time of just nine months, a section of the hall for carrying out overhauls on locomotives was partially put into operation in April 2024. The total construction time until the opening for full operation was just 14 months.

The total area of the workshop site is 15,000m2. The complete electrification of the track section up to the workshop hall is currently being planned and will complete the sustainability efforts as part of the new construction project with the resulting independence from diesel shunting locomotives.

The project was also made possible by the municipal funding program “Hamburg Green Roof Funding” of the Hamburg Investment and Development Bank (IFB Hamburg). A funding commitment from the “Companies for Resource Protection” program for the electrification of the section to the workshop hall has been received.

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