Kögel Mega Rail Euro Trailer wins European transport award for sustainability

• Jury of experts is impressed by ecological and economic benefits of elongated trailer
• 3 metre extension and multimodality leave smaller ecological footprint

The 2018 European transport award for sustainability in the semi-trailer category goes to Kögel. On 30 November, the Kögel Mega Rail Euro Trailer won the sustainability prize awarded every two years by the newspaper “Transport”. The independent jury of experts, consisting of well-known figures from the world of economy and science as well as industry associations and media, recognised the outstanding potential of the volume semi-trailer, which has been extended by 1.3 metres: up to ten per cent fuel savings, up to ten per cent lower CO₂ emissions, multimodality and public acceptance. Managing Directors Petra Adrianowytsch and Thomas Eschey received the award on behalf of Kögel.

The newspaper “Transport” awarded the European transport prize for sustainability for the fourth time. The prize reinforces and helps companies from the commercial vehicle sector to operate sustainably and enforce the principles of sustainable product development even more resolutely. It demonstrates that responsible and sustainable operations not only help to solve social and ecological problems on a global scale but also increase the profitability and competitiveness of companies.

Greater sustainability – multimodality further reduces CO₂ figures

The Kögel Mega Rail Euro Trailer not only boasts a load volume of roughly 111 m^² and offers space for a total of 37 Euro pallets, it combines the ecological and economic benefits offered by a volume semi-trailer on the road with the flexibility and opportunities of combined traffic. When designing the Mega Rail Euro Trailer, the Kögel engineers have achieved something which had not been possible until now: Thanks to the FlexiUse body and sophisticated automatic axle stops, this volume semi-trailer extended by 1.3 metres is coded for transport on the popular T3000 rail pocket wagons. It is possible to transport the Mega Rail Euro Trailer on the railways thanks to a system with patent pending – a combination of swivel axles stops and a FlexiUse body. When folding up the underride guard as well by raising the trailer and loading onto the pocket wagon, the swivel axles trigger automation which uses compressed air to move the axle stops to the right position. The low-maintenance system ensures that the frame does not touch down on the pocket wagon. In addition to that, the body height at the front and back of the variable FlexiUse body can be adjusted independently of each other. This means that the maximum internal height for rail codification P400 can be precisely adhered to and the Mega Rail Euro Trailer fits onto every popular T3000 rail pocket wagon with a trestle height of 980 millimetres. Of course, the semi-trailer is also certified according to DIN EN 12642 Code XL and therefore also designed for transport on express freight trains with a speed of up to 140 km/h. However, multimodality not only means compatibility with rail transport. Optional RoRo equipment for accompanied or unaccompanied ship and ferry transport rounds off the range of flexible applications.

“This award clearly shows that we are not the only ones impressed by the sustainability of the elongated trailer”, says Thomas Eschey, Managing Director of Production and Technology at Kögel. “The coordinates have been set in the direction of the future, as Kögel has managed to create more volume, more flexibility and more efficiency on the railways with the extended Mega.”