Rail Freight Services acquire new Volvo rehandler
Harlow-based rail contractor takes delivery of bespoke Volvo EC480D excavator
RAIL Freight Services Ltd have purchased a new Volvo EC480D excavator equipped with bespoke rehandling equipment for a long-term project, unloading rail wagons carrying London Clay at a terminus located in Northfleet, Kent.
The newly acquired excavator has been deployed as part of a team of similarly specified machines to help unload material up to five trains a day. The bespoke rehandling equipment (designed and manufactured by Ipswich-based Kocurek) includes: a 7.0m boom; a specially adapted dipper arm complete with under-slung cylinders; a 2.5 cubic metre Vantec rehandling grab with ejector bars and full rotation; and an additional 9,750kg counterweight.
To provide the operator with full visibility when unloading the rail wagons, the machine benefits from a hydraulic high-rise cab offering a lift height of 2m. Equipped with a Stage IIIB V-Act 13-litre engine, the EC480D develops 348hp and is well matched to its automatic sensing mode hydraulic system.
The machine also features an automatic idling system that reduces engine speed when the levers and pedals are not activated – aiding fuel efficiency and reducing external noise.
When only a single function is being used, the two-pump hydraulics system combines the flow of both pumps for quick cycle times and greater productivity. It can also prioritize flow according to the work being done – for example, to the boom for faster raising when loading or in deep excavations; or to the arm during levelling or swing during large slewing angles.
Commenting on the new machine, Rail Freight Services’ maintenance manager, Phil Bard, said: ‘We have a long experience operating Volvo products which has given us a high degree of reliability and longevity. When we decided to purchase the machine for this particular project, choosing the EC480D with all the service support and backup that we can rely on from Volvo, made perfect sense.’
The new EC480D excavator has been supplied with a Blue Volvo service agreement and joins 12 other Volvo excavators and loading shovels as part of Rail Freight Services’ overall fleet of 43 items of mobile plant.
