Innovative doors in a modern workshop

This is possible because the overhead conductor rail can be continued into the interior of the building through a contact wire cut-out - just one of the design advantages of the ten huge high-speed folding doors from Efaflex.

In future, 25 DB Regio Bayern local trains will be serviced, repaired and cleaned daily in the 220 x 56 meter hall. And that every three hours. However, DB Regio's list of tasks for the gates contained considerably more requirements, explains project manager Stéphan Belly. A contact wire cut-out was important, but at approx. 60 x 60 cm in size, it let too much cold air into the hall. For this reason, the square cut-outs in the doors are each filled with a tested insulating panel. They close the cut-out and at the same time prevent electrical flashover onto the door. In agreement with DB Regio, the high-speed folding doors and the four high-speed spiral doors for material delivery are earthed in accordance with DB guidelines. This prevents the door from being live in the event of damage, for example.

"We have already had good experiences with these doors in our outdoor cleaning facility in Munich Laim and in the new DB Regio workshop in Nuremberg," says Stéphan Belly. "Inside the workshop, we have to maintain a working temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius and have to meet high noise protection requirements for local residents. This means that the hall has to be closed again as quickly as possible after each entry and exit. This is where the high running speed of the doors comes in very handy." Even an EFA-SFT that is several meters wide and high achieves opening speeds of up to 2.5 m/s.

Enormous size of the doors poses special construction challenges

High-speed spiral doors were also installed in the workshop.

Reliability is also important for DB Regio. "If we can't open a door, there will be delays in maintenance and this ultimately leads to delays in rail operations," adds the project manager. Because the folding doors are enormous in size at 4,700 mm and 5,000 mm wide and 7,000 mm high, they are fitted with a special inlet baffle in the middle of the floor. The metal plate anchored in the floor takes up the lower "door corners" and fixes them in place. This gives the doors greater stability against wind loads and provides optimum protection against break-ins.

A special light grid replaces the light barrier and ensures that none of the gates close if, for example, the space between the carriages is parked at the closing level when a train stops. The cover of the opener box is designed to be easy to maintain.

The basic construction of the EFA-SFT doors used in the tensile workshop is made of steel. The door leaves made of anodized, corrosion-free aluminium are fitted with double-skin insulating glazing and therefore offer excellent thermal insulation. The customized glazing bar arrangement allows plenty of daylight into the building and is optimally adapted to the façade. The special electric drive ensures fast, reliable and long-lasting usage cycles for Efaflex high-speed folding doors. Powder coating of all door systems ensures that the doors are recognizable from afar in the red of DB Regio.

Opening via pushbutton from the locomotive

The ten folding gates and four high-speed spiral gates are integrated into the safety system. If a train driver wants to drive into the hall, he can open the corresponding door using one of the push buttons, which are mounted at different heights on each track.

Five tracks are now available for work on the trains. The fifth track, the one for the long-term work, will be equipped with a lifting system that can lift an entire train at once to enable work on bogies and wheels. Four-metre-high roof working platforms enable maintenance to be carried out simultaneously on several levels. This means that the trains are in the workshop for a shorter time and back in service more quickly. Material for repairs is stored directly on site. A semi-automated mobile racking system enables equipment and goods to be stored in the smallest of spaces.

About Efaflex

Efaflex, the specialist for high-speed industrial doors, has been listed in the World Market Leader Index since January, making it one of the 461 top companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With a wide range of high-speed doors, Efaflex offers technologies for industry, trade, food production and the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. With a total of 1,200 employees, the company is active across all sectors. Headquartered in Bruckberg, Bavaria, Efaflex is the largest employer in the region. The company also taps into international markets with ten subsidiaries on five continents.

The total of twelve high-speed doors from door specialist Efaflex fit in with the ecological concept of the 50 million euro project, which also has other technical refinements. The hall's underfloor heating is powered by geothermal energy. This reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent. LED lighting in the building ensures savings of up to 30 percent.

dbregiowerke.deutschebahn.comwww.efaflex.de