On September 9, 2005, Hupac celebrated the opening of the bigger and better Busto Arsizio-Gallarate Terminal, north of Milan, as the “heart" of the Shuttle Net system.
With an overall surface of 250,000 m2, this facility has an operational capacity of 30 pairs of Shuttle Net trains per day, equal to the daily transshipment of 1,500 road shipments. The Busto Arsizio-Gallarate Terminal is one of the most advanced intermodal centres in all of Europe for the transhipment of freight traffic from the road to rails. The facility is the result of the expansion of the Busto-Arsizio Terminal, which dates back to 1992. The expansion project was entrusted to the Hupac Intermodal SA Engineering team on behalf of the Hupac Termi S.p.A affiliate.
Sitting in pole position
The Busto Arsizio-Gallarate Terminal is an ideal interface for road-rail transshipment. It is strategically located in one of the major economic areas of Europe just 20 km from Milan and 15 km from the Milano Malpensa Airport. It can be reached directly from the motorway, allowing heavy road vehicles to reach the trains easily and then to continue rapidly on their way to their final destination. Each day, 40 trains connect this site with Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moreover, it is a gateway platform for the Italian and trans-Alpine networks: the load units from the south are transferred onto shuttle trains directed towards central-northern Europe and vice-versa.
A territory to be safeguarded The expansion was designed in consideration of the local flora and fauna. In order to contain the periodic flooding of the Rile and Tenore streams, a hydraulic-environmental embankment was constructed after obtaining the earth from excavations for the construction of two basins. These basins have also been designed with a humid area, a peculiar biotype of the original heaths typical of this territory.
Safety first The project has given ample consideration to safety, even under extreme conditions, and the measures adopted respect and in many cases surpass those required by law. One of the more important safety devices is the divisible sewer system. In case of leaks of substances during rainfall, the polluted waters are separated from other waters headed towards the sewer system by channelling them into a retention tank that is isolated with sluice gates.
Total protection While active safety is entrusted to the quality of the operational processes, operator training, and the company emergency squad, passive safety is important with regards to effective provisions for: protection of the underlying water table control of runoff into the municipal sewer system and the biotypes regulation of the internal railway and road circulation safety in the movement of loads by means of electric cranes protection against short circuits and fires perimeter control by means of infrared anti-intrusion system centralized electronic control of all the safety systems flood protection embankments.
Efficient railway management: In order to manage train traffic, the Terminal is equipped with an electronic signalling system and a railway circulation command control that organises all railway routing according to an automatic sequence of interactive controls. The controls regard the setting up of signals, the regulation of level crossings, and the interfacing with cranes in order to avoid incorrect or dangerous movements. In the future, this system will manage the circulation even on the Gallarate “pick-up/delivery” tracks.
In addition to being included in the Euronorms S.I.L. 3 safety class, the facility offers evident advantages for productivity (possibility of contemporary activities, accelerated movement) and a rational use of human resources.
The latest in gantry cranes The Terminal is equipped with 6 electric gantry cranes on rails, featuring a new design and new technological conception, guaranteeing cutting-edge performance: portal translation speed 140 m/minute, raising and lowering of load 30 m/minute, automatic reading of the load unit position on the yard, interfacing with GOAL software for quick searches and a safe pick-up of the units, interfacing with the ACS system to avoid contemporary movements of cranes and trains, software for the remote reading of diagnostics and production data. The actual weight of each crane is approximately 15% less than traditional ones, resulting in considerable energy savings. Moreover, these cranes feature a device capable of exploiting kinetic energy during the lowering of the load and braking of the gantry, transforming it into new electrical energy to be restored to the network.
protection of the underlying water table