References
Hamburg, RAILPOOL Maintenance Facility
January 29, 2025
RAILPOOL Lokservice GmbH & Co. KG operated a workshop building at its Hamburg-Billbrook site that was approximately 50 years old and was used for locomotive maintenance. To meet the technological and economic requirements of modern locomotives, the company decided to build a new facility. Within just eleven months of construction, Europe’s most modern locomotive workshop was completed and went into operation in September 2024. The Max Bögl Group, with its divisions for Building Construction, precast concrete plants, and transportation and equipment, was responsible for the structural work—including the roof and facade—as well as the specialized civil engineering work.
Following the demolition of the old workshop building, a three-track maintenance hall approximately 115 meters long was constructed, which includes a workshop, a wash bay, storage and technical rooms, as well as a three-story administrative building. All buildings were constructed using prefabricated elements and are founded on deep cast-in-place displacement piles. The workshop is designed to accommodate the simultaneous maintenance of up to seven locomotives and offers a wide range of services—from routine maintenance to comprehensive overhauls. The new facility was built with a clear focus on energy efficiency and sustainability. The building complex is connected to the City of Hamburg’s district heating network, and a photovoltaic system on the green roof provides the workshop with electricity on a seasonal self-sufficient basis. The office spaces are heated using waste heat from the workshop, which further optimizes energy use. Charging stations for the company’s own electric vehicles round out the sustainable concept.
- Scope of Work: Specialized civil engineering, structural work, roof, and facade
- Construction Method: Bögl hall system using precast elements
- Site Area: 7,800 m²
- Gross Floor Area: 4,500 m²
- Hall Area (Workshop): 3,200 m²
- Office space: 1,300 m²
- Stories: Ground floor (hall and offices) plus 3 upper stories
- Precast concrete elements: 640 m³
- Hall facade type: Aerated concrete wall panels
- Office facade type: Facing masonry
- Construction period: June 2023 to April 2024
RAILPOOL Lokservice GmbH & Co. KG
Grusonstraße 46
22113 Hamburg
- Solar Power: 15 kWp
- Green Roof: 2,500 m² of extensive greening
- Deep foundation using cast-in-place concrete displacement piles
- Construction of the hall beneath a 110 kV overhead power line
- Maintenance pits inside the hall
Photos: Max Bögl Group / Michael Penner