Location: Mülheim, Germany
Market: Rail
Product: Type A & B Girder Clamps
Client: Deutsche Bahn AG

Deutsche Bahn AG is the largest railway operator and infrastructure owner in Europe and carries around two billion passengers on the German rail network annually. As part of their continued railway infrastructure investment programme in the North Rhine-Westphalia state Deutsche Bahn are modernising 150 stations by 2023.

Mülheim (Ruhr) Styrum railway station was identified by Deutsche Bahn as requiring work, in particular the two central platforms needed modernising. The proposed work included, redeveloping the platforms and raising them to achieve a step-free transition onto to trains, plus the installation of new canopies to protect passengers from inclement weather.

One of the challenges the contractor faced was how to secure steel beams to the loadbearing columns to construct a frame for the canopies to be fixed to without drilling or welding on site.

After researching and evaluating several connection methods, the CE approved Type A & B Girder Clamps by Lindapter were specified due to their high load capacity and range of independent approvals.

Engineers designed a four-bolt connection with location plate, that didn’t require onsite drilling or welding, to connect steel beams to the extended arms of the columns.

The design provided a suitable structure for fixing the canopy panels to, and for a high degree of corrosion protection a hot dip galvanised (HDG) finish was specified on the Girder Clamps.

After the loadbearing steel columns were installed along the length of the platforms, steel beams were lowered into position on top of the extended arms. The steel beams, which spanned from one column to the next, were connected using the location plate and four-bolt configuration consisting of Lindapter Type A & B clamps.

Installation was quick and easy as each bolt was simply inserted into the pre-drilled holes with the Type A holding the bolt captive while the nut on the Type B clamp was tightened with a torque wrench. To complete the installation the canopy panels were fixed to the steel beams.

Lindapter Type A & B Girder Clamps provided a drilling and weld free connection onsite that was quick and easy to install. The clamps are fully adjustable which gave the contractor the ability during installation to manoeuvre the beams into their final positions before fully tightening them. Redevelopment of the platforms were successfully completed on time and now provide a modern, safe and comfortable environment for passengers. Deutsche Bahn have since specified the same connection design on many other platforms throughout the country.

• Fully adjustable onsite for easy installation
• No drilling or welding required
• Hot Dip Galvanised finish offers a cost-effective and low maintenance solution