Liebherr-Aerospace Saline, Inc. is now also engaged in servicing transportation systems. The company has recently established a test area to service Liebherr’s leveling systems. By 2016, 706 rail cars will be equipped with these systems and delivered to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which operates the transit system of the Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois. The leveling system adjusts the boarding height of the vehicle to the station or platform the train approaches. The final assembly of the rail cars will be performed by Bombardier Transportation in Plattsburgh, New York.

Liebherr Aerospace Saline, Inc. provides technical support to Bombardier’s assembly line and at the rail vehicle operators’ facilities as well as in-house repair services. Over 40 maintenances have been performed to date.

Chicago Transit uses Liebherr hydraulic systems

The Chicago metropolitan area disposes of the second largest rail transit network in the USA. Efficient functioning of transport infrastructure is essential to meet the needs of the approximately 10 million inhabitants. For this reason, the Chicago Transit Authority has started to modernize its transit system and ordered 706 new vehicles from Bombardier Transportation. These 5000 Series trains are the first ones anywhere in North America to incorporate the active hydraulic leveling systems built by Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH, Germany. This is the biggest single order the company has ever won in the transportation sector.
Each system consists of one hydraulic unit, four hydraulically adjustable suspension struts between the running gear and the coach frame, four vertical dampers, a control device and a hydraulic storage cylinder, the latter serving as an energy source in case of fault. In addition to the supply and control elements for the level-adjustment system, the hydraulic unit incorporates an independent supply for the brake system including control and safety valves.

After the first leveling systems had been approved of by the customer in spring 2008, Liebherr started producing them in series.