On the evening of 9th July 2025, an exceptional transport operation started its journey at approx. 7:00 pm in the close vicinity of the Offenburg railway freight station. Its destination was the Offenburg-Weier transformer substation about 10 kilometres away which is being converted to a higher voltage level as part of the grid expansion project in south-west Germany. The STB 320 completed the demanding route in about three hours – including weight-sensitive bridge crossings, tight roundabouts and complex inner-city traffic routing.
Cornering performance: the SCHEUERLE STB 320 demonstrates excellent manoeuvrability, even on tight bends.
Tailor-made for transformer transport – optimised for critical infrastructures
The STB 320 was designed by TII SCHEUERLE specifically for the transportation of the heaviest transformers. As a priority, the goal was to create a modular, weight-optimised vehicle that could safely move maximum loads even under the most challenging of infrastructural conditions. The project was developed in close cooperation with Kübler Spedition – a long-standing user of TII technology – and is directly aimed at fulfilling the requirements that the network expansion places on modern heavy-duty technology.
The STB 320 successfully navigates the route through Offenburg, including several infrastructure-related bottle- necks.
In particular, the two bridge structures along the transport route – including the almost 80-metre-long cantilevered Kinzig Bridge – posed a special challenge. Conventional vehicles would not have been able to meet the static load limits in this case. However, thanks to its reduced dead weight and flexible axle configuration, the STB 320 facilitated a safe crossing – clear proof of the vehicle’s technical capabilities.
Precision on the move
The technical maturity of the new deck was already evident during coupling operations of the transformer at the freight station: thanks to hydraulically-adjustable auxiliary beams, the STB 320 could be positioned with millimetre precision. Throughout the journey, the vehicle made a very impressive case with its out-standing manoeuvrability and adaptability – including lifting and lowering functions to pass beneath a pedestrian bridge and swinging over high traffic islands.
Upon reaching its destination, the transformer was lowered precisely onto the prepared foundations by means of the on-board hydraulics – quickly, safely and without requiring the use of additional lifting equipment.
Making a strong contribution to the energy transition sector
The successful use of the STB 320 is an impressive demonstration of how innovative vehicle technology can contribute to the implementation of the energy transition programme. In view of the increasing demands in network and plant expansion, the STB 320 from TII SCHEUERLE offers a future-oriented solution for transformer transport under difficult conditions.
“With the STB 320, we have a transport solution that is perfectly tailored to meet the requirements of modern transformer transportation. The combination of a high load capacity, reduced axle load and flexible application options opens up completely new transport options for us – especially in infrastructure-sensitive locations. The successful first deployment has shown that we are ideally positioned for dealing with future challenges.” A summary echoed by the entire Kübler Spedition team.
