Rail mounted gantry crane or RMG crane, is commonly used for the quick, safe and automated handling of containers. The crane provides high performance, reliability, low operating costs and low energy consumption, playing a key role in facilitating the operations of yard stacking. The gantry crane can be designed with a wide range of capacities and sizes to accommodate different container capacities. The span of the crane is designed according to the rows of containers that need to be crossed.

Parameters of Rail Mounted Gantry Crane
- Load capacity: 30-50t
- Span: 18-35m
- Lifting height: 12.3-21m
- Lifting speed: 9.2-12.5m/min
- Trolley running speed: 45-56m/min
- Crane running speed: 42-50m/min
- Work duty: A6-A8
- Custom designs available
Applications Of Rail Mounted Gantry Crane
RMGs are special gantry crane equipment, commonly found in intermodal and container terminals, railway freight yards, container yards, etc., to handle large containers. The crane has fast running speed and high working level, gives exceptionally smooth operation and speeds up the turnover of the container carrier or other cranes. According to your specific application, we will design the most suitable gantry crane system to maximize your work efficiency and safety.
Features And Advantages of RMG Container Cranes
- Suitable for various yard conditions – the rail mounted container gantry crane has a relatively large span, and generally can accommodate 8 to 15 rows of containers stacked iwithin the span, and multiple lanes can also be placed in the span, so that the yard space can be better utilized.
- Increased productivity – rail-mounted gantry cranes are conducive to the installation of various devices for intelligent control and automated operations, such as storage systems, retrieval systems, accurate spreader positioning systems, anti-sway systems, etc., coupled with the use of high-speed travelling mechanism design, which greatly improves the working efficiency of the RMG crane.
- Low energy consumption – since the rail mounted gantry crane is driven by electric energy, it has certain advantages in terms of energy saving, noise reduction, and waste reduction.
- Stable operation – in order to meet higher requirements for use, the electric drive control system adopts thyristor DC or AC speed regulation drive control system to achieve better speed regulation and control performance. The electrical control system can also adopt conventional AC eddy current speed regulation control or AC stator voltage regulation and speed regulation drive control system.
Rail Mounted Gantry Crane Design To Meet Your Requirements
- Generally, the RMG container crane is suitable for yard stacking of containers with 3-4 layers and 6 rows wide. It can be custom designed and manufactured to meet your individual needs in a variety of different stacking heights and spans.
- According to the site condition, the container storage and transportation process, and the loading and unloading vehicles, the rmg rail mounted gantry crane can adopt different structural forms: without cantilever, single cantilever and double cantilever.
- The power supply can be cable reels or slip line to reduce your operating costs and be energy-efficient.
- The container gantry crane is designed with remote and automatic control, which ensures a safe and more efficient operation.
- The number of wheels and drive mechanisms can be customized according to your specific application.
- All in all, backed by professional engineers, we can tailor the gantry crane to meet each and every requirement of customers.

The Structure of Rail-mounted Container Gantry Crane
- The metal structure of the rail-mounted container gantry crane generally adopts a box structure.
- Main beam structure. The main beam structure consists of two box girders supported on rigid and flexible legs. The connection between the main girder and the rigid leg adopts high-strength bolts or welding, and the connection between the main beam and the flexible leg adopts a hinged connection. For the convenience of installation, the connection between the main beam and the end beam is generally connected by high-strength bolts.
- Gantry leg structure. Both rigid and flexible legs adopt box-shaped structure. For rail-mounted container gantry cranes with small and medium spans, the skew force on the legs and main girder caused by the asynchronous operation of the two sides of the crane is borne by the rigid and single-degree-of-freedom hinged connection between the main girder and the rigid and flexible legs. For large-span RMG cranes, the connection between the flexible legs and the main girder adopts a three-degree-of-freedom hinged connection, and a synchronous detection device is provided.
- Trolley structure. The structure of the running trolley is different depending on whether the hoisting mechanism is a wire rope drum type or a telescopic rigid frame type. Generally, a combined structure of box girder and plate truss is adopted. The driver’s cab, electric control cabinet, festoon cable, etc. are all connected to the trolley structure.
- Auxiliary structure. Auxiliary structures include electrical room structures, railings, walkways, maintenance platforms, etc.
- In addition to the special selection of the lifting mechanism of the rail-mounted container gantry crane, the running mechanisms of the trolley and the crane are basically the same as those of other types of overhead cranes and gantry cranes.
- Lifting mechanism. There are two types of hoisting mechanisms: the wire rope drum type and the the rigid telescopic hoisting mechanism.
- Trolley running mechanism. The trolley running mechanism consists of DC or AC motor, gear coupling, block or disc brake, medium-hard tooth surface reducer, low-speed gear coupling, wheels and wheel supports. The arrangement of the driving mechanism is generally divided into two ways: along the direction of the trolley track and perpendicular to the direction of the trolley track.
- Crane running mechanism. The structure and form of the RMG crane running mechanism are similar to other types of gantry cranes. Due to the fast running speed of the RMG gantry crane, in order to prevent the wheels from slipping when braking, an electrical control system with good speed regulation performance is generally used, such as thyristor DC voltage regulation, AC frequency conversion speed regulation, AC stator speed regulation, etc.
- Slewing device. For the wire rope drum type hoisting mechanism, the plane slewing mechanism can be composed of wire rope, pulley block, wire rope connection joint and hinge point, rocker arm and support, push rod, etc. For the rigid telescopic lifting mechanism, the spreader can not only rotate in the plane through power, but also float vertically and horizontally (without power) to adapt to the inclination of the upper plane of the container.
- Anti-swaying device. If it is necessary to install anti-swaying devices for rail-mounted gantry cranes, two forms are generally used: when the lifting mechanism is a wire rope drum type, the anti-sway device is pulled by two diagonal thin steel cables, one end is connected to the corner of the spreader, and the other end is wound to the damping drum. When the trolley or crane starts or brakes, the inertia force of the spreader and the container is transmitted to the damping steel wire rope, its swing energy will be absorbed by damping drum; rigid anti-sway device. It is mainly realized by the rigid lifting frame and guiding device.
A More Cost-effective Alternative to RMG Cranes – Standard Gantry Cranes
If you work on a tight budget and a dedicated rail mounted gantry crane is far beyond your budget, then Aicrane can recommend a more cost-effective alternative for your business – a standard double girder gantry crane equipped with container spreader. We have rich experience in providing such cost-effective container gantry crane solutions, which greatly reduce investment costs for customers while ensuring container handling efficiency.
A Project Case in Chile
Located in a railway freight yard in Chile, the project includes two Aicrane 60-ton European standard double girder gantry cranes equipped with container spreaders to improve container handling efficiency.
In the process of communicating with the customer, he said that his budget was very tight, so it might be difficult to afford a professional rail mounted gantry crane we offered. Therefore, after our project consultant fully communicated with him about his lifting requirements and the parameters of the railway gantry crane, we recommended to him the solution of a general-purpose double-girder gantry crane equipped with a container spreader, which also fully met the customer’s requirements and budget.
How to Operate and Control a Rail Mounted Gantry Crane?
The automated rail mounted gantry crane is operated by the driver operating the console in the cab. The cab is generally suspended under the trolley and runs with the trolley.
All operations of the rail mounted gantry crane can be realized on the console of the cab. It can also be operated on the side of the crane to facilitate the temporary shifting of the crane. When operating on the running side of the crane, it realizes electrical interlocking with the main operating console.
The drive control of rail-mounted container gantry cranes can adopt different methods according to the needs of users, including conventional AC with eddy current speed regulation brake system; AC stator voltage regulation speed regulation system; thyristor DC constant rate speed regulation system and AC frequency conversion speed regulation system, and different electric drive control systems can be adopted according to different mechanisms.
Why Buy A Rail Mounted Gantry Crane From Aicrane?
Aicrane focuses on the design and manufacture of various lifting equipment for many years. We offer productive and economical lifting solutions, service and support to meet each individual needs of customers and maximize their productivity and profits. We also make continuous improvement on our products and service to make all our valued customers fully satisfied.
Pre-sales support
We have a professional technical team to help you solve any problem you have and propose the most suitable and cost-effective solutions according to your specific application.
Supply of quality products
We build the cranes with high quality components, as well as in line with strict quality standards. Each style of crane is specifically designed and built to meet your business demands.
Perfect after-sales service
We offer a wide range of after-sales service including the equipment installation, commissioning, acceptance, staff training, 12-month warranty to help clients get started quickly and smoothly. Our service is available at 24/7. If you have any questions about rail mounted gantry crane or want to get a free quotation from us, please feel free to contact us!
Tell Us What You Need
Interested in our RMG cranes or want to get a reasonable rail mounted gantry crane price? Don’t hesitate to contact Aicrane. You can either fill out the contact form below, send us an email or WhatsApp us to let us know some basic information about the gantry crane you need, which is very important for the right proposal. After receiving your inquiry, our project consultant will get in touch with you as soon as possible to provide gantry crane solutions and quotations for your project!