Polish PKP Railway Lines awarded Plasser & Theurer a contract for the supply of eight modern track machines which will be used for maintenance and construction of new infrastructure.
PPM-T from Gdańsk, PNUiK from Kraków, Dolkom from Wrocław and ZRK-DOM from Poznań are PLK’s subsidiaries which will benefit the innovative equipment.
Pomorskie Przedsiębiorstwo Mechaniczno-Torowe (PPM-T) acquired RPM 1000 and Unimat 09-4×4/4S Dynamic tamping machine for tracks and turnouts, the Railway Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance Company LLC (PNUiK), Zakład Robót Komunikacyjnych – DOM and Dolnośląskie Przedsiębiorstwo Repair Infrastruktury Komunikacyjnych (Dolkom) purchased two USP 2000 C2 universal ballast regulating machines while Dolkom purchased additionally the Unimat 08-4×4/4S tamping machine for the maintenance of railway infrastructure and two MFS 120 machines to transport the materials lost during the operations.
The new machines will be added to the existing equipment owned by the PKP PLK’s subsidiaries and will allow fast intervention works and track repairs. The purchase was possible thanks to the recapitalisation of the subsidiaries of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.
“New equipment for the PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe means development and increasing the efficiency of work on the railway network. Works on the tracks will be faster and more efficient, and this is important for the development of rail transport in Poland,” Andrzej Bittel, the secretary of state at the Ministry of Infrastructure said.
The RPM 1000 machines will be the most modern equipment of this type on the market.It is intended for the stream repair of the track bed and cleaning of the gravel with the use of aggregate from recycled gravel bed.Comprehensively in one pass, it repairs the subgrade and track ballast.The machine works with MFS type wagons, which provide new loose materials and discharge of old material that cannot be reused from the work site.The length of the RPM 1000 machine with MFS wagons is over 500 metres. Such equipment is a highly efficient factory on the tracks.
Using the RPM type machines, the track bed repair capacity will increase by up to 40% while all activities will be more efficient and ecological compared to the conventional machines. Shorter installation times and more efficient material logistics reduce noise, dust generation and CO2 emissions. Much of the old track material can be recycled, which significantly reduces costs in the process of maintaining and upgrading railway infrastructure.
The universal Unimat 09-4×4 / 4S Dynamic tamping machine acquired by PPMT is designed to work on turnouts and tracks in a continuous mode, with integrated stabilising units. The advantage of the machine is the dynamic track stabilizer (DGS), which allows for additional durability of the track geometry and the resumption of movement on the tamped section without restrictions. The key parameter of the machine is the accuracy of lifting and sliding the track in switches and tracks, especially in the case of railway lines intended for trains with speeds of 160 km/h and above. Due to its greater efficiency and the possibility of tamping heavy turnouts on prestressed concrete turnout sleepers, the machine will significantly increase the quality, efficiency and extend the scope of services under the National Railway Program. The quality of the vehicle’s operation will definitely increase the company’s potential and its competitive position on the market.
The machine stands out from most other machines of this type available on the market with two innovative functions ordered especially by PPMT in the form of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a tamping operation monitoring system. The IMU equipment enables measurements at a speed of 60 km/h, and a specially developed software enables the shaping of complex geometry of tracks. The Plasser Tamping Control system uses the tamping unit as a tool to optimise the tamping process itself. Sensors installed on the bouncing unit record the work by analysing it in real time. On the basis of these data, it is possible to determine the quality of the ballast and the quality of the works performed. The machine operator has a tool to optimise the operating parameters. The Unimat 09-4×4 / 4S Dynamic machine purchased by PPMT will be the most modern tamping machine of this type on the Polish market.
The USP 2000 C2 acquired by PNUiK and ZRK-DOM and Dolkom are intended both for work on tracks and turnouts in traditional technology.These are machines necessary for the implementation of the comprehensive process of tamping and profiling ballast.They are equipped with a central plow for grading the crushed stone, a rotary brush for sleepers, a fixed brush for cleaning the fastenings, side plows for profiling the crushed stone pile and a crushed stone container.
The Unimat 08-4×4 / 4S and MFS 120 machines acquired by Dolkom will meet the guidelines for technical acceptance of works. In the case of the tamping machine, the ordered systems will allow for taking acceptance measurements on their own without involving diagnostic vehicles, which has so far been a necessity on the lines for speeds exceeding 160 km/h.Innovative solutions used in machines – remote systems for monitoring the maintenance and operation of machines, will increase the quality of the work performed.
“The modern track machines guarantee an increase in the efficiency of investment and maintenance works. Thanks to the expansion of the machine park, the pace of work increases and its quality improves. For passenger trains this means more punctual and safe journeys, and for freight carriers, efficient and smooth cargo transport,” Ireneusz Merchel, the CEO of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe said.
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