With Scharfenberg Couplers Through Mexico City
10 April 2007 09:56
With 25 million inhabitants, Mexico City is one of the largest metropolises in the world and runs a 200km network of metro lines, 113km of which are underground. The transport operator Sistea de Transporte Collectivo has just ordered 1,200 new short couplers from Voith Turbo Scharfenberg for its metro carriages.
Five years ago, Mexico City Metro introduced an extensive maintenance program - the current order for the new Voith Turbo Scharfenberg short couplers, which also constitutes the largest ever single order from Mexico, is part of this project. About 40% of all existing couplers are being replaced.
Among the extraordinarily high technical demands is a guaranteed mileage of at least one million kilometers without the need for service or maintenance. The order was supported and prepared by Voith Turbo SA de CV, Couplomatic (a Voith Turbo company) and Pripromex, the Mexican representation of Voith Turbo Scharfenberg.
Couplomatic had already been a supplier of Mexico City Metro in 1968, when the system was launched. Since then, more than 5,000 couplers have been delivered. Today, some 95% of the total 3,139 metro vehicles are fitted with Scharfenberg couplers. The current overhaul contract for 1,200 couplers includes the supply of spare parts by Voith Turbo. The Scharfenberg couplers on order guarantee maintenance-free operation for at least eight years (or one million kilometers). At present, tests are being carried out to find ways of increasing the coupler performance even further to ensure even longer mileages.
For more information on this company:
Voith Turbo - Power Transmissions, Couplers and Retarders for Rail Vehicles
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