Strukton Railinfra - Rail Infrastructure Maintenance and (Re)Construction

Strukton Railinfra is one of the largest innovative rail infrastructure specialists in Europe. It offers a full service package for rail systems, but also for other mobility systems. Using its POSS fault diagnostic system, Eurailscout measurement trains, as well as the ultrasonic rail inspection vehicle UST 96 and other methodology, Strukton Railinfra provides optimal rail track inspection and preventative maintenance services.

Strukton Railinfra is a strong player in its Dutch home market and is gaining an increasingly strong position in the European market with Banproduktion (Sweden), Strukton Railinfra nv (Belgium) and CLF (Italy).

RAIL TRACK (MAINTENANCE) PROJECTS

Punctual transport and a good, available rail infrastructure are greatly in need in this time of increasing mobility. Rail infrastructure managers seek competent, reliable parties who will take responsibility for the availability and reliability of the track. To guarantee this, Strukton Railinfra works continuously on maintenance and renewal, with a very high level of attention to safe working conditions.

RAIL TRACK MONITORING WITH VIDEO INSPECTION TRAINS AND MEASUREMENT TRAINS

Strukton Railinfra is devoting every effort to the reduction of 'irregularities' affecting train services, known as TAOs in the Netherlands. As a result, in 2003, in the areas covered by Strukton Railinfra in the Netherlands, the TAO figure remained virtually the same as in 2002, in contrast to the picture nationwide.

The company makes a structural contribution to rail availability by detecting and resolving problems promptly. The Eurailscout (50% holding) video-inspection train and the UFM 120 and UFM 160 measurement trains measure the quality of the track continuously. This allows efficient, preventive rail maintenance.

POSS: RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE MONITORING FOR TRACK RELIABILITY

Strukton's preventive maintenance and fault diagnosis system, known as POSS, makes a significant contribution to track reliability. POSS allows continuous monitoring of rail infrastructure elements. The system is currently being used primarily for points. As points failures constitute the major cause of TAOs, POSS plays an important part in reducing such irregularities.

Currently there are 1,000 sets of points connected to POSS. Substantial interest in POSS is also being shown in Sweden, UK, Germany, Italy and France. A trial is underway around Frankfurt station to monitor 20 critical sets of points.

Thanks to the use of electronic techniques more information is available on track quality and there is increasing transparency. In addition to POSS and the Eurailscout UFM 120 and UFM 160 measurement trains and the ultrasonic rail inspection vehicle UST 96, Strukton Railinfra also uses IRIS-sys, a viewer that displays data from the measurement trains graphically, and SOS, a database in which fault data are stored. On the basis of this, database faults can be handled digitally via GPRS. All these systems provide substantially better insight and overview of the track condition.

KLANT: RAILWAY PROCESS CONFIGURATION SYSTEM

Strukton Railinfra is a dynamic organisation that responds flexibly to issues in the marketplace, and has fully established all its processes. The KLANT system, a system for process configuration, provides a good overview of the phases of a process and their interdependence.

Strukton Railinfra also invests in training in order to familiarise employees with the new possibilities. In addition, personnel take all compulsory safety courses annually, so that the work continues to be performed in conformity with all requirements.

RAIL TRACK MAINTENANCE PROJECTS

In 2003 Strukton Railinfra won the order for the A-15 section (Gorinchem - Pannerdensch Kanaal) of the Betuwe Route. This includes the construction of 72km of double track and 103km of overhead wiring.

Banproduktion in Sweden acquired four maintenance contracts, including the 260km Dalabanan railway line and the 214km non-electrified single-track Stångådalsbanan.

In Italy, together with CLF, Strukton Railinfra is involved in the Milan-Bologna section of the High Speed Line (HSL). In addition, a number of track-renewal contracts have been concluded.

The Eurailscout video inspection train, the ultrasound train and the UFM 120 and UFM 160 measurement trains are used in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, UK and Slovenia.

Thus, the organisation's wealth of knowledge and experience is there for all to see and use, and can be deployed for the complete execution of every imaginable Railinfra project. In this way, Strukton Railinfra contributes to the reliability, availability and safety of the railways throughout Europe.