Nencki Wheel Weighing Facility Gives More Safety and Less Maintenance Costs

The requirements regarding safety are increasing and passengers are also asking for reliable departure and arrival schedules and more comfort on trains and metros. In case of a breakdown, the complete traffic can collapse.

In order to avoid such incidents, more maintenance, improved preventive maintenance is required. The trains must operate more economically. This means trains should roll, transport people and not remain in workshops for maintenance. Therefore, new methods which guarantee more safety and reliability but with reduced maintenance are required.

The Nencki wheel weighing facility NWW with twisting track is the perfect solution for innovative condition-based maintenance. Without prior dropping of the bogies, the bogie suspensions of a car can be tested by a computer controlled twisting track in the workshop.

Depending on the resulting derailing safety, the vehicle has to be maintained or can remain in operation. This contributes substantially to cost reduction as expensive components are not replaced after a prescribed number of kilometres but only after they are worn.

The fully automatic test is based on the EN 14363 standard and can be carried out in 15–30 minutes.