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Plasser optimum handling

Rail networks comprise stations, intersections, bridges / support bridges, tunnels and other buildings.

Maintaining these short sections often poses difficult challenges:

  • Level crossings (renewal works comprising construction lengths of 15m to 30m)
  • Work sites in station areas (a few hundred metres)
  • The space available is restricted due to station platforms, signal posts and over-head line masts
  • Boxed-in ballast beds
  • In the urban sector, night-time track possessions of 2 to 3 hours

Despite the short construction lengths, these projects are time-consuming and costly. Precisely for such projects, Plasser & Theurer offers well-functioning machines that can be used efficiently also on small work sites. This enables the optimisation of both the quality of the work performed and the time needed. Using these machines, al-most any work can be performed in the track under repair; this is a decisive factor for the cost calculation of the work site.

Machines for optimum material logistics:

  • Material conveyor and hopper units of the MFS series with a storage capacity of 40m³ to 100m³, rail undercarriage, crawler tracks, loading and unloading conveyor belts, ballast distribution devices, etc.
  • On / off-track MFS 40/4A ZW-B with digger and conveyor belt
  • BLS 2000 and BLS 2000 R loading stations
  • ULS 3000 unloading station

Laying and renewal of tracks and turnouts:

  • WM 500 U, WM 40 and WM 26 turnout relaying machine
  • WTW turnout transport wagon
  • RPK 40 gantry unit on crawler tracks, consisting of gantry unit and transport wagon
  • PA 1-20, PA 1-20 ES and PA 250 gantry units
  • Track laying or removal using the SVM 1000
  • Track laying in assembly-line method, e.g. using the SUZ 500 high speed track relaying train

Flexible ballast excavation and cleaning:

  • ZRM 350 ballast cleaning machine
  • URM 700 universal ballast cleaning machine

Fully mechanised maintenance of tracks and turnouts:

  • MDZ mechanised maintenance train for all levels of performance for the com-plete maintenance of the track (lifting, lining, tamping, stabilising and profiling the bal-last cross-section)

Ballast bed cleaning with and without track proves itself in practical use

Its versatility in ballast bed cleaning is one of the greatest benefits of the on / off-track ZRM 350 cleaning machine. This machine has attracted a lot of visitor attention at exhibitions, for example at the IAF 2013, the International Exhibition for Track Tech-nology in Münster.

Since its presentation in Münster, it has been deployed for 11,000m of ballast clean-ing at 21 work sites in Austria and Switzerland and has met the positive expectations. The machine can perform a wide variety of tasks on different terrains.

For track renewal work in station areas or in tight line sections it is not uncommon to remove the old track grid or old turnouts, clean the ballast bed and only then lay new rails, sleepers or turnouts.

Ballast bed excavation, ballast cleaning and returning the material are very time-consuming when using conventional methods, e.g. excavators and lorries. Unwanted side-effects will often be project delays and inhomogeneous quality of the work.

The ZRM 350 is powered fully hydraulically. It is equipped with a guided excavating chain that produces an accurate and uniform cut of the formation. The ballast is cleaned directly in the triple-deck vibrating screening unit, saving new material and costs in logistics and waste disposal.

Ballast bed removal, loading of spoil and, if required, supply of new material are car-ried out along the construction track line. The changeover from on-track to crawler track working mode is uncomplicated and quick. Due to two-stage ballasting the front crawler track is already travelling on a layer of ballast and so protects the formation. This complete package makes the ZRM an interesting option, both for contractors and railway operating companies.

The advantages of the ZRM 350 were shown in Switzerland in August 2014 when it was used in combination with the on / off-track MFS 40/4 ZW material conveyor and hopper units. On the single-track line Biberbrugg-Einsiedeln different scenarios were tested successfully.