Exceptional machines for railway tracks refurbishment in Poland!

From May last year, a consortium of Tri-City companies: NDI S.A. (leader) and PPM-T Sp. z o.o. (partner) conducts intensive modernization works on the railway line No. 207 from the border of the Pomeranian voivodeship to Malbork station. A few weeks ago, during the work exceptional machines, imported from Germany, were used.

Their main task was to extract earth masses with an estimated weight of 71 600 tons, buildings broken aggregate 0-31,5 with a total mass of 30 800 tonnes in 29 days – says engineer Jerzy Zariczny from Pomeranian Mechanical and Track Company. One of the biggest challenges was the unification of the construction of the top layers of the trackbed, consisting in making a protective and reinforcing cover of broken aggregate 0 / 31.5 o minimum thickness of 20 cm with complementary application of separation and filtration geotextiles,on the entire 56-kilometer stretch of Gardeja – Malbork. To ensure high quality and productivity trackbed works, in August and September this year between the stations Kwidzyn and Malbork work was carried out using a crushed rock RM 95 – 700 cleaning machine and for the undertrack repairs SVV 100 machine. The use of such modern track machines in the revitalization of the line for regional traffic is a unique phenomenon on the national scale. The first copy of the SVV 100 was made by Plasser  Theurer in 1993 – adds Jerzy Zariczny from the offer department of the partner of the PPMT consortium.

The basic advantage of the trackbed repair technology using the SVV 100 machine is the possibility of building, using stream method (continuously), the protective layer under the track frame, without the need to disassemble it, while laying the geotextile or geonet. How to do it? The track frame is lifted at a length of 30.0 m with two lifting units and a crawler.
Under the raised track frame, two vibrating plates profile and compact the top layer of the trackbed. Aggregate is transported by belt conveyors from MFS 100 wagons, which are attached to the end of the SVV 100 machine, to the hopper, mounted on the last, rotary belt conveyor, from where it is poured onto a formed track. The protective layer is profiled and then compacted with a spreading plow and six vibratory plates. Additional vibrating plates are used for forming and compacting the track benches. The Built-in protective layer may have a thickness of 20 cm to 50 cm and a width of 4.0 m to 6.0 m. 

However, the maximum width of the geosynthetics laidout under the protective layer is 5.25 m. Thanks to this, the performance of the SVV 100 is up to 100 m / h (depends on the thickness of the protective layer). The SVV 100 is also equipped with a lightweight dynamic plate that allows on-the-fly marking module of protective layer deformation.

Work machine for trackbed repairs SVV 100 must be preceded by the extraction of the crushed rock ballast and the preliminary formation of the track. For this aim, the high-efficiency ballast cleaner RM 95 – 700 was used. For the purpose of revitalizing the railway line No. 207, the Consortium leased both machines in Germany. The beginning of works was preceded by in-depth project works which verified the originally established locations where this type of technology could be used. This was influenced by: partly different ground conditions and geometry of the newly designed track, says Mateusz Jarosz, head of the NDI consortium leader. In the places of large corrections of the location of the track in the situational plan and low-bearing soils, the method of small mechanization was used.

Then, the whole logistics process was carried out, consisting in the selection, preparation of storage yards and supply of aggregate by rail transport from the south of Poland. Work is planned at such intervals that the machine can work continuously without unnecessary stoppages. Everything took place in the “hectic” period when railway investments started on the rail network of PKP PLK, which significantly hindered the delivery of the required amount of aggregate on time. That is why we have diversified supplies from various mines with many carriers. To carry out the task, the SVV-100 train to the streamer replacement of the trackbed, consisted of a part of the trackbed train and 20 wagons MFS-100. The whole composition after loading the material exceeded the weight of 3000 tons. Two heavy M62 locomotives, commonly known as GAGARINS, were designed to service such a train. During one shift (12h / day), the SVV-100 train placed around 600 lm of protective layer. The work record is 850 lm of protective layer. At that time, the machines did not have major failures, they were doing great, and the employees designated for their support assisted with advice. For the entire implementation team it was a new and interesting experience.

During the investment worth PLN 212 million, a total of 68.5 km of tracks will be renovated, 48 pcs. switches – including 6 switches with a radius of 1200, between Gardeja and Malbork stations.

Up to 120 engineering structures will be rebuilt, including 3 bridges and 13 viaducts, thanks to which the speed of trains on the route will increase to 120 km / h.

We have been present on the railway market since 2012 and at that time we have completed a number of investments for PKP PLK. Each project was a valuable experience and it is a great satisfaction for us that today we can use state-of-the-art technologies and track equipment. Thanks to this, we strengthen our position and increase the competitiveness of the company on the railway construction market – says Małgorzata Winiarek-Gajewska, the President of the Management Board of NDI SA.

The project is implemented in the design and build formula. The project will last until autumn 2019. The client is PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe SA. The general contractor is a Sopot NDI company and its partner from Gdansk PPM-T.

Investment in numbers:
– 5 stations with converted platforms without architectural barriers
– 4 stops with converted platforms without architectural barriers
– 36 modernized level crossings
– 68.5 km of rebuilt tracks up to a speed of 120 km / h
– 48 new switches, including 6 pcs with a radius of 1200
– 126 rebuilt engineering facilities, including: 13 viaducts 3 bridges
– underground passage at the Kwidzyn station
– New control room and Local Control Centers (LCS) and modern equipment