Demuhder – Turkish, Railway Engineers’ Association

We are very happy to announce that in the beginning of 2025 the Turkish, Railway Engineers’ Association Demuhder has joined the UEEIV network as a new member. We are looking forward to opening new horizons beyond European borders with this brandnew cooperation.

Demuhder’s Mission

• Support engineers in development of their occupational skills and know how, who are settled in the Turkish railway market,
• Follow the international „State of the art“ and cooperating in implementation of the international railway standards and technologies into Turkish legislation,
• Connect the national railway experts under one roof,
• Take care to introduce the title „Railway Engineer“ in Turkey.

E³: From pioneering achievement to innovative standard

The greening of track maintenance emphasizes the ecofriendly image of the railway. Alternative drive systems in track construction must fulfil stringent requirements as they are now a key criterion in tenders issued by infrastructure managers. However, time-tested previous generations based on combustion engines set the standard in terms of reliability and performance. The potential for added value makes the switch to green machines more attractive.

In 2014, Plasser & Theurer set the course for E³. Looking back today, this stands out as a pioneering achievement. The decision for alternative drive systems for track construction and maintenance machines was made with three objectives in mind: “Economic, Ecologic, and Ergonomic” – which is what E³ stands for. The highest performance class for mechanized track maintenance was chosen for the first prototypes. A 09-4X Dynamic 4-sleeper tamping machine and the BDS 2000, known as the ballast saving machine, received the affix “E³”. Electricity from the overhead contact line was used as an energy source by converting it to provide the tried-and-tested hydraulic supply for the work units.

Ecological track maintenance pays off

Krebs Gleisbau has recognized the potential and opted for a Unimat for track and turnout maintenance with E³ in Switzerland back in 2016. This machine provided data which quickly proved how acting environmentally friendly can also be cost-effective. It saved €177 of operating costs per hour of use.

Technological milestones for electrified machines

From then on, things continued at a rapid pace. The electrification of the drives resulted in a reduced need for complex hydraulics and in a more direct utilization of the high efficiency of electric motors. This included drives on the bogies and rotating actuators for the work units. In addition, a prototype for overhead contact line construction with innovative battery technology was launched in 2017: the HTW 100 E³. The technology has been successfully tested under tough conditions. In the climatic wind tunnel, the material was exposed to temperatures from -30 to +50 degrees Celsius.

Quiet construction and maintenance

Thanks to the significant added value it provides, it did not take long for E³ technology to become well accepted. Track maintenance often takes place at night when train operation is at a standstill. In addition, tracks to be maintained often pass through populated areas. Pollutant emissions are particularly critical when work is done in tunnels. Noise reductions of up to 20 dBA benefit everyone near the worksites, be it residents or employees.

Ready for series production thanks to a ten-year technological edge

Solutions like E³ are urgently needed today in 2024. The ten-year technological edge manifests itself in many years of experience with 14 highly customized individual solutions and translates into a scalable offering for emission-free track maintenance. Plasser & Theurer is currently manufacturing over 60 E³ machines. The offering with new E³ drives includes vehicles and machines for overhead contact line construction and maintenance, track and superstructure maintenance, tamping machines for plain-line track and turnouts, ballast management, and dynamic track stabilization. There are also offerings for greening existing fleets, such as retrofits with electric tamping units, retrofitting frequency control systems or drive systems with alternative fuels such as HVO100 – they also contribute significantly to reducing CO₂ emissions and operating costs.

Read more here:

10 Jahre E3: https://www.plassertheurer.com/de/machine/yellow-machines-go-green/klimafreundlicher-bahnbau/der-gruene-weg-10-jahre-e3

Review of InnoTrans 2024: a visit from the future

“The future of mobility”. This was the motto of InnoTrans 2024, the international trade fair for transport technology. “Future track technology NOW” could be seen at Plasser & Theurer, both in Hall 26 and among the exhibits on the extensive tracks of the exhibition grounds in Berlin. There was a great deal of variety here and there, where the future was also visiting alongside countless trade visitors from all over the world. 

Plasser CatenaryCrafter

An impressive exhibit on display outdoors was the Plasser CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E³ for ÖBB. 56 machines of various designs have been ordered as initial call-off orders, and several are already in (trial) operation. Johannes Max-Theurer and ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä presented the model at InnoTrans 2022, and exactly two years later the two presented the full-size vehicle together. The high-tech hybrid vehicle sets standards, running and working with electrical energy from the overhead contact line or from the traction batteries on board. The combustion engine only starts up in exceptional cases.

In addition to the electric hybrid drive, full equipment, ETCS train protection technology, and modern design, another feature is the modular design of the CatenaryCrafters and upcoming MultiCrafters: the basic structure as well as many components and controls are the same. Changing tasks and design lengths: the generation change modernizes infrastructure maintenance and speeds up installation work on the overhead contact line. All of this is as environmentally acceptable, ergonomic, and economical as possible – it’s no coincidence that this is the core message of the E³ brand.  

“I would like to emphasize in particular that ÖBB are a very good partner, always very constructive and working in a solution-oriented manner. In turn, ÖBB end up putting a vehicle on track that they can also work with for 30 years. And that’s exactly what it’s all about.” Johannes Max-Theurer

“We are operating one of the busiest networks in the European Union, currently with 166 million train kilometres. We are also an absolute top nation in terms of rail travel because Austrians travel the most by rail in the EU. This means we need highly available infrastructure. But that only works if you have the right tools, in this case a state-of-the-art maintenance vehicle.” Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB Holding

Johannes Max-Theurer (left, CEO of Plasser & Theurer) and Andreas Matthä (CEO of ÖBB Holding AG) presented the Plasser CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E³, a maintenance vehicle of the new green ÖBB fleet, to the trade audience at this year’s InnoTrans in Berlin.

The Plasser CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E³ of ÖBB on display outdoors at InnoTrans 2024 with the work units extended.

Ten years of E³

The E³ trademark refers to all-electric and hybrid drives. Track maintenance machines with the abbreviation “E³” have been around for ten years, with the first one being presented in Salzburg in September 2015. E³ stands for “Economic, Ecologic, and Ergonomic”, i.e. the economic, ecological, and ergonomic benefits of these machines. They make it possible to green track maintenance. Thanks to its high efficiency, E³ technology reduces energy consumption, emissions, and operating costs – even for existing machines as part of retrofits. It is possible to drastically reduce their carbon footprint.

All-electric, quiet, and sustainable – this is what track maintenance looks like today, thanks to the ten-year technological edge E³ has created.

Deutsche Bahn’s memorandum of understanding

Following ÖBB’s example, Deutsche Bahn AG also intends to procure Plasser CatenaryCrafter 15.4 E³ vehicles. This was confirmed by Infrastructure Director Philipp Nagl at InnoTrans 2024. Increasing line utilization and train numbers necessitate replacement investments by DB InfraGO for its machine fleet. Shortly before InnoTrans, a memorandum of understanding was agreed on for the rental and subsequent purchase of 15 Plasser CatenaryCrafter E³ vehicles. Service partner Plasser ROBEL Services is also party to it.

DB InfraGo strengthens its machine fleet: press event at InnoTrans 2024 with Thomas Schöpf (CSO of Plasser & Theurer), Dr Philipp Nagl (CEO of DB InfraGO AG), Günter Neureiter (CEO of Voestalpine Railway Systems) (from left to right)

Plasser CompactFlex with Plasser Datamatic: a debut

The new Plasser CompactFlex 4×4 tamping machine for plain-line track and turnouts made its debut in Berlin. It is part of a contract with the Taiwanese state railway company TRC for a total of 41 track maintenance machines featuring various working technologies. Digital tools are a part of this: the CompactFlex 4×4 on display is equipped with the SmartALC track geometry guiding computer and the DRP (Data Recording Processor) digital measuring recorder. With Plasser Datamatic, the machine is integrated into a cloud-based machine and fleet management system. Current machine statuses can be called up and long-term analyses carried out to increase availability, efficiency, and productivity. 

Debut appearance at InnoTrans 2024: Plasser CompactFlex 4×4, Plasser & Theurer’s new compact tamping machine for maintaining plain-line track and turnouts

Training on three square metres

3D simulation tools for training courses, also on the machine operating company’s premises, make realistic travel and operation exercises possible. The compact solution with a computer and VR glasses only requires one desk and is available for several different machine types. 

The ScreenLiner simulator for modern training and professional development

Plasser InfraSpector

The Plasser InfraSpector is a new solution for infrastructure inspection and surveying, particularly in regional and urban networks. It offers a high degree of flexibility, as seen in the Plasser Italiana service version mounted on a road-rail lorry. Alternatively, versions of the testing equipment in a container or based on the MultiCrafter are possible. Plasser InfraSpector follows the ISO IEC 17025 standard for quality and reliability. Diagnostics examine the track with track geometry, rail and structure gauge, subsoil, turnout, and overhead contact line.

Flexible in operation and a world’s first at InnoTrans 2024: the Plasser InfraSpector Truck, a modern measuring system on wheels

Copyright images: Plasser & Theurer

Traditionally, Europe’s rail industry generates a large proportion of its sales in the “old” member states of the European Union. But recently the industry’s interest has also shifted more and more towards southeastern European countries, including those outside the EU.

Marie Vopálenská is CEO of ACRI, the umbrella association of Czech railway industry companies. “They employ 22,000 people and together contribute one and a half percent to the Czech Republic’s GDP,” Vopálenská explained at an association conference in February of this year. “The industry has grown steadily in recent years. Last year it was around seven percent compared to the previous year. The most important partners for them are the countries of the European Union, but also Serbia, Turkey and India.”

ŠKODA SUPPLIES METRO TRAINS FOR SOFIA, AŽD DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FOR HUNGARY

 The rail vehicle manufacturer Škoda is also part of ACRI. It will supply trolleybuses for Vilnius, Lithuania, and metro trains for Sofia, Bulgaria, among others. The trains are to enter service in 2026 and will run on lines 1, 2 and 4. They are similar to those to Warsaw, but will be equipped with air condition. From a systems perspective, the trains will feature a safety system with automatic speed control. It regulates the speed of traffic and prevents other trains from catching up. Each of the eight trains will be powered by traction three-phase asynchronous motors with regenerative braking – allowing power to be returned back to the grid.

The Sofia metro operates on standard-gauge 1435mm tracks and is powered via third rail. The power supply is direct current and the nominal voltage is 750 ± 250V. The trains have a design speed of 90km/h. Škoda has been present in the Bulgarian transport market since 2010, delivering 210 trolleybuses to five Bulgarian cities.

The AŽD company is a major supplier of technology units in the field of transport infrastructure. Among the most important activities implemented in 2023 was the construction of ETCS on several sections in the Czech Republic. The General Director of AŽD Prague Zdeněk Chrdle explains: “Abroad, we are waiting for a project to modernise the line in Hungary, including the installation of an intelligent digital system DIGITAL 4.0 on the Soroksár – Kelebia section.”

The Polish railway manufacturer PESA is also betting heavily on Southeast Europe. Until now, the Bydgoszcz-based company was known on the Romanian market primarily for its trams, having delivered 37 trams for Cluj, Iași and Craiova between 2012 and 2023. Now, as some observers put it, a “legal war” has broken out between PESA and the French producer Alstom. Two tenders by the Romanian Railway Reform Authority (ARF) for the purchase of Inter-Regio electric trains aroused interest.

On May 31, 2024, the Romanian media service evz.ro reported that the ARF had “completed the process of re-evaluating the offer submitted by the Polish PESA” for the state-owned operator CFR. PESA won the case, “and in the end the company from Poland was declared the winner.” Thus, CFR will receive 20 electric multiple units for the Bucharest, Iași and Cluj regions, with the possibility of adding nine more sets of the same type. According to the procurement contract, CFR will receive the electrical equipment no later than two years after the agreement between PESA and the railway authority is signed. The electric sets have a capacity of 191 seats.

At the same time, the railway authority can apply for an additional electric train sets with 9 additional railcars and a maintenance period of 30 years. The Polish manufacturer will also offer the buyer CFR employee training on how to handle hardware and software devices. The contract volume is stated to be 223.8 million euros. Of this, 167.97 million euros are for the vehicles and 55.83 million euros for maintenance services. The new trains are based on trains for the Czech railway company Regio-Jet and will offer, among other things, air conditioning, WiFi connection, bar/bistro, rooms for people with disabilities, ticket vending machines and validators. They run on the 25 kV traction network and are equipped with the Romanian safety system PZB 90 and the European ETCS.

POLISH PESA AND FRENCH ALSTOM FIGHT FOR ROMANIAN MARKET

But the ARF had also put out a tender for the purchase of a further 62 such trains. The source of financing is non-reimbursable European funds under the 2021-2027 Transport Programme. The entire project will be divided into three phases, after which the first 20 trains will run on the Bucharest North – Ploiesti South – Adjud, Iasi – Pașcani – Suceava, Bacău – Pașcani routes. Another 23 will then run on the Brasov – Gheorgheni, Arad – Timișoara – Caransebeș and Huedin – Cluj – Bistrița routes. As part of the final phase, electric trains will be introduced on the Bucharest North – Ploiesti West – Brasov, Bucharest North – Roșiori, Bucharest North – Bucharest Obor/Fundulea and Constanța – Fetesti routes.

Initially, eight companies competed for the contract. Alstom was excluded for violating the tender conditions. The contract was awarded to PESA and also signed by the purchaser. Two legal appeals by Alstom were rejected by the relevant Romanian courts. In response to a third appeal, the Court of Appeal ruled on 8 April that PESA should provide more detailed information on the maintenance costs for the trains, calculated over 15 years. PESA did so, but a final decision has not yet been announced. This means that this contract is blocked for the time being. This is negative for Romania – the trains, regardless of who is delivering them, will arrive later than expected and, in the worst case, EU funding could expire.

This situation has greatly angered Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu. The media service profit.ro quoted the minister on June 4, following Agerpress. At Bucharest’s North Railway Station, he explained that the French manufacturer Alstom currently has to pay fines of around 18 million euros for delays in the delivery of the trains it has ordered and around 22 to 23 million euros for the metro trains that were actually supposed to run on the M5 – Magistrala 5 – line. The minister is then quoted verbatim: “It is good to stick to the terms of the contract or, if you cannot, leave it to others.” Anyone who “continues to delay and postpone the delivery of certain train sets” must know: “The penalties are flowing and will flow, and in a continual manner.”

In the digi24 information service, Grindeanu was even clearer: “They only work through CNSCs and appeal courts, but if you have an official contract, they do not deliver trains. They also face penalties. It is their right, I do not want to be misunderstood, but should we not start delivering what we already had in the contracts? Not that they are not coming, but they are coming too late. We keep getting explanations: the war in Ukraine, the supply lines have changed… Otherwise, there is another option. You come too late, I will cancel the contract, I will put you on the blacklist, and you will never deliver to Romania again for many years. I do not want that and have never been a fan of it. If we terminate the contract, we will start over with others, which means lost years.”

There was some movement on Alstom’s part when it won a tender for long-distance trains. “The second of a total of 37 Alstom Coradia Stream trains that will operate in Romania arrived in Romania at the Episcopia Bihor border point on May 31” and was immediately transferred to the test center in Făurei for several dynamic tests, reported the information service BizBrasov.ro on June 4, 2024. The train came from the Czech Republic, from Velim, where it underwent further tests with a view to certification. If all goes well, the train will run with passengers on the Brașov – Bucharest – Constanța route from the end of the year. A third train is currently being tested in Germany – from electrical and electronic systems to braking and drive systems, railway dynamics for train stability, but also aspects of passenger comfort.

by Hermann Schmidtendorf

Foto copyright info: from left to right

An ALSTOM Coradia Stream EMU for Romania. Credits: Alstom

This is how the Škoda metro trains for Sofia will look like. Credits: Škoda Group

A Polish PESA EMU for Romania. Credits: PESA

In June 2024 PORR has successfully completed the modernization of one of the most important railway sections connecting the capital Bucharest to the Bulgarian border, passing also through a major Danube harbour city-Giurgiu.

The North Bucharest – Jilava – North Giurgiu – North Giurgiu – North Giurgiu Border railway line is part of the TEN-T central network and has been identified as a conventional railway line in need of modernization. The Bucharest North – Giurgiu North railway line is the first railway line established in Romania and is located on the Pan-European Corridor IX route (Helsinki – Vyborg – St. Petersburg – Pskov – Gomei – Kiev – Ljubashevka – Chisinau – Bucharest – Dimitrovgrad – Alexandropoulis), part of the AGC, AGTC and T.E.R. networks.

Within this project, PORR Slab Track Austria technology has been successfully implemented on the new built bridge over the Arges river, on 1,393 m of track. Also noted as a premiere is implementation of rail expansion device on dedicated, precast reinforced concrete slabs.

One of the most dynamic contexts of our days is the compliance with the set of common technical and safety rules that lead to overcoming system differences, and promote interoperability in the European rail network.

For the national railway network of Romania it was the first project implementing a certified ballastless track system, so fulfillment of structural compatibility within the project together with compliance with interoperability criteria were challenges to overcome.

From the technical point of view, the structural compatibility of the infrastructure subsystem was proved in design stage by a track-structure interaction report; at the connection between ballastless track and conventional track the vertical deflections and settlements of the ballasted track were limited to minimum by using different fastening system stiffness, a load distribution slab (LDS) and different compaction degree of the soil material underneath LDS; the expansion of the structure was covered by using a rail expansion device mounted on PORR special precast reinforced concrete slabs.

In order to prove compliance with the interoperability criteria, an EC certificate of verification has been achieved during the design phase, thus proving compliance with the relevant TSI requirements-INF(EU) 1299/2014 as amended by (EU) 2019/776.

The implementation of the first ballastless system on the project in Romania has been successfully accomplished showing some particular relevant advantages:

• superior performance and track longevity in operations
• reduced execution time
• accurate installation with less labour
• weather-independent system
• lower track geometry
• lower maintenance requirements.

Since the 1980s when PORR initially took up the challenge of new technologies for ballastless track systems, we have continued investigating, researching, developing, testing and implementing engineering solutions. After more than 35 years of proven records of slab track in operation, we continue this challenging work with new projects and new contexts.

For more information please see:

https://slabtrackaustria.com/

PORR Slab Track Austria product video

https://porr-group.com/en/services/special-competencies/ 

By Alice Sofian

About the Author:

Alice Sofian is a civil engineer with over 20 years of experience working on international infrastructure projects, with a focus on quality management, project management and business development for high speed, metro and rehabilitation slab track projects.