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TRACK TECHNOLOGY – IAF PREVIEW


to permanent way engineering A new


John Rooke, a director at SRS Rail System Ltd, tells RTM readers about the ‘SRS road rail story’. The beginning


bout 30 years ago the chief civil engineer of Swedish Railways had a simple, but brilliant idea. Frustrated by the time it took to move material from depot to work site on the railway, he initiated the design of a lorry which could travel most of the way on the road, mount the track at a level crossing, and complete its journey by rail. The road rail lorry added a new dimension to permanent way engineering in much the same way as Stephenson’s Rocket added a new dimension to the transport of goods and people.


A Work on the West Coast Main Line


The renewal of overhead line on 650 kilometres of the West Coast Main Line is typical. The Joint Venture purchased road rail lorries for this task. Their performance is best described by the project director, John Osborne, as the project neared completion. He wrote: “Road rail vehicles converted from standard trucks provided a versatile and effective means of servicing a work site 400 miles long. The man basket allows work teams to adjust overhead lines in perfect safety, using the on board pantograph as necessary for checking wire position.


“Their ability to work in awkward and otherwise inaccessible locations has been invaluable and some 53 of these priceless machines are in use. Reliability is also excellent: the vehicles are in use seven hours a night, fi ve or six nights a


A hydrostatic power take-off provides power to the rail drive and ancillary equipment.


There are 17 tonne, 25 tonne and one 44 tonne articulated road rail lorries. They can carry any combination of cargo and ancillary equipment; cranes, access platform, cable drum carriers etc. Tasks include carrying to site and running overhead wires and line-side cables, carrying to site and erecting steelwork to support them, access on bridges and in tunnels for inspection and work on structures, carrying rail and sleepers to site and placing them.


Major benefi ts are: a. Road rail lorries can move most of the way to a worksite by road, thus avoiding the complications, and often delays, of bringing equipment by rail. b. Vehicles may be pre-loaded and moved to


week (actually on site and driving to and from site) and have performed 368,000 hours since the project started.”


The hire fl eet


SRS Rail System International Limited operates a hire fl eet of some 36 SRS road rail vehicles. They are ordinary commercial Volvo trucks, which have been designed to run many thousands of kilometres and for which there is a wide service network. Retractable, swivelling, powered steel wheeled bogies allow


these


vehicles to move on and off the track at a level crossing in less than fi ve minutes.


China is probably the most important player in the railway market today. Therefore the company is co-operating with CSR Sifang, a sophisticated Chinese railway manufacturer, to develop an improved range of road rail vehicles which we intend to market and hire worldwide.


CSR’s products already include 500kph ultra- high-speed trains and pressurised high altitude trains, together with a range of road rail vehicles.


The new road rail vehicles will again be based on standard Volvo 17 and 25 tonne trucks.


Designed to EN280:2001 and EN15746 standards, the fi rst SRS Sifang road rail trucks will be launched into European markets at the VDEI / IAS Railway Infrastructure Exhibition in Münster, 28 – 30 May.


www.srsrailuk.com FOR MORE INFORMATION


rail technology magazine Apr/May 13 | 189


the nearest track access point before track is closed for an engineer’s possession. This can save a great deal of time. c. Our operators are highly trained and extremely experienced because our equipment is in constant use. d. The system is fl exible. Vehicles may be moved between work sites very quickly. e. Trans-shipment of material from lorries to rail bound vehicles is avoided.


Chinese co-operation and the future


dimension


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