LINSINGER: The Austrian railhead profiling specialist will be unveiling its latest compact SF02T-FS rail milling train at InnoTrans 2014. This is one of a pair that the company is due to deliver to Hong Kong’s MTR Corp in the spring of 2015.
The small-profile SF02T-FS has been designed for use on metros and narrow gauge railways, and is able to operate around curves as tight as 50 m radius, thanks to a purpose-developed articulation joint. A low-emission engine facilitates operation in tunnels, as does a cleaning process that ensures that neither milling chips nor grinding dust are left on the track. Similar models have previously been supplied to JR West and Seoul Metro.
Around 22 m long and weighing 84 tonnes, the SF02T-FS is carried on 700 mm diameter wheels, with a maximum axleload of 14 tonnes. It is able to travel between worksites at up to 60 km/h, and can cope with gradients as steep as 4%. When operating, the machining speed varies between 5 and 14 m/min, depending on the depth of cut. Power is provided by a 400 kW diesel engine, which supplies two 75 kW motors for the milling heads and two 33 kW grinding units.
According to Linsinger, the combination of milling and grinding enables the complete reprofiling of the railhead in one pass. The flexible cutting depth allows material removal of between 0·1 mm and 1·5 mm on the running surface and up to about 3 mm on the gauge corner. This ensures a high degree of accuracy in the longitudinal profile and cross section, as well as a high-quality finish to the rail surface.
Because the profiling is done without any high pressure, the company says this avoids any risk of changing the rail’s metallurgical structure. With no dust and sparks flying, the risk of a fire in the tunnel is reduced.
Other initiatives developed at the Rail Milling Technology Center in Steyrermühl will also be on show in Berlin. These include a new generation of cutting tools with a longer working life to reduce costs, a machine-mounted measuring system for checking the cross- and longitudinal profiles after processing, which is directly installed on the machine, and a profiling unit able to process switches and rail crossings.
‘Our guiding principle at Lindsinger is to always be on top, with constantly-innovative enhancements of our high-tech-products’, says CEO Hans Knoll.
