TOWARDS LIGHTWEIGHT RAILWAY WAGONS
26 November 2003 - SSAB Tunnplåt AB

The Slovak Tatravagónka company began a project two years ago aimed at developing lighter and ergonomically better railway goods wagons. The project has involved both the customer and the supplier, and it all hinged on high strength steels. Entirely new opportunities are now opening in an area in which limited scope was available for innovation. The successes of Ta-travagónka have awakened the interest of the industry and the company has now been nomi-nated for the 2003 Swedish Steel Prize for its work on the new railway wagons.

"This is a major breakthrough in a conservative industry steeped in tradition," explains Ján Valigurský, Technical Manager of Tatravagónka, which is one of the leading European manufactur-ers of railway goods wagons. "Our designs can contribute to a new way of thinking for tomorrow's wagons."

Many of the wagons which the company produces are designed for carrying coils of steel strip, for the Swiss Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn company. AAE has 17, 000 railway goods wagons and is thus one of the biggest operators in Europe.

A working group consisting of representatives of AAE, Tatravagónka and the material supplier was convened two years ago to examine how extra-high strength steels could be used in a new goods wagon for steel strip coils that are transported all over Europe.

The group had a two-fold objective. One of these was to meet the demands of the loading personnel for improved working conditions, and the other was to lower the deadweight of the wagons in order to increase the payload.

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