170 years of rail know-how H. Cegielski

170 YEARS OF RAIL KNOW-HOW

H. Cegielski – Factory of Railway Vehicles Ltd is one of the oldest companies manufacturing railway stock in Poland. Piotr Sadowski reports on the company’s successes to date and its plans for the future.

The company has a rich experience in the area of constructing and producing railway vehicles, which results from the long history of the business, closely connected to the history of the country and the city of Poznań. Established in 1846, the company’s 170-year history can be divided into stages.

The first ‘Cegielski’ railway coaches were produced in 1921. In 1926 steam locomotives were introduced, and from 1931 until the Second World War motor and tram railway cars were also being produced. As a result of the organisational transformations which took place over the decades, in 1997, H. Cegielski – Factory or Railway Vehicles Ltd finally emerged as an independent company belonging to the HCP Group. On 26 March 2010, 100 per cent of the company’s shares were taken over by the Industry Development Agency in Poland, thus making it the sole owner of the business. The company underwent a difficult period of restructuring in its functional, organisational and production areas. Today it is still working to continuously improve its processes on every level, including a new organisational structure, improvement of existing processes, investments in infrastructure and machines, as well as expansion of the product portfolio to include new, innovative offerings and services.

Key areas of operation

For many years H. Cegielski has been specialising in manufacturing passenger railway cars – both producing new ones, as well as carrying out renovations and thorough modernisations of used cars. It is the only national manufacturer of new passenger railway coaches which can be used for international transport at speeds up to 200 km/h. It produces all types of modern passenger railway cars, which can be set up in different configurations.

The products and services offered by the company are characterised by a number of factors. Firstly, it produces railway coaches with and without compartments, restaurant, bar, sleepers, business class and others, which can travel at speeds of 160 km/h and 200 km/h. Secondly, it manufactures complete bogies from the 25AN family designated for use at speeds of up to 200 km/h. In 2012 the company bought copy and production rights to manufacture railway car bogies from the 25Ana family. Thirdly, the company fixes, renovates, modernises and transforms railway vehicles – including cars, railway buses and electric multiple units. It specialises in carrying out both periodic renovations (at maintenance levels from P4 to P5), as well as the modernisation of railway vehicles. Last but not least, H. Cegielski offers a range of other services, which include: welded constructions – from carbon to stainless steel and aluminium; production of complete car, railway bus and tram boxes; brake crossbars for fast coupled trains, frames and rocking beams, chassis of cargo cars and other specialist welded constructions; painting and lacquering of railway vehicles and metal constructions; pressure measurement of wheel sets and the weighing of railway vehicles. Furthermore, the company is continuously developing and expanding its range of services for operations with different clients in Poland and abroad.

Fanina SA

For more than 57 years Fanina SA has manufactured the electromechanical equipment and components, including the rolling stock’s electrical equipment - mainly electric heating couplings that are compliant with UIC-552 standard, coils and solenoids, pantograph contact shoes, electro-pneumatic valves. Our products are sold in eight countries from the European Union and three countries from Eastern Europe. We also provide full recovery services of the Scharfenberg couplings as well as we upgrade front couplings by replacing the coupling electrical part by the new one, with the male-female connectors, and the internet connection. We also modernize inter-car couplings by replacing the spring kit by the elastomeric filler and equipping a coupling with the protection against breakage. We are also able to carry out professionally other products or services for a rolling stock, all in accordance with the needs of our customers.

We are looking forward to doing business with you.

Strong competitor

H. Cegielski holds a well-established leadership position in the production of modern passenger railway cars. It is characterised by many years of experience resulting from implementing contracts across many, demanding international markets. For example, over the last few years the company has delivered new sleeper cars for Belarussian Railways for international transportation, which can be used on the two different railway systems (rail track widths of 1435 mm / 1520 mm). There are many factors which make H. Cegielski stand out from its competitors, including: high quality of manufactured products, confirmed by numerous awards; its own team of designers and technologists; constructional solutions, documentation and knowledge, gained over many years of existence on the market; competitive prices in relation to foreign railway car manufacturers (identical technical parameters at lower cost); innovative solutions based on modern technologies; modern production, the highest quality fittings and highly reliable products.

Modern passenger railway cars are by far the most popular products currently offered by H. Cegielski. The cars are characterised by the use of the latest manufacturing technologies, the highest quality of fittings and excellent reliability. The manufacturing solutions used ensure a very smooth ride to guarantee passenger comfort. The cars manufactured by the company have modern interior arrangements, fitted with comfortable, ergonomic chairs, diode lighting and full information for passengers displayed on internal monitors, as well as an electronic seat reservation system. The use of inter-carriage, ‘pressure-sealed’ gangways improves travelling comfort, reduces the noise level in the vehicle and improves comfort when moving between cars. The use of pressure-sealed gangways gives characteristics similar to coupled trains. In addition, the full diagnostics of all vehicle appliances is available on the on-board computer, which is a fully Polish design, available for the first time on the Polish market.

Continuing to lead the way

Determined to be the Polish market leader, the company is introducing vehicles which fully meet the TSI requirements. Its stock of cars can be further expanded to include a steering car, which makes it possible to use train stock in the push-pull set-up.

Furthermore, H. Cegielski is currently expanding its product portfolio by implementing a new project: the modernisation of the EN57 electric multiple units – the largest ever such project in the market. The next step, which is aimed at entering the market in the area of electrified vehicles, is the production of this type of vehicle created on the basis of a common platform (that is, traction units with electric drives, combustion drives and mixed electric-combustion drives – the so-called ‘bi-traction’ drive).

In the near future H. Cegielski is also planning to return to the trams market. Projects carried out over the course of previous decades have equipped it with the necessary expertise in the field of design, construction and production technologies relating to trams (including manufacturing new trams, both high- and low-floor ones), designated for use in Poland and Germany. Last but not least, this will be followed by new ventures to ensure that in the future H. Cegielski Factory of Railway Vehicles will continue to, repeatedly, surprise its competitors. n