RAILONE BALLASTLESS IN BERLIN AND BEYOND
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German-based PCM RAILONE AG has over 100 years’ experience manufacturing systems for urban transit and long-distance rail transportation. Director of Sales Saurav Mittal described RAILONE’s operation and new products in discussion wi
The RHEDA 2000® ballastless track system from RAILONE is laying the foundations for the railway networks of the future. This innovative system with stands heavy loads and high speeds. The RHEDA 2000’s construction method com bines high levels of safety and long-term track positioning, with favourable installa tion costs and low maintenance expenses.
“RHEDA 2000® is the ideal high-speed solution from RAILONE,” Director of Sales and New Projects Saurav Mittal explained. “As a response to climate change, people are looking for sustainable high-speed
mobility, and especially when it comes to railway transportation.”
PCM RAILONE AG traces its history back to a lumber rafting and trading business established in 1894 at Heilbronn, Germany. The company began cutting wooden sleepers in 1919, working in close consulta tion with Deutsche Bahn, the German national rail network. Innovation has always been a trademark of RAILONE as the com pany manufactured the first concrete sleepers in 1954, then the first ballastless rail system installed at the Rheda-Wiedenbrück station in Germany.
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PCM RAILONE AG I PROFILE
In 2013, RAILONE was acquired by the PCM Group of Industries and extended its reach into the international markets. Today, RAILONE has 550 employees around the world with an annual production capacity of over 5 million track sleepers and 840,000 metres of turnout bearers. Production remains focused in Germany, home to four RAILONE factories, but the com pany has three more sites around Europe, plus facilities in Turkey, USA, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and India. RAILONE remains a ‘typical German Mittelstand company’.
Business pillars
The RAILONE operation is focused on four main pillars: long-distance and freight, urban transit, engineering, and plant con struction. RAILONE’s extensive portfolio of sleepers is at the core of the first two pillars. The standard ballasted concrete sleeper is the classic version for track systems today.
RAILONE also offers a range of longer turnout sleepers, along with wider sleepers to lessen the load stresses on the ballast bed and elastically supported sleepers. The RHEDA 2000® ballastless track system is available within this primary pillar. This technology delivers a stable ride with a l ong lifespan and practically no mainte nance. RHEDA 2000® uses an integrated bi-block lattice-truss sleeper which in later versions combines in situ concrete and a reinforced concrete trough slab.
However, the flexibility of RHEDA 2000® means that it can also be used for urban transit, then called RHEDA City, RAILONE’s second pillar. While ballasted options remain possible for urban transit routes, the RHEDA 2000® solution allows for more seamless integration into an urban setting. Four major German cities have complete light rail sys tems from RAILONE, including Berlin and Leipzig. As demonstrated in Berlin, Edinburgh,
Athens and many other cities, RHEDA 2000® can be combined with asphalt, cobbled streets or even grass to blend the tracks into the environment.
“We are strongly promoting these ballast less track solutions,” Mr Mittal said, “as it increases the track life from 25 to around 40 years. The system also reduces the mainte nance requirements, such as the tamping of the sand and ballast, plus gluing the ballast which can be environmentally harmful.”
Best-in-class solutions
The innovative spirit behind RAILONE’s product portfolio is one of the things that sets the company apart from its competi tors, according to Mr Mittal: “RAILONE continually improves its products and processes, developing new systems, components and solutions. We combine experience, expertise, industry insights and premium products.”
He added: “The combination of all these qualities and values allows us to deliver the best-in-class customer-specific prod ucts. RAILONE offers tailored solutions that match the specific and local needs of the customer, last a long time and are low maintenance.”
The company’s products operate every where from the scorching heat in Saudi Arabia, biting cold and permafrost in Siberia, maximum heavy-haul loads in the USA, highspeed transport in China, to the Green Track in German urban transit. RAILONE is proud to offer the optimal sleeper and track solution for any requirement.
Many of the projects using RAILONE sleeper solutions also involve the company’s third pillar: engineering. Thanks to RAILONE’s decades of experience in national and inter national railway projects, the engineering team has extensive knowledge to support a client when building rail infrastructure.
This commitment is highlighted by the company’s ‘Solutions your way’ slogan. The company delivers support around the world with knowledgeable personnel and the engineering services needed to com plete the project.
Finally, RAILONE’s fourth pillar of plant con struction refers to the projects where the company oversees the construction of sleeper facilities for third parties. These plants are exactly tailored to meet the requirements of the customer with respect to scope of services provided, plant output, production technology and degree of automation. Such plants produce up to 1 million concrete sleepers per year, and may operate in manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic mode.
“Our services in engineering provide cus tomised plant construction,” explained
TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS FROM RAILONE CAN HELP PEOPLE TRAVEL FROM ONE CITY TO ANOTHER, CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER, AND ENJOY MOBILITY IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY
Mr Mittal, “in which we offer tailor-made factory solutions in accordance with the customer’s needs.”
Future transportation
The innovative spirit at RAILONE is deployed to find sustainable solutions for the industry, exploring options to reduce its carbon foot print regarding cement and other sleeper components. Alongside exploring the possi bilities for fibre cement solutions, RAILONE partnered with Pioonier GmbH to offer a composite sleeper made of 100% recy cled plastic a sustainable alternative to the conventional wooden sleeper.
“Sustainability is the hot topic across the globe,” agreed Mr Mittal. “RAILONE has part nered with a company in Germany who has patented a solution for completely recy clable plastic to produce railway sleepers. This is a new product, so we are right now working on the certifications. We have already received a certificate from the Technical University of Munich and an approval from Deutsche Bahn to build a test track. We are looking forward to these tests to supply this product in the future.”
Inflation, logistics, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the pandemic are all challenges for RAILONE. However, the company remains optimistic about the long-term future of rail transportation and the continuing demand for RAILONE’s innovative products.
The company also has more to con tribute towards achieving a sustainable future, according to Mr Mittal: “The drive towards net zero has definitely pushed our objectives into finding, developing and implementing new products and solutions with the lowest carbon footprint possible. We are working with the Technical University of Munich and Deutsche Bahn to develop solutions that serve the market and reduce overall carbon emissions.”
RAILONE clearly has an important role to play in supporting sustainable trans portation around the globe.
“We are excited to help the people of the world stay mobile,” concluded Mr Mittal. “Transport solutions from RAILONE can help people travel from one city to another, con nect with each other, and enjoy mobility in a sustainable way.” n
