Railway turnouts in sections are becoming the standard

The provisions of the PKP PLK instruction on the transport and unloading of factory-assembled railway turnout sections at the installation site inevitably affect the railway infrastructure investment market. Popularization of this model, caused by the positive attitude of contracting authorities, will significantly affect the acceleration of investment processes on construction sites and increase the quality and durability of track layouts installed, and thus safety on railway routes.

Just last week, several transport and unloading operations of assembled railway turnout sections collected from the manufacturers were carried out on the PKP PLK network. Id-114 instruction clearly presents its influence on the market, according to which, each newly installed railway turnout with permissible “straight line” speed of 120 km/h and above, should be transported, unloaded and installed into assembled blocks of the frog, switch and connecting rails. These provisions have been in force since mid-2016, however, their actual impact on ongoing investments is beginning only now. First of all, contracts and orders signed under the new instruction currently enter the implementation stage. Secondly, the contractors market is starting to understand that the new instruction will actually be enforced by the network manager. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important for contractors, it can be seen that refined logistic models are not only an art for art’s sake, but a real time saver, which translates into measurable savings on the construction site.

“Only last week, the railway turnouts manufactured at our facilities in Kraków were delivered to the rebuilt stations of railway line No. 7, and subsequent transports are being prepared for the turn of May and June. The project has been carried out by us using a model based on the unique, innovative and patented Switcher turnout logistics system, which integrates transport, safety measures and the loading and unloading of a railway turnout within one device.” says Ryszard Leszczyński, CEO of the Kolejowe Zakłady Nawierzchniowe “Bieżanów”. “We are particularly happy with the cooperation with PNUIK Kraków at Rejowiec station, because it shows that among contractors, caution and uncertainty about the issue of railway turnout logistics under the new regulations of the railway network manager is disappearing.” he emphasizes.

“From our point of view, completing the implementation calendar of the Switcher system is the way for practical optimization and reduction of transport and unloading times. If in the autumn we considered the unloading of the Rz 60E1-500-1:12 at the construction site of the Zabłocie Krzemionki siding in 275 minutes a success; today, after the precise unloading in Kanie within 140 minutes of closing the tracks, we are still looking for further time savings.” says Aleksander Furtak, member of the Board in charge of the implementation of investments in KZN Rail, the operator of the Switcher system. “Each operation of transporting and unloading railway turnouts in blocks proves that the implementation of the instruction can significantly improve the investment process, particularly when it is carried out during short, point track closures.” adds Furtak.

Competing transport and unloading of railway turnouts at Olszamowice station on the Central Railway Line carried out at the same time as the KZN Bieżanów Group’s activities may serve as confirmation of the aforementioned words. In this case, standard tilting wagons and a separate heavy railway crane were used. According to data provided by the manager, in 2017 PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. mounted 24 railway turnouts in blocks on the railway network. Such assembly was used, among others, as part of works on the railway line No. 7 on the Lublin – Dorohusk section, as part of the construction works for the Rejowiec siding, at Olszamowice station and Włoszczowa station, and as part of the works on the railway line No. 201 on Nowa Wieś Wielka – Maksymilianowo section. Last year it was a similar number (Świdnik, Łuków – Parczew, Biała Rawska). In addition, PKP PLK assumes that by the end of this year, and in the following years of the 2013-2020 budget perspective, the trend for transporting and installing railway turnouts in blocks will increase.

Understandably, the transition to new standards of transport and unloading of railway turnouts is a lengthy process. On one hand, the market needs verification that entities with appropriate solutions are able to quickly and on a large scale handle the investment process within the framework of the model that is imposed by Id-114. On the other hand, contractors must include the block system of transport and unloading of railway turnouts in their tenders. “This is why the most important role was to be played by the recently cancelled tender for railway turnouts, in which the block system of transport and unloading of railway turnouts was supposed to be used for the first time on a larger scale. We hope that after clarification of doubts regarding the budget for this task, we will be able to call for tenders again. Such a decision would strongly smooth the way ahead for railway turnout suppliers as well as investment contractors before the peak years of the current investment perspective.” says Ryszard Leszczyński.