Switcher with Ernest Malinowski award

The technology centred on the Switcher specialised train car received the first prize for Infrastructure in the prestigious Ernest Malinowski Memorial Contest. The prize confirmed the enormous interest in the innovative solution, which was clearly visible during the TRAKO 2015 trade fair.

KZN “Bieżanów” received the Ernest Malinowski award for Innovative technology of manufacturing and incorporation of high-quality railroad turnouts. “The distinguishing feature of our system is the comprehensive approach to the entire process of manufacturing, logistics and incorporation of railroad turnouts. It allows us to radically improve the initial quality and streamline the process of incorporation of the key elements of railway infrastructure,” said Ryszard Leszczyński, Chairman of the Board of KZN “Bieżanów”, in his acceptance speech. “The innovative and unique part of our technology is the combination of the safe transport and unloading of the turnouts,” emphasised the KZN’s boss.

Given the fact that turnouts are sensitive elements of the railway infrastructure and their condition significantly impacts the speed of trains and the comfort and reliability of travel, a system that improves their initial quality would be very desirable. It will extend the life cycle of the turnout products, reduce the scope and frequency of maintenance operations, and will improve reliability. Importantly, KZN’s proprietary system will reduce the incorporation time of turnouts four times, at the same time eliminating the issue of insufficient quality control by the manufacturer and PKP PLK on the construction site.

The core of the system that received the Ernest Malinowski award is the “Switcher” – an innovative rail vehicle with 27.5 m length and integrated cranes and modules for mounting and bracing the turnouts during loading and unloading operations. The cranes are able to operate in small spaces, which makes it possible to unload the train car without dismantling the electric traction. Digitally controlled cranes installed at the ends of the train car enable precise loading and unloading of the turnout both from a train car equipped with a crane, or a train car without the crane, used to transport the largest turnout blocks. The flexibility of the solution makes it possible to transport all types of turnouts, including those with 1,200 m radius.