Palfinger secures deal for Austrian rail operator

Plafinger will equip 51 of ÖBB’s new rail maintenance wagons with aerial platforms. (Image: Plasser & Theurer)

Palfinger is to equip over 50 new railway maintenance vehicles with aerial platforms for specialist rail equipment manufacturer Plasser & Theurer, which is building a total of 56 of the vehicle units for Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB).

Of these, Palfinger will install the arm systems of its PKR 370 and PA 240 access platform models on 51 of Plasser & Theurer’s electric tower wagons and track wagons.

Florian Renner, Area Sales Manager at Palfinger Railway, said “In this connection, ÖBB chose the complete solution consisting of our proven PA 240 and PA 1002 access platforms, which are specifically designed for railway work and the PFD 99 positioner which we have adapted to the ÖBB’s innovative requirements.

“In view of the increasingly demanding applications, we have also developed a new railway crane with greater lifting capacity, a wider outreach and a pivoting basket: the PKR 370.”

The access platform baskets, which have a maximum load capacity of 500 kilograms, will be configured so that they can be lowered into the rail vehicles via their roofs.

According to Palfinger, this means the wagon units will have shorter set-up and deployment times.

The company will also install a safety bar “to guarantee safety and reliability on the track”.

Said to be one of the ÖBB’s biggest maintenance fleet investments, the new tower and track wagons are the first of what is believed to be a much larger fleet renewal investment.

The new four-axel wagons, which feature an electric-hybrid drive system, will be used to “maintain and repair overhead lines, to handle technical defects as well as storm damage and to conduct maintenance in tunnels” on Austria’s rail network.