INFRABEL EXPANDS ITS SWITCH INSTALLATION SYSTEM

26.09.2019

In 2015 Techne delivered a KRC 1200 to the Belgian state railway company, Infrabel. The crane features a double slewing ring, which allows the boom to swivel while the counterweight remains in the track direction, keeping the adjacent track open to traffic. Together with its high load capacity of 40 tonnes at a radius of 28.5 metres, this makes the crane ideal for laying long and heavy switch segments in urban areas. In combination with Infrabel‘s switch transport wagons, which transport prefabricated switch segments directly to the construction site, the KRC 1200 forms a switch installation system that guarantees a justin- time process and thus minimises line closures. The new crane has already become an integral part of Infrabel‘s switch conversion plans, and in December 2018 the decision was taken to continue this success story with an order for an additional KRC 1200, due in part to the steadily increasing number of switches requiring replacement. The crane is currently in production and will be in action on the Belgian rail network from summer 2020. Infrabel’s KRC 1200 is used to unload switch segments from the switch transport wagon (see picture at top right). The traverse belonging to the crane includes the option to move the bottom hook block, allowing the centre of gravity of the attached switch segment to be balanced. This represents a decisive advantage when unloading from the switch transport wagon, especially under an overhead contact line, as the required lifting height of the crane is minimised.