Welcome behind the scenes!
This is where we’ll show you how our track construction and maintenance machines are put together step by step at our factory in Linz – from development to final manufacturing. With over 70 years of experience, we combine the most modern technology with the highest precision to build machines that work reliably around the globe under the most varied conditions. Many of them have been operating successfully for decades. We produce machines that reflect our dedication to quality, innovation, and longevity.
Technology and Innovation
The departments in Plasser & Theurer's Technology and Innovation division are already creating the future of track construction today. In order to secure technological leadership for the future, these teams mainly focus on the ongoing development and testing of machines and components in addition to basic research in railway construction.
However, direct contact to practical operation is equally important for technical innovations. Ideas that result in a new machine feature emerge in discussions with our customers, track supervisors, or machine staff.
Development and Design
Our design offices are also at the heart of our machine development. Here, technologies and machines take shape on paper. Specialists from different technical fields collaborate in developer teams.
The individual departments are divided into machine models or categories. Some design departments specialize in developing electronic components and control technology or fluid technology.
Cutting Shop
In the Cutting Shop, we produce all sheet metal parts which are processed in our other workshops for mechanical parts production, frame welding, fabrication, bogie production, and assembly. Every week, about 40 tonnes of parts leave our Cutting Shop.
Welding Shops
The Welding Shops are central to the entire production process of our machines. This is because the entire range of welded main components for our machines is manufactured here: from tamping unit frames and carrier frames for tamping units to complete machine frames.
3,500 tonnes of steel are processed and 100 tonnes of wire are welded per year. This corresponds to around 160 rail running gears and 250 bogie frames. State-of-the-art welding robots are used, but a large part is also performed manually.
Part Production
The components used in our track construction and maintenance machines must meet very specific requirements. To fulfil these requirements, we produce the majority of parts for our work units, hydraulic parts, and bogies ourselves in our Mechanical Part Production facilities.
When turning, milling, and grinding parts, we use the latest generation of automatic production machines, flexible machining centres, modern tube bending machines, and a fully automatic cable assembly system.
Complex Cylinders
Hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders ensure that almost all movements of the work units are performed with the required force and precision. Robustness and precision play a special role here. We produce the components and assemble the pneumatic cylinders in our Cylinder Production Shop.
Work Unit Production Shop
The work units are the core components of our machines. They affect not only the function of the machine but also its productivity and cost-efficiency. Our Work Unit Production Shop colleagues manufacture ready-to-install components from the parts produced in part production. They then assemble them into complete work units.
Test runs and performance tests of all tamping units are carried out before installation. All major parameters are measured and particular attention is given to the temperature of the bearings. On specially developed test rigs, all hydraulic units are pressure tested for leaks.
Bogie and Gearbox Production Shop
Bogies and gearboxes for track construction and maintenance machines have to complete both particularly hard and extremely precise work. Bogies and gearboxes are not manufactured in series production, but in made-to-measure production of individual bogies or a small number of identical bogies. The preparation of the cast housing requires highly experienced staff and very careful work. The same care and precision are also required later when assembling the gearboxes.
The wheelset press is used to press the wheels onto the axles. A counter-pressure test can then also be carried out.
Electronic Components Development and Production Shop
Our colleagues in Electrical Pre-Assembly produce circuits, controls, and measuring systems for our machines. The products range from printed circuit boards, circuit boards, and modules to control cabinets and control desks.
Three things count above all: electronic components must be powerful, work precisely, and be available as original spare parts for decades. In addition, they meet special requirements in terms of operating reliability, such as vibration and impact resistance, temperature resistance (-25ºC to +80ºC), and high moisture tolerance. This is because our machines are in use everywhere – be it in tropical, arid, or cold climates.
(Final) Assembly
As soon as all components such as frames, bogies, work units, or electrical and hydraulic systems have been manufactured, tested, and approved for installation, the painting process begins. The next step is the assembly of the machine.
Assembly is carried out in three stages:
- Mechanical assembly: first, the frames are placed on the bogies and certain mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical parts are installed and adjusted.
- Final assembly: in the second stage, electric cables and tubes are laid in position, the engines are fitted, and the hydraulic and diesel tanks as well as the cabs are installed.
Commissioning
The final stage of the production process is commissioning. Our Technical Commissioning specialists "switch on" the machine, so to speak, and bring it to life. They put the electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic systems into service. This means checking the wiring, lighting, and safety equipment; filling the operating equipment; and checking the mechanical functions. In short: every single system on the machine is checked.
The machine leaves the assembly workshops so that first operational and functional tests can be carried out. In our factory, standard gauge tracks, a narrow gauge track, and a track with adjustable track gauge are available for testing. During the machines’ trial run, the electrical and hydraulic systems are calibrated first. If everything is okay, test runs with the machines take place on ÖBB's permanent way. Customers then come from all over the world to pick up their product and be trained.
Global Customer Services
However, once the machine has been produced and handed over to the customer, our support is not over – the opposite is true, actually.
We operate a worldwide network of service bases, repair workshops, and spare parts warehouses, and we offer individual training sessions for your staff - from machine operators to managers. Our service technicians provide high-quality support. This provides you with innovative and sustainable services for the optimized availability and performance of your machine.
Machine operators are an important part of this. Their training is provided at the Training Centre in Linz with a wide range of specialist training courses.