The european year of rail

Rail is the most sustainable mode of transport and plays a crucial role in decarbonising the transport sector. In order to reach the ambitious goal  of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, sustainable passenger and freight transport is key. 

The European Commission has declared 2021 the European Year of Rail. This initiative highlights the importance of rail for net-zero emissions.  At Plasser & Theurer we strengthen the railway ecosystem. 

Find out more about the European Year of Rail. 

Keeping rail infrastructure in shape

In the early 20th century, 1 km of track maintenance required 1,300 person-hours.

Today’s high-performance tamping machines deliver an output of more than 2 km/h and offer an ergonomic and safe working environment.

Our machines keep rail infrastructure in good shape in order to transport people  and essential goods worldwide.

Let’s save the planet: #ontrack!

If you travel by train , your carbon footprint per kilometre is much smaller than when you get on a plane or a car . Every kilometre you travel on a plane equals 255 g of CO₂ emissions . Rail travel causes less than a quarter of those emissions: 41 g, to be exact .

We are proud to play our part in creating a strong railway system worldwide. This is our contribution to successful and sustainable passenger and freight transport.

Check out our video.

Seven decades of innovation

Fit for the future: Since the company was founded, Plasser & Theurer has registered more than 10,000 patents. About 2,500 are still active.

Once again, we have lived up to our role as a technology leader with more than 20 new patents in 2021. Thanks to our innovations in the name of climate protection, we won the GreenTech Award 2020/21.

Highly efficient passenger transport

Trains travel more often. Trains travel faster. Trains travel everywhere.

Through the targeted expansion of the rail network, it is possible to match commuter and main-line services even better. This increases flexibility for travellers and creates more capacity for freight trains. And above all, the railway system benefits from its increasing size.

Reduction of track possessions

While our machines work on the track under construction, rail traffic can still run on the adjacent track.  
It is our goal to carry out maintenance in a way that does not affect daily railway operations.
Operational excellence, powered by Plasser & Theurer. 

Green transport

Land-based freight transport is projected to grow by 30% in Europe. A modal shift to rail is a significant contribution to reducing emissions. 
The average freight train can substitute for 50 trucks, lessening pressure on road networks and the environment.

Research & development

The future of railway construction and maintenance is near and dear to us. At Plasser & Theurer, we continue to invest  11% of our revenue in research & development.
The passion and know-how of our engineers is the foundation for developing new solutions that enable our customers to carry to carry out operations more quickly, easily, and efficiently.  

Are you interested in the track construction and maintenance technologies of tomorrow? 
Visit P&T Research and learn more about our latest developments:

High speed

At Plasser & Theurer, we are proud of our contribution to the railway speed record of 574.8 km/h that the French TGV set in France in 2007. 
France has taken a leading role in promoting passenger transportation on track by suspending domestic airline flights on all routes that have a direct train connection of less than 150 minutes.  

Urban mobility

Trams and light rail operations have been a popular urban mode of transport since the end of the 19^th century and are currently celebrating a comeback internationally. Plasser & Theurer addresses the growing challenges of maintaining rails in urban areas.

The future is in urban rail networks, but only if they are properly maintained.

We provide railways with excellent geometry

A precise track geometry makes rail transport significantly more cost efficient and comfortable. Since 1953, we have been developing technologies that can produce a precise track geometry with maximum efficiency. Our tamping machines achieve the highest accuracy despite rigid requirements.

We reduce noise and more

Today, continuous welded tracks are laid with a length of up to 250 m. This greatly reduces the number of rail joints and makes rail transport much quieter. Besides, this makes travelling for you even more pleasant. We build mobile welding robots for fully automatic welding of the track that meet the highest level of quality standards.

We deliver fast solutions for heavily utilised lines

In Brazil, heavy-haul trains run with axle loads of up to 45 tonnes. In Europe, these values are much lower, with 20 to 22.5 tonnes. Still, the track is subject to extreme stress. Track maintenance requires fast, high-capacity machines. This way, freight traffic runs like clockwork. Our 09-3X Tamping Express is the global standard for such machines. With this machine, it is possible to tamp 2,200 m of track in only one hour.

Keep tracks safe and secure come rain or shine

Not only do people suffer from temperature fluctuations. They also affect tracks - high stresses build up and they tend to buckle. To make sure that doesn’t happen, we develop and build track maintenance machines that ensure a stable track geometry in every kind of weather.