SLOVAKIA: Infrastructure manager ŽSR has acquired a Sever-1435 two-car track monitoring and diagnostic train, which Minister of Transport Pavel Lančarič said will enable the entire network to be inspected twice a year.
The 50 m long diesel-powered trainset was built by Russian company TVEMA. It is equipped with 250-2·1M bogies, supplied by Hungarian company Ganz Motor. Its maximum speed is 120 km/h, although it is limited to 70 km/h during monitoring runs.
The 50 m long vehicle is capable of measuring 500 km of track per week. It is capable of measuring the condition of the rail and other assets through visual assessment, ultrasonic testing, eddy current analysis and video monitoring using its forward-facing cameras.
It meets European Technical Specifications for Interoperability requirements.
The acquisition was financed from a €14·4m loan from the Slovak Investment Holding, which was in turn supported by the Integrated Infrastructure Operational Programme of the European Union.
ŽSR had previously leased an inspection vehicle from Hungarian state railway group MÁV.
