GERMANY: Düsseldorf light rail operator Rheinbahn has taken delivery of a Vossloh Rail Services HSG-city mini high speed rail grinder, which it will uses to undertake preventive grinding to extend rail life and reduce noise on its 350 km network.
HSG-city is the latest version of Vossloh’s HSG-2 machine, specifically tailored to the needs of urban transport operators. It has 24 grinding stones which are propelled passively as the vehicle is hauled or pushed. By abrading material of less than 0·1 mm the machine prevents the formation of a wide variety of rail surface defects, extending rail life and also reducing noise from the wheel-rail interface.
The HSG-city is suitable for use in tunnels, with a compact design 5·7 m long, a suction device for absorbing and filtering dust and baffles to contain sparks. It can work at speeds up to 60 km/h to minimise disruption to scheduled services. Two modular grinders can be coupled to double the working range or the amount of material removed.
