SLOVAKIA: The readiness of the rail freight market to accept the use of non‑traditional materials in bogie production is being assessed in Tatravagónka’s Y25LsAL‑C-K bogie project, for which technical and economic feasibility studies are now underway.
The wagon manufacturer says weight reductions and the resulting improvements in efficiency and energy consumption are key to further increasing the environmental benefits of rail freight, and the use of lightweight aluminium alloy could reduce bogie frame weight by 460 kg.
This would provide an ‘attractive’ 920 km increase in the payload of a standard bogie wagon and a 1 380 kg increase for a three-bogie articulated wagon.
The frame is compatible with the standard Y25 design, and it does not require surface treatment.
The weight reduction would enable tank wagons to be equipped with disc brakes, improving life cycle costs and reducing noise.
The bogie is welded using friction stir welding by the VÚZ Welding Research Institute in Bratislava, which has collaborated with Tatravagónka to optimise the design to enable this technique to be deployed.
Development under the FR8Rail IV project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
