Catenary: Cost Reduction in Modern Catenary Installation

"…the maximum possible availability of overhead line for electric train operations, if available technical solutions can be economically justified…"
(UIC Leaflet 791R, Quality assurance of overhead line equipment, General)
Since this paragraph was included in the UIC Leaflets, the structural change in the railway administrations has further increased the pressure on the individual areas of responsibility. Increasingly, each business sector has to fulfil its duties to a great extent independently, with a high degree of responsibility, according to very precise specifications in technical and above all commercial aspects.

The following descriptions show that mechanisation in the installation and maintenance of catenary is an important contribution for maximum possible availability of the overhead lines for electric train operations and, from an economical point of view, these technical solutions cannot be ignored.

Developments in mechanisation for the catenary installation and maintenance machines have been concentrated on two interconnected sectors.

This is primarily the installation of a contact wire and/or carrying cable in one operation with the final operating tension, which leads to a dramatic reduction of line occupation. The machines can be equipped with winch units for the installation of up to three wires simultaneously. Winch units of the latest generation permit free selection of the direction of work regardless of which way the machine is facing. Catenary designs with feeder cables and return current conductors can also be installed using the catenary renewal machine.

The second large field of activities are catenary installation vehicles in a variety of sizes and ranges of equipment to provide the technician with fast and ideal access to the point of work using work platforms with a high degree of freedom. A variety of equipment assists execution of the work and substantially accelerates it overall.