BEING MOBILE - Rhomberg Bau

HSL Ankara – Istanbul, Phase 1
Tamping the high-speed line
In April 2009, Rhomberg-Kalebozan won its
first contract for mechanised maintenance
of the Ankara – Istanbul high speed line
between Eskisehir and Ankara. The international Rhomberg
team (core team from BBW, our newly trained Turkish technicians
and two employees from the Rhomberg subsidiary
Track Australia) were able to complete the project within
three months.
Initially, the Turkish State Railway Company (TCDD), which
up to now had carried out all maintenance of its tracks with
its own staff and machinery, was very sceptical about outsourcing
this work to an external company – but was won
over by the competence and quality of the Rhomberg team.
This demanding challenge consisted of repairing up to
110 km of the whole line (230 km) and replacing up to
5,000 m 3 of ballast in just three months. The work could
only be carried out during the night during track closures.
A special challenge lay in the coordination of our teams
with the TCDD work programme, as the client was used to
changing previously agreed programmes at short notice,
which required a high degree of flexibility. In the course of
the project the work programme was jointly re-scheduled
which significantly improved the project efficiency.
The repair of the high-speed line was carried out and
accepted pursuant to EN 13231-1 Railway Applications
– Track – Acceptance of Works. Our work meant that
numerous go-slow stretches could be eliminated so that
at the end of the contract, 98% of the line could again be
travelled at the maximum speed of 250 km/h. The remaining
2% consists of track switch areas, overpasses and
tunnels. The successful completion of this project provides
the Rhomberg Group with an excellent reference in the
field of repair of a high-speed line which allows speeds of
up to 250 km/h.
The success of this project means we are confident for
the future. TCDD will shortly decide on the renewal of a
105 km long line section and, in addition, the tenders for
the annual maintenance contracts are being prepared. We
are extremely well placed for these, as we are very well
regarded by TCDD thanks to our high quality performance.
We are looking forward to the new challenges.
Gökhan Ipek
Managing Director Halit Kalebozan (5 th from left) was able to persuade the TCDD to entrust the repair of the entire track system to his professional
team.
36 NEW DIMENSIONS | Rhomberg kalebozan