Repair instead of replacement
This is exactly where preventive rail maintenance comes into play. On behalf of the Warsaw Tramway, Vossloh treats particularly heavily loaded track sections—so-called “hot spots”—with the world’s smallest rail milling machine, the VTM-compact. It is used for targeted milling operations on defined sections of the network to completely eliminate rail defects and delay rail replacement for as long as possible.
Both vignol and grooved rails are processed. “Grooved rails, in particular, pose special maintenance challenges for tram networks. The fact that we can now process them to a high standard using the VTM-compact is the result of many years of development work and is unique in this form on the market. The machine successfully fills a niche that could not be addressed with previous milling machines,” explains Marcel Taubert, Managing Director of Vossloh Rail Services.
Corrective rail machining allows rail defects to be corrected early on, before extensive replacement work becomes necessary. This not only extends the service life of the infrastructure; it also helps avoid disruptions that can significantly impact daily life in a city of over a million people. When grooved rails are replaced, roads often have to be dug up, tracks exposed, and entire sections of traffic temporarily closed. This often affects buses, cars, delivery traffic, and residents as well. Targeted Rail machining, on the other hand, makes it possible to carry out work during short nighttime windows without significantly restricting the city’s mobility. In this way, it plays a vital role in keeping Warsaw moving day after day.
