photo: Archives/Tatravagonka
Until now, the Tatravagonka Bratstvo has mainly offered its customers revisions and reconstructions of freight railway cars. However, it has also recently started the production of new wagons. New wagons leave also the gates of the Tatravagonka Poprad.
Preparations for the production of new tank cars began at the Tatravagonka Bratstvo in Subotica at the beginning of this year. At that time, preparatory work for the installation of the tank production line began. The start of new production was a really big challenge for everyone who took part in this project.
The cornerstone of the whole operation was quality and good technical preparation. The production line and especially the tank part itself had to go through a thorough phase of preparation. However, workshop in Subotica could draw experience from her colleagues from the Tatravagonka Poprad. According to this, it was possible to correctly select, for example, the necessary tools and technologies.
At the moment, the Tatravagonka Bratstvo has a new production capacity of one wagon per day. However, production is currently taking place on temporary premises. A new production hall is under construction. Once the new workshop is built, operational and production capacity should increase and double.
At present, tank cars of the Za(c)ns type with a volume of 98 m3 are produced in the Tatravagonka Bratstvo in Subotica. The target customer is the company Ermewa, which is to purchase 40 of these wagons. Subsequently, the production of Zans of 88 m3 volume cars should start. The production of these two types of cars should be carried out alternately in the following years.
However, these are not the only railway cars from the workshops of the Tatravagonka empire, which are of great interest among clients. Another such case are the Sgmmns 40´ cars. These are already the third type of cars that are manufactured for the target client, the Polish state-owned company PKP Cargo.
First, Sammns type wagons were produced, which are intended for the transport of tracked vehicles. They were followed by articulated container trucks Sggrs 80´. When more than half of the agreed quantity was delivered, production of the already mentioned Sgmmns 40´ wagons began, which are part of the tender for the supply of 936 intermodal cars. The Tatragonka won this tender announced by the Polish state company PKP Cargo in 2019.
But what makes these cars special? Sgmmns 40´ cars are special above all in the height of the loading area, which reaches a maximum of 1,165 mm. The cars are approved for three-star operation "s", which allows you to reach speeds of up to 120 km/hour with a fully loaded car. Of course, the conditions for this must be met by the infrastructure. All of the abovementioned cars, as well as the Sgmmns 40´, are equipped with DAKO brakes.
Half of the cars will also be equipped with a special barrier against opening. Cars with this modification will then be used for transport within the EU. They will most often run between the port of Gdańsk and Slovenian and Italian terminals.
Another part of the wagons will transport containers from China along the New Silk Road. They will move between the Belarusian border and Germany. At the EU border wagons without the special barrier will have to be used due to customs controls.
Part of these wagons is delivered in November. Next production of the 40´ Sgmmns cars will continue until April, when the PKP Cargo will hand over the first 200 cars. This will be followed by the production of a smaller volume of these cars for Lotos Kolej. The last cars of the PKP Cargo business should be handed over in 2022.