RAIL.ONE at InnoTrans 2008, 23 – 26 Sep 2008, Berlin Fairgrounds

Technological expertise and all-in-one competence for all areas of application

Neumarkt and Berlin, Germany, 23 September 2008 – RAIL.ONE GmbH, internationally successful manufacturer of concrete railway sleepers and system provider for advanced track systems, presents this year at InnoTrans 2008 – the International Trade Fair for Transport Technology – its comprehensive portfolio of track systems for passenger, freight, and heavy-haul transport. At the fair, RAIL.ONE will offer the state of the technological art throughout its entire portfolio: beginning with individual prestressed concrete sleepers for ballasted track systems, as well as ballastless track systems for lines carrying extremely high speeds, and extending to special solutions for high axle loads.

"We understand railway mobility in an all-in-one context: from mass rapid transit and regional rail transport all the way to mainline routes for passengers and freight," explains Tilo Brandis, who as CEO manages the company with his colleagues Ralf Sobottka and Richard Ziegler. "InnoTrans is an important communications platform in these efforts, for direct exchange of information with our customers and business partners."

Intelligent mass rapid transit systems for sustainable mobility
Mass rapid transit is a particularly essential element for assuring sustainable mobility. Underground, surface, and tram rapid transit not only relieves metropolitan areas from the burdens of private vehicle traffic and assures relatively equivalent living conditions from region to region: they also contribute appreciably to reduction of emissions and energy consumption. For track installation on concrete, ballast, or asphalt, RAIL.ONE offers high-performance and reliable railway systems that are optimally integrated into their surroundings. Until now, more than 150 km of RHEDA CITY track has been installed in numerous German cities. The North-South Mass Transit commuter network in Cologne presents a very special challenge: according to information provided by municipal transit authorities, this network represents the largest urban-construction project in Germany. Almost the entire 4-km rail line runs underground, including a section 30 metres under the Philharmonic Hall. For the first construction section, RAIL.ONE delivered over 650 m of track, including turnout sleepers, and was responsible for system supervision and installation-systems engineering.
In The Hague, the tram line Aaltje Noorderwierstraat, as well as 3 km of track along the Royal Library, have been executed with the RHEDA CITY and RHEDA CITY GREEN models. RAIL.ONE was also responsible for systems supervision in The Hague.
For the upgrading of various tram lines in Warsaw, RAIL.ONE received orders not only for delivery of over 8 km of RHEDA CITY track, but also for engineering and quality supervision of the projects. Further projects are also being planned in conjunction with the European Football Cup, to be held in Poland in 2012. Plans also exist to use the system variant RHEDA CITY GREEN in Poland.

The most advanced in track technologies for mainline and high-speed traffic
For construction of track systems, and for the upgrading of existing rail lines, RAIL.ONE develops track solutions individually matched to the customer’s requirements. And RAIL.ONE offers all services on a one-stop basis: product development, manufacture, and application. In the high-speed area, patented RHEDA 2000® ballastless track technology has already achieved an internationally leading position. Since its patent application in 1999, RHEDA 2000® has developed from a niche product to standard technology for high-speed traffic.
After successful application of ballastless track in high-speed projects in Germany (from Cologne to the Rhine-Main airport complex, and from Nuremberg to Ingolstadt), in the Netherlands (the HSL-ZUID high-speed line from Amsterdam to Rotterdam), and in Taiwan (the THSR from Taipei to Kaohsiung), RHEDA 2000® can book an additional success. In the presently most important project for construction of transport infrastructure in central Germany, the entire permanent way in the Leipzig City Tunnel complex will be equipped over a length of approx. 4 km with patented RAIL.ONE track systems, including its mass-spring system. The convergence/divergence rail network of all Leipzig commuter rail lines is estimated to go into service beginning in 2011. Beginning of delivery is scheduled for 2009 – 2010.
RAIL.ONE has achieved an essential milestone for obtaining official standard-design classification of its GETRAC® A3 system for tunnel rehabilitation in the Deutsche Bahn AG network. The RAIL.ONE Group has won the contract for delivery of its ballastless track systems for the new Schlüchterner Tunnel tube, Germany, and for upgrading of existing tunnel tubes in Sinntal-Sannerz (eastern Hesse). The Schlüchterner Tunnel is already the 5th tunnel in a row that has been upgraded with the GETRAC® A3 system, following the Kehre Tunnel (2001), the Heiligenberg Tunnel (2001 – 2002), the Esslingerberg Tunnel (2004), and the Brandleite Tunnel (2005).

Freight and heavy-haul traffic: extreme loads, top reliability
With high energy prices and increased demand for raw materials, freight and heavy-haul railway traffic has assumed a key function in intermodal competition. For these exceptional demands placed on track technology, RAIL.ONE has developed special concrete sleepers that are designed for static axle loads up to more than 40 metric tonnes. In mid-2007 RAIL.ONE installed its first special sleepers on a section of the line in the North American rail network. For RAIL.ONE, the application of its sleeper technology on one of the heaviest-loaded freight lines of the world is a crucial milestone for entry into markets with high axle loads.

Efficient planning – with a maximum of cost assurance
Requirements placed on the cost effectiveness of advanced track systems will in future become increasingly more demanding. Engineering innovations are expected to assure the quality and the productivity of the overall system. Low maintenance expense and reduction of life-cycle costs will become ever more important.
For planning of all solutions for rail lines – whether at grade, on engineering structures, or in tunnels – RAIL.ONE engineers effectively adapt the entire track design to local requirements. From the design development phase up to detailed planning, RAIL.ONE places particular emphasis during installation on top quality and maximum reliability.
For example, the extremely narrow track clearance envelope in the 1-km tunnel between the London regional stations Hampstead Heath and Frognal is being enlarged by installing the RHEDA 2000® system, in order to enable the tunnel to be used by advanced trains. RAIL.ONE received a contract from an English engineering office to conduct the entire permanent-way planning for this project. Further tunnel and tram projects are in planning.

Production-plant construction – turnkey and customized
For upgrading and expansion of the railway network in Turkey, the Turkish national railways TCDD will invest over 8 billion US dollars until 2011 in railway infrastructure. During the years 2004 – 2005, RAIL.ONE Group already delivered more than 620,000 concrete sleepers from its plants in Hungary and Romania for modernization in the first construction phase of the railway route from Ankara to Eskişehir. For construction of an additional line, the company will deliver around 400,000 more main-track sleepers. TCDD has furthermore placed an order for approx. 45,000 sleepers for the AFYON project. Production of the main-track sleepers will take place in the new plant in Polatlı, approximately 75 km west of Ankara. RAIL.ONE operates this production plant together with its Turkish joint-venture partner ILGAZ.
RAIL.ONE succeeded in entering Arabian markets in late 2007 by winning a contract for construction sections CTW 200 und CTW 100 of the North-South Line Project in Saudi Arabia: a 2,400-km line from the mining regions in the northwest of the country to Damman. Production of 850,000 main-track sleepers, as well as over 47,000 linear meters of turnout sleepers will take place in a plant especially built for this project in Hail, around 700 km north of Riyadh, in collaboration with Office 15 of the Chinese Railways Construction Corporation (CRCC).
In the execution of production plants, RAIL.ONE profits from its long years of experience. RAIL.ONE is the only planner and builder of track production plants to offer a choice among 4 different production processes – which, in addition, can be modified according to special requirements. This combination of plant-facilities engineering and production know-how further guarantees the required high quality standard for RAIL.ONE customers.

RAIL.ONE at InnoTrans 2008:

23 – 26 September 2008, at Berlin Fairgrounds
Hall 26, Stand 216

Visit us at our fair stand for a personal talk and exchange of views.

About the PCM RAILONE Group

The PCM RAILONE Group has been manufacturing concrete sleepers and track systems for urban transit and long-distance rail transportation for over 60 years. The technology leader also offers its expertise in the fields of engineering and plant construction. Its customer-driven innovations fulfill the highest quality standards and are installed around the world

The PCM RAILONE Group is comprised of several companies and eleven production facilities with a presence in Germany, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Hungary, Turkey, the United States, Canada and lndia. lt maintains annual capacities of over 5 million track sleepers and 840,000 linear meters of turnout sleepers. RAILONE produces optimized products and custom solutions with over 550 employees around the world.