Interpipe, a Ukrainian manufacturer of steel pipes and railway products, has delivered ULT 35 wheelsets to a customer for the first time. The wheelsets will be used in the construction of heavy-haul railcars, with the end user being a steel plant in northern Sweden.
Interpipe announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reported.
The ULT 35 wheelset, which is part of Interpipe’s proprietary Ultimate product line, was developed by the company’s R&D specialists specifically for railcars designed for heavy-haul transport operations.
The new wheelset is engineered to withstand axle loads of up to 35 tons. These are significantly higher than the axle loads of 20–25 tons that are more common in the freight segment.
Railcars with a 35-ton axle load are used in a few countries for specialized purposes because the increased weight requires reinforced railway infrastructure. In addition, significantly higher requirements for strength and wear resistance are placed on wheels and axles.
"This design will become the new standard for our long-standing partner, a Swedish railcar manufacturer that specializes in heavy-duty railcars. The wheel set was designed specifically for a 35-ton axle load. However, the design also allows it to be used on railcars with lower axle loads. In this way, we have managed to extend the service life of the wheels and potentially reduce the customer’s required inventory of wheels and wheelsets for railcar maintenance," said Niclas Eriksson, Interpipe’s senior sales specialist for the European and international markets.
