The Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe has developed a modification of its proprietary ULT 25 LL (Long Life) railway wheel design for the heavy haul line.
These modified wheels, which have a diameter of 920 mm, have already been shipped to a client transporting iron ore in Scandinavia, beyond the Arctic Circle, where temperatures can drop to -40°C, as reported by the CFTS portal.
The heavy haul line, called Malmbanan, connects the Kiruna ore deposit in northern Sweden with the ice-free port of Narvik in Norway. The line carries some of the heaviest trains in Europe, each weighing over 8,000 tons, with axle loads of up to 25 tons. It has become a benchmark for railway engineering and logistics in the European mining industry.
The ULT 25 LL provides clients with a longer wheel lifecycle and an extra machining allowance, enabling one more re-profiling. The wheelsets can be re-machined thanks to increased initial rim thickness and optimized tread geometry, providing sufficient machining allowance.
"Interpipe has been working with this client for a long time, always trying to meet its needs and requirements at short notice. This time, we already had a wheel design that could be used with some minor changes. However, sometimes we need to develop completely new, TSI-approved wheel or wheelset designs within a short timeframe. We are good at doing this, and this is reflected in the long-term relationships we have with our clients," said Niclas Eriksson, Interpipe’s senior sales specialist for the European and international markets.
