World Speed Record on Bonatrans Wheels
05 September 2006
The world is a step further in the area of railway transport speed. Cooperation between Siemens Transportation, German railways (DB) and Austrian railways (ÖBB) brought about the breaking of the locomotive world speed record.
Siemens locomotive reached speed 357kph at the route from Ingolstadt to Nuremberg (Germany). The world record was reached also due to Czech know-how. Railway wheels and axles that carried the record-setting locomotive come from Bonatrans a.s. of Bohumín, Czech Republic.
Testing of locomotive capabilities as well as promotion of German railway industry motivated an unusual idea of trying to break locomotive world speed record. Previous record was kept by French railways and was 331kph. A recently built new track in Bavaria was selected for the record test. The new world speed record of 357kph was achieved by Siemens locomotive ES64U4 (Taurus).
The record would not be achieved without significant Czech contribution in a form of railway wheels designed and manufactured in Bonatrans a.s., the biggest European railway wheelset producer. Pavel Manasek, marketing executive, explains that standard batch production components were used: "We have supplied several thousand Taurus wheels and axles to Siemens Transportation. They are designed for speed up to 250kph, however, the project team for record setting carefully re-calculated the behaviour of individual components as well as aerodynamics at the speed 350kph and endorsed the test."
Breaking of the speed record means a proof for Bonatrans a.s. that the wheels are designed and manufactured with substantial safety and reliability margin. Mr. Manasek sees a potential in the very high speed transport: "So far our wheels reach a speed of 280kph in Germany in ICE trains, however, we intensively work on development of wheels with maximal operational speed of 350kph."
Bonatrans a.s. is the biggest European producer of railway wheelsets and their part for railway rolling stock. Its share of the European market exceeds 30%. The company builds on its forty-years' history and exports over 90% of its production. Approximately 190,000 products leave the plant each year.
