KLW developed a modification of proprietary wheel design for the heavy haul line ULT 25 LL. The client will use our 920 mm wheels to transport ore from mines in northern Sweden, where temperatures can drop to -40 degrees C and axle loads reach 25 tons.
The heavy haul line, called Malmbanan connects the mining city of Kiruna with the ice-free port of Narvik and carries some of the heaviest trains in Europe, each weighing more than 8,000 tons. It has become a benchmark for railway engineering and logistics in the European mining industry.
ULT 25 LL (“Long Life”) provides a customer with a longer wheel lifecycle with extra machining allowance, enabling one more reprofiling. Re-machining of the wheelset is ensured by increased initial rim thickness and optimized tread geometry, providing sufficient machining allowance.
Niclas Eriksson, Senior sales specialist for the European and International Markets, said: “We have been working with the customer for a long time trying to meet their needs and requirements on short notice. This time we already had a design that could be used with some smaller changes. However, sometimes we need to develop a completely new design of the wheel or wheelset with TSI approval within a short period of time. We are good at this, and this is reflected in the long-term relationships we have with our clients”. (Interpipe)