SUITE RAPIDE BECOMES “SUPER”

Upper France (Nord pas de Calas / Picardie), the northern French region, is the location where the “super site” is situated. Human resources and high-efficiency trains working on Lot 2 will be transferred here, at the end of June, once the works along line 746 000 in Île-de-France will be completed. Goal: the renewal and contemporary restoring of the screed of line 267 000 Fives – Hirson by the end of August, in particular along the double-track section, electrified at 25000V, of about 42 km between Hirson and Leval (track 2) and between Avesnes and Hirson (track 1).

The works, that began last week, on June 29th, will be carried out at night, simultaneously interrupting the railway traffic on the adjacent track.

“The section does not present particular difficulties – explains Sabino Carbone from the French Management – even if, as usual, the presence of numerous level crossings will require the adoption of strict monitoring measures to ensure the safety of vehicle traffic. Moreover, specific interventions will be reserved, in terms of environmental impact, to the works foreseen along a railway section that crosses a natural area of Ecologic interest and a Nature 2000 zone. The real organizational and production novelty is the forthcoming integration of Lot 2 site with part of the machinery and human resources of Lot 3. In brief, a super-site called “single lot” will be created that will work shifts of 12 hours and will allow ensuring unprecedented production efficiency”.

The integration of the two lots will take place in a few days, in mid-July, with the completion of the renewal works of line 441.000, in Brittany, Rennes-Dinge section; by then, Lot 3 will have completed the works assigned and will be able to transfer the staff-workers hired with open-ended contract by GCF-Gefer France – and operating machines (tamping machines, profiling machines, road loaders, Vaiacar track, …) to Lot 2.

Suite Rapide convoys that will result from the integration of the machinery of the 2 Lots will be spectacular and imposing: a track renewal and replacement convoy hauled by Treno Matisa P95 will consist of 36 components (carriages, conveyor belts, tamping machine and profiling machines, ….) for a length of 740.5 metres; a restoring convoy of the screed that, to complete the powerful ballast cleaner C75 2C , will add 42 components for a length of 735.5 metres; a ballast moving train (32 components for 462 metres), two convoys for the tampering and finishing of the screed of 41 and 23 components respectively, for a length of 652 metres ("ballastage + gop 10") and “finiton” of 456.9 metres; additional high-efficiency paired machines will be used as auxiliary machines and will consist of a tampering machine and a profiling machine.

Overall, a “moving factory” that will be conducted by 168 specialized workers assigned to the single components of each convoy, and that will consist of 182 rolling stock elements for an uninterrupted development of over 3 km.

Super Suite Rapide, after completing Hirson site at the end of August, will work for the following 4 months of 2020 at Boulogne-Calais site, from September 7th to October 20th, and lastly, at Saint Fons site, in Rhône-Alpes region, from October 20th to December 18th.

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