This article first appeared in the Railway-News magazine, Issue 3 2022.
Pfaff Verkehrstechnik’s international business is currently growing exceptionally well, as shown by various successfully completed major projects, such as the equipping of a new railway depot in Ashkelon, Israel.
This is where electric trains of the type Desiro HC (High Capacity) from the manufacturer Siemens Mobility are maintained. They are considered state-of-the-art multiple unit trains that were first presented at InnoTrans 2014. In 2018, Pfaff Verkehrstechnik was awarded the major contract to equip the entire workshop of the depot. In addition to track systems, it also includes, among other things, an axle changing system, multiple lifting tables, mobile lifting jacks, hydraulic support jacks, turntables and roof working platforms (‘flying carpets’) for maintenance work on the train roofs.
In 2017, the operator, the state railway company Israel Railways, decided to use a total of 60 double-decker Desiro HC multiple units with 330 carriages on the railway line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which were to run in units of four and six-carriage trains. The six-carriage trains with a length of over 150m offer space for 655 seats.
The railway line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a 56km new line and as such the first ever electrified line in Israel. The pairs of trains that have already been delivered and now run here every day can reach speeds of up to 160km/h.
As part of the new-build project, a depot was built in Ashkelon to maintain the Desiro HC multiple units already in service. Pfaff Verkehrstechnik delivered the material for the depot in 2020 and started the installation on site in December of that year. At that time strict restrictions on entry were in place – therefore the installation was mainly carried out by local subcontractors under the supervision and responsibility of Pfaff Verkehrstechnik. Recently, in spring 2022, it was possible to complete the final tests, acceptances and training.
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