SŽ – VIT
VITal News 2015
Plans for 2015 have already starting to take shape at SŽ – VIT, as we had spent countless of hours discussing major future projects with our partners long before 2014 came to an end. Amongst other, our workshops will be receiving important improvements which will let them accept more orders, and of greater variety, too, so we can address the expectations of our customers, who have widely differing wishes and continue enhancing their cooperation with SŽ – VIT.
Our major regulars, namely VTG, GATX, Touax, and Atir-Rail, will be doing business with us also this year, typically requiring services in the field of wheelset maintenance, revision work on freight wagons, and pressure testing of boilers together with routine repair work. Moreover, talks are currently in progress to also include TSI-compliant assembly of wheelsets.
With our other clients, some talks on continued cooperation have already reached a conclusion while others are still on-going. Monfer, an Italian cereal trader whom we have successfully cooperated with since last year, ordered revisions of Uagps wagons according to their work instructions, while Transwaggon, a rolling stock leasing company with several European branches, chose to entrust us with the maintenance of wheelsets after our workshop in Ptuj (Center Ptuj) successfully obtained the necessary authorization. Business in rail spare parts and wheelset maintenance will be continuing with ETS, a German supplier of rail equipment. Service orders have also been on the rise from Wagon Care, a Dutch supplier of rail spare parts who we first met at Transport Logistic 2013, and from Meridian 23, a Bulgarian rail company. Moreover, we are delighted to see our cooperation with the French STVA, one of the biggest European keepers of flat wagons for car transport, take another step forward, as test wagons have been delivered to our workshop in Dobova (Center Dobova) recently for first trial revisions. Trusting in our ability to meet STVA’s expectations, we hope to expand our reference list also to the maintenance of flat wagons. Moving from France to Switzerland, talks are currently still in progress with Wascosa about the maintenance of wheelsets, and with the Swiss leasing company AAE, who has recently been acquired by the German wagon leasing and logistics company VTG.
Whether it is corrective work at our workshops in Zalog, Koper, and Tezno or repairs through our mobile service technicians, we are always quick to give assistance when vehicles come to a standstill. Wagon keepers who have been frequent users of our corrective maintenance and breakdown services can therefore expect another year of reliable and effective assistance from our side.
The main chunk of our maintenance of diesel rolling stock is planned for Slovenske železnice, comprising corrective maintenance, revision work on diesel locomotives, and modernization of Class 813/814 diesel multiple unit (dmu), with talks in progress to modernize the engines in Class 642/643 shunters. Maintenance of the brand new Vossloh shunter, which runs service in the port of Koper, will be continued as usual, and we also aim to master the maintenance of Herkules, a newcomer to the SŽ locomotive fleet – with the first stage of training successfully completed in 2014, further training is now planned to rise up to this new challenge. Moreover, Center Ptuj will be receiving an important upgrade this year, as plans have been set into motion to set up a special workshop for final drive overhaul of diesel rolling stock, which previously had to be hired out to subcontractors. This will let us become more self- sufficient while adding another service to our growing maintenance portfolio. The overhaul, which will initially be provided to Slovenske železnice only, will eventually be made available to all our customers.
Similar as with diesel vehicles, electric rolling stock to be serviced in 2015 will mostly come from Slovenske železnice; however, inquiries about the maintenance – both corrective and preventive, such as the revisions of Class E541 Taurus multisystem locomotives – have been on the rise also from other customers. Electric vehicles which are planned for revision work this year include the Pendolino high-speed train, Alstom electric locomotives, Pafawag electric multiple unit (emu), and the Ansaldo electric locomotive. Given the pace of work set in early 2013, we also plan to finish the revision of the first 20 Taurus multi-system locomotives.
Overall, 2015 will definitely be an exciting year with many new challenges ahead of us. Reaching our goals will surely take a fair amount of team work, cooperation and commitment, but our good track record gives us confidence that every goal we have set is well within our grasp.
