Railway superstructures: Renewal
Our experience
Track renewal and ballast cleaning operations are the core business of GCF S.p.A.
We finalised operational and organisational methods in the course of renewal work on Italian railway sites that helped maximize efficiency and productivity.
In Italy, limited times (3-4 hours a day), work schedules generally at night and stringent regulatory requirements were a perfect training ground for constant improvement.
Today, GCF S.p.A. operates in Italy and abroad in all kinds of railway site requiring renewal or ballast cleaning where speed of execution and the least possible impact on freight and passenger traffic are mandatory requirements for clients.
Our competitive edge
- Innovative methods.
- Qualification: exceptionally high specialisation and organisation of human resources.
- Efficiency: extensive fleet of machines, unique of its kind in Europe.
- Performance: quality and speed of execution.
Track renewal
Replacements of the entire railway line superstructure (rails and sleepers) - during traffic interruption - were performed at a production rate of more than 1,100 metres/h.
Modular organisation of site teams, with up to 100 highly skilled and specialised operators, innovative work methods (some, such as GOP12A finalised specifically to produce the highly efficient tasks required by the French Railways, SNCF) and the fleet of high-performance machines (6 renewal trains - Matisa P95, Matisa P90 and Matisa P811) are the hallmarks of GCF’s intervention.
Railbed ballast cleaning
Renewal tasks often take place alongside ballast cleaning operations: this entails either the total replacement of the crushed stone or screening designed to separate the earthy material and irregular rubble, followed by re-arranging existing and fresh crushed stone.
GCF S.p.A. achieves this with a fleet of 6 high-performance ballast cleaners -Matisa C75, Matisa C90 and Matisa C411 capable of handling up to 1,000 cubic metres of material removed per hour.
Some GCF and Group Companies construction sites
National Railway Network Renewal, Italy
Renewal and rehabilitation works on the Italian national railway network represent the daily “training ground” of GCF – Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie S.p.A.
For decades, the Company has been operating, together with the companies of its Group, within the divisions of RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana), particularly in Central and Northern Italy, ensuring maximum efficiency, high production quality, rapid execution and minimal impact on freight and passenger traffic.
Organization of site teams and the availability of high-performance machines for renewal work (7 renewal trains type Matisa P95, Matisa P90 e Matisa P811) as well as ballast cleaning operations (7 ballast cleaners ensuing high-performance type Matisa C75, Matisa C90 and Matisa C411) represent the distinctive hallmark of GCF S.p.A.
Thanks to its high performance standards, the Company has progressively gained recognition also in major international projects.
Fushë Kosovë - Hani i Elezit. Rail Route 10 - Lot 1, Kosovo
Within the framework of the European project “Rail Route 10” for the development of the Balkan railway network, the renewal of the Fushë Kosovë - Hani i Elezit line is included.
The works of Lot 1 - started by GCF in 2019 - concern the complete renewal of the 68-kilometer section of track that develops from the station of the capital Pristina up to Hani i Elezit, on the border with Macedonia.
Alongside track and railway renewal works (66.83 km of main track), there are civil works for the construction or adaptation of underpasses, tunnels, bridges and stations.
Fushë Kosovë - Mitrovice. Rail Route 10 - Lot 2, Kosovo
The Rail Route 10 project provides with Lot 2 the complete renewal of the Fushë Kosovë - Mitrovice railway section.
For GCF S.p.A. this involves providing for the complete reconstruction of 34.4 km of main railway line and 9.1 km of track and switches in stations, in addition to the restoration of about 18 km of road network adjacent to the line.
Many civil works are planned on bridges, underground channels, hydraulic works. A specific commitment concerns the restructuring of 5 stations.
Renewal : Suite Rapide 2013-2017, France
Three “Suite Rapide” lots approved by SNCF for the period 2013-2017 for the rapid renewal of old railway lines.
In the five years, through the Transalp Renouvellement consortium of which GCF is the majority partner, renewal construction sites were activated in the 12 areas provided for by Lot 2, providing for the complete renewal of over 1,000 km of obsolete railway lines.
An intervention characterized by speed of execution, use of innovative procedures and high-efficiency machines.
Renewal : Suite Rapide 2018 - 2024, France
As many as two “mobile workshops” engaged in France by GCF S.p.A., awarded 2 of the three lots of the Suite Rapide 2018 - 2024 campaign.
Each lot involved the opening of 4 to 7 construction sites per year for the complete renewal of a total of 200 km of line/year in different areas of the French network.
A considerable challenge made of technical equipment, organizational and operational competence that saw the deployment in the field of imposing convoys of trains and high-performance operating machines capable of delivering completely renewed 1 km of line per day.
Renewal of the Plovdiv-Burgas line, Bulgaria
The renewal project of the 292 km of the Plovdiv - Burgas, in September 2011, provided for the rehabilitation of the line and the modification of the curve radius to adapt the line to a speed up to 160 km/h, in compliance with the standards set by the European Community for the trans-European transport network.
In addition to the development of the operational project, works were carried out on the track (superstructure and substructure) with the complete replacement of rails, sleepers and switches, on the catenary, on sectioning posts and on signalling and telecommunications systems. Furthermore, the modernization of the 19 stations and stops was carried out with various civil works.
Renewal: Tangier-Marrakech line, Morocco
On the Ligne Atlantique - which will connect Tangier and Agadir in High Speed, through Kenitra, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech - the intervention of GCF S.p.A. is placed, consisting in the rehabilitation of the existing line with the complete replacement of tracks, sleepers and ballast.
The complete renewal project includes the construction of the new OCL line and signalling.
Morocco's railway network is one of the most developed in Africa. The existing infrastructure comprises 2,295 km of railway network (3,350 km of track), of which 1,700 km (approximately 75%) is electrified and approximately 1,000 km is double track.
Sarajevo-Bradina Line Renewal, Bosnia
The worksite was launched in January 2015. It involves the entire Sarajevo-Bradina section, along Corridor V connecting Sarajevo to Mostar, with the aim of bringing railway traffic up to the 120 km/h standard set by the European Union, overcoming the numerous bottlenecks that previously made speeds above 20 km/h impossible.
Sarajevo-Bradina: the project
The executive project for this 30 km section includes the complete replacement of rails, sleepers and switches, as well as the rehabilitation and restructuring of 19 bridges, 17 underpasses, access ramps and other minor civil structures.
The works also include the full reconstruction of the overhead contact line (OCL) along the entire sectio.