PRS also rents out machines

Full service At Plasser Robel Services (PRS), “availability is the theme”. This is what its Managing Director Karl Oberreiter said in an interview with Rail Business. Demographics also play a major role: many machine owners no longer have enough staff to work on their own machines and are increasingly outsourcing their maintenance. PRS has the staff for this at its three locations in Munich, Opladen and Freilassing, but also for mobile activities. At the same time, many companies outside of the large track construction groups would also rely on the expertise of the manufacturers – especially for heavy maintenance. According to Oberreiter, demand is higher than ever before. Oberreiter also attaches great importance to the expansion of remote maintenance. This is offered together with a fleet management system under the brand names Plasser Datamatic and Robel Ronnected. Existing machines up to 20 years old can also be retrofitted; around 500 machines already have the equipment. Plasser Robel Services assumes the warranty for Plasser & Theurer and Robel, but also processes machines and components such as bogies and wheelsets from third-party manufacturers.

ECM service provider
PRS is active in six areas: customer service, spare parts service, tamping unit service, wheelset bogie service, machine service and uptime service. The company also has numerous certifications. PRS has been ECM 1-4 certified since the end of 2023; previously it was ECM 4 for its own machines. In future, the company will also act as an ECM service provider, and for rail construction companies with large machine fleets, PRS will also assume ECM responsibility for individual machines only. PRS is also a specialist welding company in accordance with DIN EN 15085-2, is certified for NDT (non-destructive testing) in accordance with DIN 27201-7, is approved by SNCF, the British RISAS directive and DB for joining running and driving wheelsets and is accredited as a DB maintenance workshop.

Uptime Service – The machine rental service
If the track maintenance machines are in the PRS halls – whether for scheduled maintenance, accident repairs or retrofitting – the owner cannot use them. “When we’re working, you can’t work,” is how Benedikt Plawenn-Salvini, Head of Uptime Service, sums it up. The core idea is to rent out machines to bridge these downtimes. A pool of replacement machines is available for this purpose, which can be supplemented by rental if required. One challenge, according to Plawenn-Salvini, is that there is often no 1:1 solution for larger railroad construction machines. Here, “improvisation” is required to find suitable replacements. So far, the pool has been made up of used existing machines. According to Plawenn-Salvini, the procurement of two new machines for rental with full service in Germany is now also on the agenda: two CatenaryCrafter Type 2 from Plasser & Theurer, similar to the ÖBB machines currently in production. The vehicles are multi-suitable for work on the overhead line and on the track. Deliveries are planned from 2026. Plawenn-Salvini said that demand is currently high, particularly from Germany, where the problem of new registrations for railroad construction machines is clearly noticeable. For example, some manufacturers are currently waiting over a year for new construction machines to be approved for Germany. In addition, Uptime Service also offers the purchase and sale of used maintenance on a Plasser & Theurer MTW 100 maintenance vehicle.

Machine reconditioning: Three locations and many possibilities
PRS uses three locations for its service work. The head office and the workshop for reconditioning the tamping units are located in Munich, while wheelset and bogie reconditioning is concentrated in Freilassing. Machine maintenance, overhauls and retrofits are carried out in Freilassing and Opladen. A hall with a pit track is available for this purpose in Freilassing, as well as a parallel working line where the vehicles stand on trestles. The hall has a crane system for 50 tons and four lifting jacks for 30 tons each. In addition to wheelset processing machines such as the wheelset press for wheels up to 1000 mm, a spring test bench and, since 2022, a bogie test bench from Nencki are available for wheelset and bogie reconditioning. The latter can be used to test bogies with track gauges of 800 mm to 1676 mm. According to Martin Stummer, Head of Machine Service and Wheelset Bogie Service, the division has received approval from SNCF for the reconditioning of wheelset bearings, and approval from DB is imminent. Therefore, if necessary, this work is (still) outsourced to the bearing manufacturer SKF. Wheelset and bogie reconditioning is also carried out for machines from other manufacturers. Although PRS is not certified by the VPI wagon keepers’ association to process freight wagon wheelsets, it does use the VPI rules and regulations. In 2022, 1300 wheelsets were refurbished. The reconditioning of components such as engines, brakes or even the cranes on the vehicles is outsourced. Retrofitting is becoming increasingly important for the owners of railroad construction machines. In Freilassing alone, two ballast plows were on order at the end of February, which will be worked on from March and May respectively. In both cases, Uptime Service will rent out machines – in one case, two different machines from different owners will be rented one after the other for the downtime. The DB Bahnbau Group has also commissioned the retrofit of its six Robel 54.22 railcars. However, PRS also buys vehicles for retrofitting and then sells them again. Two of ÖBB’s Robel maintenance systems have already been sold back to Italy after being retrofitted. The spare parts area is also important. The Group keeps around 20,000 parts in stock – including for machines that have been in use “for decades”. If parts are no longer available, the design departments of both manufacturers will provide alternatives.