23. 3. 2022
THE NEW RACK RAILWAY IN TATRAS BRAKES THANKS TO DAKO-CZ
The High Tatras have seen new trains on the popular rack railway, the track connecting Tatranská Štrba and Štrbské pleso. Five three-car rack and pinion sets from Stadler Rail are fitted with brake components from DAKO-CZ. As part of the project, the company from Třemošnice, East Bohemia, also supplied brake components for a multifunctional locomotive, which can also serve as a snow plough during winter. The new trains replaced wagons that had been in operation on the Tatra rack railway for over 50 years. DAKO-CZ has been cooperating with Stadler since 2013 and during this time the companies have implemented dozens of orders. Current projects focus mainly on the supply of brake components for suburban units of this major manufacturer of rail vehicles. In addition to Slovakia, the company from Třemošnice currently supplies components for trains that will run in Poland, Sweden, Italy and Slovenia. “From the beginning, we perceived the order for the production of components for the Tatra rack railway as very prestigious. Although it was not one of the largest in its scope, we took it as a valuable reference. It proves, among other things, that our braking systems and components are able to work even in very demanding conditions, such as the mountainous environment in the High Tatras,” says Lukáš Andrýsek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DAKO-CZ. The contract for the production of brake components for rack railway sets, operated by Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, was awarded to the Třemošnice manufacturer in 2019. For a total of five three-car sets, DAKO-CZ supplied pneumatic brake control panels, panels for controlling the main line, anti-skid modules and other vehicle brake equipment devices. The trains have a hybrid drive – rack and adhesion, which allows them to be operated on the rack railway between Štrba and Štrbské Pleso and also on other lines of the Tatra Electric Railway. The project also included a multifunctional locomotive that can be used as a snow plough during winter. The brake panel of the plough is produced by DAKO-CZ. An interesting feature of this locomotive is that part of the machine is a retractable turntable, which allows manual rotation of the plough when there is enough space. The Štrba–Štrbské Pleso line in the length of 4.8 km, equipped with a Strubova rack and pinion, connects to the Tatra Electric Railway with a track width of 1 m, which is 35 km long, in Štrbské Pleso. The rack railway was first launched in 1897 and operated until 1933. Its operation was subsequently restored after a break of almost forty years in February 1969 in connection with the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1970. The sets from 1969 have now been replaced by new ones from Stadler. Since July 2020, when the operation of the line was temporarily suspended, extensive infrastructure modernization has been underway. The new sets represent a modern generation of low-floor GTW units, specifically adapted for combined rack and adhesion operation and are already in use in France and Switzerland. The 495.95 class electric units are designed to travel at a maximum speed of 80 km/h in adhesion mode. Each of the new units offers 91 seats, two wheelchair spaces, multifunctional bike and baby stroller sections. The vehicles are equipped with a wifi system for passengers, air conditioning, a modern information system and a device for counting passengers.