Modular Ballast Transport Systems
The “Modulo” system, manufactured in Europe by Colmar is available in Australia and New Zealand through Aries Rail. Built in standard container sizes, each ballast transport module has a conveyor system to transport ballast along the train and/or discharge ballast to the side of the wagon.
Waste ballast can be quickly removed from site directly from a ballast cleaner.
Transporting Waste Material From a Ballast Cleaner
The conveyor belt at the front of each module is designed in such a way that it can slew on the 3 axes (x, y and z). The conveyor belt transports the waste material to the next module during loading operations. By rotating the conveyor belt, it is also possible to discharge the waste material or ballast on the side of the track, both to the left and to the right, or on other wagons and road vehicles.
Transporting Waste Ballast and New Ballast Simultaneously
This can be done by positioning a further conveyor belt on the upper part of each module. Waste ballast travels in one direction whilst fresh ballast travels in the other direction.
By attaching the wagons to the Ballast Cleaning Machine in the opposite direction, it is possible to reach the working site with a new train composition consisting of a number of wagons – all loaded with fresh ballast, but one empty wagon.
When the Ballast Cleaning Machine starts working, the waste material is transferred to the upper conveyor belts and conveyed to the last “Modulo “unit which, was purposely not loaded. At the same time, the new ballast is transferred to the Ballast Cleaning Machine by means of the lower conveyor belt. In this way, while the new ballast is discharged, the newly available space is filled with the waste material.
The system is able to double the production capacity of a work site, eliminating the need for two traditional working trains, one for the transportation of new materials and one for loading the waste material. Because the loading system is controlled automatically, the number of workers is also reduced; only one person is required to control both loading and unloading operations, contrary to the traditional system which required two workers, one for loading and one for unloading operations.
Watch the Modulo Ballast Transport System in Action
The video to the left shows the modulo ballast transport system easily discharging waste ballast to the side of the rail.
Downloads
Further information on the range of ballast handling systems in the Colmar range may be found in the Colmar Rail brochure.
