Depot maintenance systems boost safety and speed train servicing
With ever-increasing safety and commercial pressures on rail operators, the need to ensure rail vehicle and staff safety while maximising vehicle availability and minimising operating costs has never been greater.
Clyde Materials Handling's (CMH) rail depot maintenance systems offer a means of streamlining the process of sandbox replenishment that can reduce health and safety risks, cutrail-vehicle service times and allow better management of the rail sand itself.
CMH offers systems to fully automate the sanding process, from the unloading of sand delivery vehicle to the train sandbox itself. Its fixed sand handling systems and SandPiper service vehicles can be integrated into new depots or implemented retrospectively on existing sites.
Rail quality sand is delivered to the maintenance depot where it is pumped from a vehicle into a storage silo. From this silo it is delivered via dense-phase pneumatic conveying to rail vehicle sanding points, either by fixed pipe-work or specially designed battery-powered vehicles.
At the interface between the SandPiper system and the vehicle's sandbox, a specially developed petrol pump-style nozzle fits into the sand box aperture. Fitted with an automatic shut-off valve, the nozzle stops sand delivery once the sandbox is full to prevent spillage.
Refilling sandboxes faster and in a more controlled manner than manual systems, the fixed and SandPiper systems also require less operator involvement.
Silica sand is a potential hazard to depot staff due to its silica content, particle size and high density. These properties could result in eye, respiratory system orlifting-injuries if sand is handled incorrectly. Using a completely contained system such as SandPiper can reduce this risk.
Complete containment of the rail sand in a SandPiper system also brings management benefits through a simplified logistics interface for delivery to depot and straightforward stock control.
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Clyde Materials Handling is based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire,England. www.clydematerials.co.uk
