RM Rail Completes the First Stage of Its Foundry Modernization

VKM-Steel, a foundry incorporated into RM Rail, one of the largest railcar manufacturers in Russia, completed Phase One of production modernization with the launch of a new electric arc furnace for steel melting.

As part of Phase One, they commissioned a modern AC electric arc steelmaking furnace of 16 tons capacity manufactured by Thermomelt (Italy) and a shot blasting machine by Stem (Slovenia). The steelmaking furnace is equipped with an automatic ferroalloy dosing system, which eliminates manual interventions by the furnace operators and improves the accuracy of the molten metal chemical composition in alloying elements content. The furnace uses low-maintenance water-cooled roof helping to reduce refractory materials consumption. Through higher transformer power and oxygen/carbon injection system, duration of heat is shortened by 30-40%. A new generation shot blasting machine significantly improves shot blasting quality.

Upon completion of the modernization Phase One, the production capacity is increased to over 1000 car sets per month. Phase Two, which will be completed in August, is expected to provide an output of over 1200 car sets per month.

The foundry modernization is performed under RM Rail strategy of railcar components business development to supply customers with high-quality castings for rolling stock repair and maintenance amid declining demand in the railcar market.

Currently, the VDK-10 vacuum-film forming line is used to produce castings with an increased fatigue safety factor for both proprietary developed 23.5 tf axle load bogies and innovative 25 tf axle load bogies.

Nikolay Chalov, VKM-Steel General Director: