With a view to increasing flexibility and full independence in the implementation of contracts in the segment of track works and overhead contact line development, Budimex plans to purchase new equipment fully adapted to move on Polish tracks. Budimex’s machine park will be enriched with new tamping machines, welding machines, a scraper, a locomotive and trolleys, as well as several dozen specialist wagons. In total, Budimex will have over 80 units of rolling stock and track machinery. The cost of the investment in the new equipment will amount to PLN 129 million.
Budimex is already preparing to receive two machines (tamping machine and scraper), which should arrive from the Plasser & Theurer plant to Polish at the turn of July and August this year. The company decided to invest in its own resources in the field of railway equipment in 2018, when a maintenance train and two two-way vehicles for hanging the network were purchased, as well as a Unimat turnout tamping machine, a CSM track tamping machine, a profiling machine, a welding machine, trolleys and specialized wagons. The next stage of the investment in new equipment is to contribute to Budimex’s full independence during the implementation of contract activities.
“After the phase of trial implementations in the field of the traction network, we have been working in this area for over six months with the use of our own equipment and people. We needed some time for implementation, but now, for example, on the contract in Warszawa Zachodnia, we do all the works in the field of overhead contact line assembly ourselves. We plan to further develop competences in this area and independently carry out work on subsequent contracts – says Maciej Olek, Director of Railway Construction at Budimex S.A.
Budimex makes every effort to operate on the basis of its own equipment. Rental takes place only in exceptional situations, most often when there is an accumulation of many works at the same time, or there are circumstances that make it difficult to transport machines from one construction site to another. Budimex has a number of predispositions to perform all works in the field of railway infrastructure, excluding only technologies used to control rail traffic. – adds Maciej Olek.
Buying new equipment is an investment for years. Budimex plans to enter the international market, and if the railway contracts are won, these machines will also be used during operations abroad.
“Machines of this type are purchased with a view to using them for 15-20 years. The rate of return on these investments depends, of course, on the scale and number of contracts being executed. However, it should be remembered that these are investments that guarantee our independence and give us much more flexibility in terms of planning and implementation of works, which translates directly into the efficiency of project implementation, and in this sense we can say that they pay off immediately – comments Maciej Olek.
