Technical Acceptance Underway at the ŁKA Depot

Technical acceptance of the ŁKA train servicing depot is in full swing. A modern train wash has already been put into operation inside the hall, and as part of testing it has washed the first unit.

Trakcja PRKiI S.A. is the general contractor for the technical base for the trains of the Łódź Agglomeration Railway (ŁKA). Construction works were completed in September, and with them began the technical acceptance of the equipment in the individual disciplines. The train wash, located inside the ŁKA depot hall, is the first device of its kind used to service rolling stock. Washing a train takes a maximum of 30 minutes, although the full process, owing to safety procedures connected, among other things, with switching off the voltage in the traction network, takes about an hour. The shape of the brushes and the length of their individual parts have been adapted to the shape of the unit, which guarantees that it is washed thoroughly.

In the first phase the train set is covered with foam and then washed with 6 brushes in 3 planes, after which it is rinsed with demineralised water. The water circulates in a closed loop, which means that after a train has been washed the water goes to sedimentation tanks with a capacity of 20 m³ outside the hall, where it is purified and reused. About 1,000 litres of water is enough to wash a train the size of about 5 buses. The cost of the water and cleaning agents needed to wash one unit is about PLN 20 – 25.

It is worth noting that the train wash’s water management process is environmentally friendly. During washing, the water is aerated twice and additionally enriched with a special nutrient for bacteria that break down the organic and petroleum-derived substances washed off the surface of the train. The whole process is fully automated.

Informacje dla mediów

Robert Kuczyński
dyrektor ds. komunikacji
r.kuczynski@grupatrakcja.com