TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1978
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KCR TO ACQUIRE NEW MACHINE FOR TRACK MAINTENANCE
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THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY WILL SOON ACQUIRE A $1.2 MILLION TAMPING MACHINE WHICH WILL PUT IT ON A PAR IN RAIL MAINTENANCE WORK WITH THE WORLD'S MOST MODERN RAILWAY AUTHORITIES.
AN ORDER FOR THIS MACHINE WHICH WILL GREATLY SPEED UP AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF RAILWAY TRACK MAINTENANCE WORK HAS BEEN PLACED WITH AN AUSTRIAN MANUFACTURER FOR DELIVERY EARLY NEXT YEAR.
THE ONE-MAN OPERATED MACHINE, WHICH RESEMBLES A LOCOMOTIVE IN APPEARANCE, IS CAPABLE OF DETECTING AND ADJUSTING ANY DEVIATION BOTH HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY ON ALIGNMENT OF THE RAILWAY LINE AS IT TRAVELS ALONG THE TRACK AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 400 METRES AN HOUR.
THE RAILWAY CHIEF CIVIL ENGINEER OF K.C.R., MR. CHUNG KWOK-SANG SAID THE MACHINE WILL GREATLY REDUCE THE TIME AND EXPENDITURE ON TRACK MAINTENANCE AS A NIGHT'S WORK BY THIS MACHINE WOULD REQUIRE 30 MEN TWO WEEKS TO FINISH IT UNDER THE EXISTING ARRANGEMENT.
+THE MACHINE IS ALSO NECESSARY FOR THE MODERNISATION AND ELECTRIFICATION OF K.C.R. AS IT CAN MAINTAIN THE TRACK TO THE MUCH HIGHER STANDARDS REQUIRED FOR THE SMOOTH RUNNING OF TRAINS AT SPEEDS OF 120 KM AN HOUR WHEN THEY ARE OPERATED ELECTRICALLY, + MR. CHUNG SAID.
HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT ANOTHER MERIT OF THE MACHINE IS THAT THE MAINTENANCE OF THE RAILWAY LINE, NOW FOUR TIMES A YEAR, WILL BE REDUCED TO TWICE EVERY YEAR, DUE TO THE BETTER AND MORE CONSISTENT QUALITY OF WORK ACHIEVED BY THE MACHINE.
+THIS, COUPLED WITH THE TIME SAVED IN ACTUAL TRACK MAINTENANCE, WILL ENABLE A GREATER UTILISATION OF THE RAILWAY LINE, BOTH FOR PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAFFIC,+ MR. CHUNG SAID.
THE MACHINE WEIGHING ABOUT 25 TONS IS TO BE MANUFACTURED ACCORDING TO K.C.R.'S SPECIFICATIONS WITH A SPECIALLY BUILT-IN NOISE-PROOF FEATURE.
IT IS EQUIPPED WITH PRECISION INSTRUMENT TO DETECT ANY DEVIATION WITH AN ACCURACY UP TO 1 MM. AS IT TRAVELS ALONG THE TRACK ANY DEVIATION INCLUDING SETTLEMENT OR MISALIGNMENT DETECTED IS IMMEDIATELY CORRECTED.
THIS IS DONE BY POWERFUL EQUIPMENT IN THE MACHINE TO JACK UP
LEVEL THE TRACK, AND LEVEL IT BACK TO THE DESIRED ALIGNMENT, AND SUPER-ELEVATION.
THE ACTION OF THE TAMPING UNITS OF THE MACHINE IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF A VIBRATOR USED AT A CONSTRUCTION SITE. THEY TAMP THE TRACK FOUNDATION TO A CONSISTENT PRE-DETERMINED DEGREE OF CONSOLIDATION TO GIVE THE TRACK GOOD RIDING QUALITY.
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