Trains in the Thurbo fleet are among those serviced at the SBB's Eastern Switzerland Regional Vehicle Maintenance Center (RICO).
Kistler has collaborated closely with a Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) service depot to develop a new solution for measuring brake force on trains. This new system will boost the efficiency of the entire on-site maintenance process. All the system components fit into a case, and a customized software solution ensures that the processes run smoothly.
The Eastern Switzerland Regional Vehicle Maintenance Center (RICO) in Oberwinterthur is one of SBB's eleven regional service depots. RICO is responsible for a wide range of services including maintenance, repairs and conversion work on trains in the fleet operated by Thurbo (a regional subsidiary of SBB covering eastern Switzerland) and also on trains belonging to SBB GmbH (another SBB subsidiary operating in Germany).
The vast majority of trains in the fleets serviced by RICO consist of articulated railcars with two or more sections that operate on suburban railway (S-Bahn) lines and regional routes. Especially in the local traffic segment, requirements for reliability and safety are high: end users expect punctual, dependable services ‒ which can only be guaranteed if the necessary maintenance work is performed efficiently and reliably. Ranieri Baratto is a fleet technician in the seven-strong team that is responsible for approving vehicles and new technical solutions. He explains: 'Meeting deadlines is critical for a service center such as ours. As the only maintenance depot for the Thurbo fleet, we have a heavy responsibility. Regular safety checks must be completed quickly and reliably on the trains so they can resume service. The more efficiently we can accomplish these recurring routine jobs, the more resources are freed up for complex tasks.'