As part of the extensive work on the Malmbanan, Railcare has carried out ballast replacement on bridges where traditional mechanical solutions cannot be used. This work is a key component of the project led by Infrakraft during 2024–2025 to enable a higher axle load on this heavily trafficked railway.
In total, ballast has been replaced on seven bridges along the Malmbanan line. The work was carried out over five intensive nights in May, without disrupting daily train services at all. The longest bridge repaired was approximately 50 metres.
Railcare’s in-house developed machines, Railvac and Ballast Feeder, were used for the work, enabling an efficient and gentle ballast replacement even on complex bridge structures where larger ballast machines cannot access.
“This type of project demonstrates the strength of our railway maintenance solutions, where we can work flexibly and with high precision even under constrained conditions,” says Robert Jonsson, project manager at Railcare.
In conjunction with the ballast replacement, the bridge troughs were also exposed, allowing inspections to be carried out before new ballast was refilled. This is an important proactive measure to ensure the long-term functionality and safety of the bridges.
Now that the work is complete, the axle load on the line can be increased to 30 tonnes; a long-awaited capacity increase for the Malmbanan, which is one of Sweden’s busiest railway lines for heavy freight traffic.
