In 2018, the Crimean Railway mastered the technology of performing work on aluminothermic joint welding on its own.

In order to reduce the number of rail joints along the way, as well as to reduce the cost of the current maintenance, 12 employees of the separate subdivision “Putevaya mashinnaya stantsiya” have undergone training and practical training. In order to gain practical skills on the receiving and departure tracks of the Otradnaya station, on August 2, work began by the method of aluminothermic welding.

Aluminothermic welding involves the use of a special device — an igniter. Due to the single-portion charge, the temperature regime increases (up to 1000 ° C), which is suitable for melting all types of rails.

The welding technology is as follows: a special powder is placed in a metal structure, which is located above the joint of two rails to be welded, then the powder melts. The purpose of the powder is that it reliably and firmly connects the base material, the microstructure of the seam becomes very viscous. Such joints are made very quickly and over time they do not sag, which indicates high quality.

A casting mold is used on the site, thanks to which the alloy is directed to the junction.

The process of creating a weld seam of rails is carried out with the obligatory sealing of the joint when it is still hot. Upon completion of the work, the slag is beaten off with a hammer, and the seam itself must be sanded with a special machine.

The advantages of aluminothermic welding include the lack of binding to stationary sources of electricity, the speed of work. Several experienced welders can create 10-12 welds in 1 hour.

A total of 1,552 joints are planned to be welded in 2018. Mastering the performance of work on their own, savings will be achieved for the entire volume of work in the amount of 9 million rubles.

Press Service of the Crimean Railway