Ro-Railers

[stephen owen]

How many ro-rail machines are there on British rails ?

 

[DarloRich]

What is a ro-rail machine?

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I believe it is anything that can travel on the road and rail.

 

[edwin_m]

There must be hundreds of items of road-rail plant that may appear in engineering possessions (they tend to be known as road rail vehicles or RRVs). But as far as I know nothing that's allowed to run on lines open to normal services.

 

[LAX54]

That will be an RRV then and there are as said hundreds (if not over a thousand)

 

[pdeaves]

How many ro-rail machines are there on British rails ?

By definition, the number actually on rails could change moment by moment . Are you limiting the question to any particular size or type of machine?

 

[stephen owen]

By definition, the number actually on rails could change moment by moment . Are you limiting the question to any particular size or type of machine?

No, it was just a general question.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

These people may be able to answer your question. They are the UK largest supplier of RRV's

https://www.txmplant.co.uk/

 

[Amlag]

These people may be able to answer your question. They are the UK largest supplier of RRV's

https://www.txmplant.co.uk/

Yes there are hundreds of RRVs and with their associated trailers owned and operated by Network Rail's Contractors and sub Contractors.

Over the years since their introduction in the late 1970's they have replaced Locomotives and wagons
for use in engineers possessions in transporting materials to, from and within possessions and not always in a safer or more efficient way.
Infrastructure Engineers trains are mostly still used for transporting long welded rails and new ballast to sites and for removal from site of spoil/ spent ballast and in certain circumstances old track.
But generally other materials are moved by heavy lorries to the nearest road/rail access point, thence to site and vice versa, by RRVs with trailers. This often increases the number of possessions/ closure of lines to scheduled services and takes very much longer than it might take using an Engineers train.

There have been numerous safety related incidents over the years causing deaths and injuries to track and associated workers. One of the most tragic that comes to mind was when some years ago an unbraked RRV trailer ran out of control and killed trackworkers near Tebay on the West Cast main line. Lessons have regretfully been learnt the hard way with RRVs.

 

[Nick Ashwell]

Not just contractors and sub contractors, the fire service operate multiple strategically located RRVs, although moving from Sudbrook pumping station to Maindee Fire Stations must reduce response times for Severn Tunnel incidents which is the whole reason it's there!