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SUW 2000
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SUW 2000
SUW 2000 is a Polish variable gauge system that allows trains to cross a break of gauge. It is interoperable with the German Rafil Type V system (built by the Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg).
The SUW 2000 system was designed by Ryszard Suwalski. Suwalski, of PKP Cargo, developed the system between 1990 and 1992. Prototype wheelsets, bogies for passenger carriages and goods wagons, and gauge changer were produced in 1993. The wheelsets were manufactured by ZNTK Poznań.
In October 2000 first regular passenger and freight trains started running between Poland and Lithuania.
In June 2003 regular passenger trains started running between Poland and Ukraine.
In 2008 SUW 2000 II, a development of the original SUW 2000, was presented. It introduced new bogie, improved gauge changer that is expected to last 20% longer, and electronic system checking and registering regauging and wheelset locking.
In 2019, as the result of the bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of ZNTK Poznań, PKP acquired documentation and rights to the SUW 2000 patents and technology. The system, renamed Polsuw, will be further developed in cooperation with Poznań University of Technology, one of the areas of work being the reduction of operating costs.
The SUW 2000 wheelsets feature unlockable wheels that, after unlocking, can move along the axles. The gauge changer is 27.1 m (88 ft 11 in) long and is equipped with grooved rails and guide rails to guide wheels and maintain vehicle stability while its wheels are unlocked, and wheel unlocking rails. The wheels on each side are moved sequentially—only after a wheel on one side has been moved to new gauge and locked, the opposite wheel is unlocked and begins moving. The speed range of a consist going through the gauge changer can be between 5 and 30 km/h (3.1 and 18.6 mph). Originally the system did not have any control equipment to check if the regauging process went right, it relied on the personnel conducting visual checks on each wheelset. In 2003 an electronic system to monitor the regauging process and signal any malfunction was developed.
During initial regular operation, after 400 thousand km (250 thousand mi), excessive wear to monoblock wheels was noticed, it was attributed to brake malfunctions; there was also some tearing of rubber sheaths due to friction between them and water draining pipes. Other than that, the system performed satisfactorily; it was observed that the system worked correctly even at temperatures as low as −35 °C (−31 °F).
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SUW 2000 AI simulator
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SUW 2000
SUW 2000 is a Polish variable gauge system that allows trains to cross a break of gauge. It is interoperable with the German Rafil Type V system (built by the Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg).
The SUW 2000 system was designed by Ryszard Suwalski. Suwalski, of PKP Cargo, developed the system between 1990 and 1992. Prototype wheelsets, bogies for passenger carriages and goods wagons, and gauge changer were produced in 1993. The wheelsets were manufactured by ZNTK Poznań.
In October 2000 first regular passenger and freight trains started running between Poland and Lithuania.
In June 2003 regular passenger trains started running between Poland and Ukraine.
In 2008 SUW 2000 II, a development of the original SUW 2000, was presented. It introduced new bogie, improved gauge changer that is expected to last 20% longer, and electronic system checking and registering regauging and wheelset locking.
In 2019, as the result of the bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of ZNTK Poznań, PKP acquired documentation and rights to the SUW 2000 patents and technology. The system, renamed Polsuw, will be further developed in cooperation with Poznań University of Technology, one of the areas of work being the reduction of operating costs.
The SUW 2000 wheelsets feature unlockable wheels that, after unlocking, can move along the axles. The gauge changer is 27.1 m (88 ft 11 in) long and is equipped with grooved rails and guide rails to guide wheels and maintain vehicle stability while its wheels are unlocked, and wheel unlocking rails. The wheels on each side are moved sequentially—only after a wheel on one side has been moved to new gauge and locked, the opposite wheel is unlocked and begins moving. The speed range of a consist going through the gauge changer can be between 5 and 30 km/h (3.1 and 18.6 mph). Originally the system did not have any control equipment to check if the regauging process went right, it relied on the personnel conducting visual checks on each wheelset. In 2003 an electronic system to monitor the regauging process and signal any malfunction was developed.
During initial regular operation, after 400 thousand km (250 thousand mi), excessive wear to monoblock wheels was noticed, it was attributed to brake malfunctions; there was also some tearing of rubber sheaths due to friction between them and water draining pipes. Other than that, the system performed satisfactorily; it was observed that the system worked correctly even at temperatures as low as −35 °C (−31 °F).