Innovative Track Cleaning on Minnesota’s Iron Range.
The “Iron Range” refers to a region in northern Minnesota known for its rich iron ore deposits, primarily located in the Mesabi Range. The mines in the area are serviced by one of the six major Class 1 railroads in North America and play a pivotal role in transporting millions of tons of iron ore pellets annually across their network.
Due to older rail cars leaking pellets onto the tracks and the surrounding areas, the impact has been both economic and environmental and has also resulted in the track becoming difficult to inspect.
In 2023, Rhomberg Sersa and its North American partner Remcan Projects proposed a solution that comprised off Rhomberg Sersa’s Material Handling and Distribution Train (MHDT), which is a consist of ten MFS 40 cars and two Power Wagons. MHDT is a highly flexible piece of maintenance-of-way equipment designed to load, store, transport, and unload materials. A Kershaw track cleaner, which is commonly used in North America, would be employed to sweep and transfer the pellets into the MHDT.
In June 2024, Rhomberg Sersa and Remcan conducted a 30-day concept trial of the yard cleaner and MHDT solution. The trial demonstrated that the system was both effective and efficient, cleaning over 2 miles of track in a single eighthour shift.
The railroad was pleased with the methodology and the quality of the results but had concerns with the operational speed of the Power Wagons as their design limited them to a maximum speed of 2 mph, restricting the process of transferring and unloading cars.
Through collaboration with colleagues within RSRG in Germany and Australia, the North American team developed a modification to the traction power system, which was implemented during the winter and spring of 2025. Initial testing was carried out in April with promising results. A second 30-day-trial followed in April and May.
Subject to the railroad's approval and acceptance the intent is to agree a long-term multi-year contract to undertake the cleaning of track across the Iron Ore Range.
