Ballast cleaning team deliver 7 back-to-back shifts.
The Rhomberg Sersa team in Ireland successfully maximised output while also minimising customer disruption by delivering seven successive ballast cleaning shifts.
Previously, the maximum number of successive ballast cleaning shifts on the Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail (IÉ) network had been four.
The prospect of seven shifts was first mooted by the Track Delivery Unit (TDU) at IÉ in early 2025. The team at Rhomberg Sersa in Ireland then began to assess whether this would be possible and, if so, how to make it run as smoothly as possible.
“We brought the key team members into a room and worked through all the things that made delivery of seven shifts impossible at that time,” recalled COO Robbie Mullen. “Then, one by one, we worked out how to resolve or mitigate those issues.”
As well as ensuring there were enough qualified staff, one of the biggest challenges was fuel, as the ballast cleaner would run out during shift five. In the end, fuel was brought in and stored in bunds on site. As the shifts were so carefully planned, the machine was exactly where it was expected to be and could easily be refuelled while working on the site between Charleville and Limerick Junction in the southwest of Ireland.
“Ensuring we had an adequate number of staff was also a challenge,” said Mullen. “We needed three separate shifts of both operators and fitters to ensure the machine could be operated, but also so that we could immediately repair any issues that occurred on site.”
Thankfully, no issues arose, and the seven shifts were completed very smoothly and successfully, ahead of schedule.
A total of 2.5 miles of track was ballast cleaned and handed back to IÉ.
“It was a huge success, and thanks to all those in IÉ who worked so collaboratively with our team,” added Mullen.
