Speno

Speno International SA is a manufacturer of railway track maintenance machines.

The Speno company was founded by Frank Speno in 1960 and is now headquartered in Switzerland. It operates maintenance trains in many countries. The Speno trains are bright yellow in color.

The activities of Speno are:

For railgrinding, Speno has developed a range of specialized trains and machines to support these activities. There are standard grinders for open tracks (normal train tracks), tramways, subways, regional railways (mixed train, tram, metro) and specialized areas like bridges, switches, etc.

The other main activity for which specially designed Speno trains are used is measuring and inspecting railway tracks. With these trains the tracks can be inspected in "real time" while the train runs over the tracks: with video, infra-red recorders, acceleration equipment and other high-tech measuring tools the quality of the rails and points is monitored and recorded. After running over a specific route, the system generates reports containing all (potential) problems with the tracks.

The straightness of the tracks in all dimensions (lat, long and height) is measured, as is wear and tear. The requirement for grinding and possible other repairs is reported and used to plan future maintenance. The same equipment can also be used after grinding or maintenance or renewing of a route to check that the builders have laid the tracks according to requirements.

The measuring and inspection trains check not only the tracks and points but also, in the case of electrified routes, the overhead or third-rail power source.

The company was formed in 1960, while the current name Speno International SA was adopted in 1965. Speno has always developed its own equipment. In 1980 it introduced the first "road rail" grinding machines for urban railways.

In 1985 it introduced the first inspection train that could find any flaws in the tracks in real time by simply having the inspection train run along the tracks at normal speeds. This allowed for inspection of the tracks without having to shut down or slow the other traffic on that route.

Speno not only sells its equipment to local track-maintenance companies but also offers complete services whereby Speno supplies both the equipment and the staff to operate it. The local company has to take care of the general overseeing and the actual driving of the trains, as most railways require that the operator of a train is locally trained and certified, speaks the local language and has good knowledge of the route.

The rest of the workforce is generally employed by Speno and not for the local contractor.

...
Wikipedia