Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has awarded a three-year contract to Rhomberg Sersa Canada Ltd. to provide rail milling services for TTC's subway network.
In June, the TTC Board approved the C$11.26 million (US$8.48 million) contract. Rhomberg Sersa Canada says this will be the first time a mobile milling unit is used to re-profile rail under a North American contract.
Rhomberg Sersa explains that the milling process can take off as little as 0.1mm and as much as 1.5mm of metal in a single pass with an automatic surface finish of maximal 5 microns or less restoring the rail to a perfect finish.
"In addition, a huge benefit of milling, especially when working in tunnels, in urban or wooded, dry rural areas is the 'shaving/planing' process compared to the abrasive grinding system, which does not create either dust or sparks. This eliminates the high risk of fire in tunnels and dry areas," Rhomberg Sersa said in statement regarding the work.
The company also noted that work will be carried out in a partnership with Linmag, a sister company of the milling train manufacturer Linsinger. The milling unit was shipped from Austria and has arrived in Toronto where it will undergo initial testing before it begins work, which is estimated to begin in December.