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Thu March 28 2024

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Funding secured for research into maintaining high-speed tracks

6 Mar 15 The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending an Austrian company €50m (£32m) for research into the rehabilitation of railway tracks.

The EU bank is providing Swietelsky Baugesellschaft with funds from the ‘InnovFin’ budget, a joint financing programme of the EIB and the European Commission focusing on the promotion of research and development activities in Europe.

Swietelsky is seeking to develop new systems to rehabilitate and maintain tracks on standard and high-speed railway sections more rapidly and at lower costs. In addition, the R&D programme is aimed at further reducing downtime on railways due to maintenance. The research project also encompasses the construction of two prototypes for special rail maintenance equipment. Swietelsky will carry out the work in its research centre in Fischamend near Vienna.

EIB vice-president Wilhelm Molterer stressed the importance of the project's contribution to rapid and integrated railway transport. "The railway sector is a core component of European infrastructure policy,” he said. “This creates an even greater need for reliable and safe tracks, which are vital for smooth and environmentally-friendly rail transport. Swietelsky is a company operating in this area, whose comprehensive expertise in rail track construction, rehabilitation and maintenance reaches far beyond Austria's borders.”

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