Ballast cleaning

Ballast-cleaning machine RM 80 or RM 80 U Tsp

The machine extracts ballast from under the tracks at a depth of just over one metre, uses screens to remove the dirt from the ballast and returns the right-sized ballast to the tracks.

Cleaning is necessary because dirty ballast is more sensitive to frost than clean ballast and because the load bearing capacity of the ballast bed weakens as it crumbles into smaller fractions. Ballast cleaning may also involve the laying of insulation board under the ballast to improve frost resistance.