Interpipe has supplied wheels for ore-carrying trains in Scandinavia

The Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe has shipped wheels of its own design for ore-carrying trains in Scandinavia. This was reported in a company statement.

The customer transports iron ore across the Arctic Circle, where air temperatures can drop to -40°C. For this order, Interpipe developed a modified wheel from its own Ultimate line of railway products. The newly created ULT 25 LL (“Long Life”) has a diameter of 920 mm and a longer service life thanks to optimized tread geometry.

The first batch of wheels is already in use on the Malmbanan heavy-haul railway line—it connects the Kiruna ore deposit (northern Sweden) with the ice-free seaport of Narvik (Norway). Some of the heaviest trains in Europe (weighing over 8,000 tons each) run on this line, with an axle load reaching 25 tons. The line serves as a benchmark for railway engineering and logistics in the European mining industry.

As Niklas Eriksson, Interpipe’s leading sales specialist for railway products in the European market, noted, the company has long collaborated with this client, always striving to meet its needs and requirements on short notice.

“This time, we already had a wheel design that could be used with minor modifications. However, sometimes we need to develop completely new wheel or wheel set designs in a short timeframe in accordance with European TSI compatibility standards. Interpipe is very good at doing this, which has a positive impact on long-term customer relationships,” he explained.

As a reminder, Interpipe supplied wheels for the flagship high-speed service of Turkish Railways, YHT. As part of the order, the company shipped 850-mm-diameter railway wheels made of ER8 Grade 1 steel, designed for speeds up to 250 km/h. The customer had specific requirements regarding rim hardness to ensure compliance with the most stringent quality standards.