Wheelset drop table for metro cars

The wheelset drop table is designed for replacing wheelsets and bogies of metro trains without lifting the car body. The car is positioned over the unit, the wheelset is secured on a removable track section, lowered below rail head level and rolled out along a transverse tunnel to the repair station. The reverse operation returns a serviceable wheelset under the car in a single cycle.

The unit is built around a lifting platform with removable rail inserts, moved along guides by four synchronized electromechanical screw jacks. Stroke synchronization is monitored by position sensors on every column, which rules out platform skew under load. When a bogie is dropped, the car body rests on extendable body supports placed under the car frame; when a single wheelset is dropped, the bogie frame is held by bogie supports. A transverse transfer carriage receives the dropped assembly and delivers it to the repair station along the basement track.

Depending on the depot program, the unit is supplied in a single-wheelset version or a complete-bogie version with a capacity of up to 25 t. To the customer's specification it can be fitted with a remote pendant, an interlock system with track guard signaling, a weighing module for axle load control and a lift that raises the dropped assembly from the basement track to shop floor level.