NIZHNY NOVGOROD, June 14 (RIA Novosti - Volga Area, Olga Skomorokhova) - OAO RZD (Russian Railways) started a testing program for a new heavy-duty "S-shaped" carriage wheel expected to work five times as long as ordinary wheels, RZD chairman Gennady Fadeyev told a news conference at a local engineering plant.
"Our requirement was to make a tough wheel with a service life of at least a million kilometers," Fadeyev said. Conventional wheels wear off after 100,000km to 200,000km, he said.
"Three wheels made by the plant are already on a testing program at our research institute in Moscow," Fadeyev said, "This wheel is a perfect solution in terms of safety and economy. It smoothes down tension between the body and the undercarriage."
The producer, Vyksunsky Metallurgichesky Zavod (VMZ), said the wheel is called "S-shaped" after the innovative shape of the supporting structure between the hub and the rim.
By 2010, all Russian trains are expected to run on new high-strength and high-speed wheels, Fadeyev said.
RZD chairman also met with Anatoly Sedykh, head of Obyedinennaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya (United Metallurgical Company, OMK) to discuss the supplies of OMK-made wheels under the 2003 contract for 5,000,000 wheel sets worth 1.2 billion rubles ($42.16 million, or �34.49 million) until 2010. RZD said it had bought 250,000 wheel sets since 2004.
