TÜV SÜD has acquired the IWT4 instrumented wheel-set technology business from SNC-Lavalin (formerly Interfleet Technology).

The acquisition further bolsters TÜV SÜD’s position as a ‘one-stop shop’ for the independent assessment, testing and
approval of railway vehicles.

Instrumented wheel-sets are those that have been “instrumented and calibrated” for accurately measuring the dynamic contact forces between the wheel and the rail.

In Europe (and many other regions around the globe), it is common to use such wheel-sets in the approval process for new or modified vehicles.

In the case of IWT4, instrumentation is applied to the manufacturer’s or operator’s original wheel-set without any structural modification, which means that the wheel-set’s structural integrity is preserved.

Sweden’s fourth generation of instrumented wheel-sets (IWT4) was introduced in 2006 and was quickly adopted by the market for applications in the USA, China, Norway, Finland, India, Sweden and many countries in central Europe.

Greg Riggall, general manager of the Business Unit Rail for TÜV SÜD in Sweden (www.tuev-sued.de), said: “IWT4 draws on over 50 years’ experience of producing instrumented wheel-sets here in Sweden.

After personally managing the development and commercialisation of the technology, I am thrilled that it will continue to live on here in Stockholm under the TÜV SÜD flag.”

IWT4 completes the services of TÜV SÜD’s railway test centres in Halle and Görlitz (Germany) and TÜV’s newly opened Rail subsidiary in Stockholm (Sweden).

Mr Rigall added: “IWT4 fits well with TÜV SÜD’s portfolio of skills and services; and with several of the key IWT4 personnel now on the TÜV SÜD team, transitioning of the technology will occur very quickly.

“In principle, we are open for business and taking orders now.”