Poland: The leasing company Eurowagon has detected flaws in the welds of span bolsters of the 80- and 90-foot Sggrss container flatcars.
The defected welds, identified on the wagons produced between 2021 and 2023, have become obvious because of paint coating cracks and signs of corrosion in that area.
According to the German news portal Der Eisenbahner, the cracks have appeared due to insufficient pre-heating of metal during the welding process, which essentially influences further material strength. Der Eisenbahner claimed that Nymwag was implementing such measures in order to cut down on production costs. More than 1,100 such flatcars, manufactured between 2020 and 2024, are currently operated across Europe.
Defects in Nymwag articulated flatcars (enlarge). Source: Der Eisenbahner
For its part, the Czech manufacturer has recommended inspecting welds after a mileage of 200,000 km or two years of deployment. In addition, Nymwag has urged to withdraw all the defected wagons from service and send them for repairs.
