Russia: A single sample of a crane with a lifting capacity of 150 t received the EAEU conformity certificate. The machine is included in the list of strategic projects for import substitution and the national engineering development by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and was created with the state financial support for R&D.
The FM-150 railway crane was produced in 2019 at the Chelyabkranservice plant, which had previously specialized in overhaul and current repairs of hoisting mechanisms. The idea of creating a crane appeared earlier, in 2014. As Vladimir Kantor, CEO of the company, stated earlier in an interview with Delovoy Portal, Chelyabkranservice planned to take part in the project of supplying railway cranes manufactured by Kranbau to Russia. Before 2014, a corresponding long-term contract with Russian Railways (RZD) was being prepared. It was supposed to organize the final assembly of machines at the Chelyabkranservice facilities: German cranes were to be installed on platforms. However, due to the political situation, the contract was not concluded.
FM-150 railway crane presentation at the Chelyabkranservice plant. Source: www.chel.dk.ru
The FM-150 railway crane is designed for use in wreck trains as a lifting device to eliminate the consequences of rolling stock derailment, as well as to perform construction and loading and unloading operations of bulky heavy goods and equipment. Its main advantage is a telescopic boom 28 m long, made using technology that enhances strength characteristics and load capacity, and cast from a special alloy, which has analogues only in Finland and Sweden. The weight of the machine is 180 t, the counterweight is 16 t. Also, the crane is equipped with technical condition sensors and an automatic load leveling system, which makes it possible to change the boom outreach parameters, while automatically leveling the load and protecting it from swinging. The leveling process can take place both automatically and controlled by of the operator. The crane can be operated both from the cab and from outside due to a specially designed joystick control system.
Dynamic testing of the FM-150 crane. Source: Vladimir Kantor, youtube.com
The development of a crane took about 4 years and required 200 mln RUR (€3.4 mln) of investment. At the same time, the manufacturer claims that the cost of one crane will be 150 mln RUR (€2.5 mln). The development of the new machine was carried out jointly with specialists from the South Ural State University. More than 20 Russian factories, which produced structural elements and components for the project, were involved in the process of the machine creation. “We however chose the German way, where only design development and assembly are carried out at our plant itself, and the rest is distributed among enterprises which are trusted leaders in their specific niche. Cooperation as it is”, Kantor said in an interview.
Chelyabkranservice is considering the possibility of modifying the FM-150 with a lifting capacity of 200 t. According to Kantor, while machine was being created, RZD’s demand for railway cranes with a lifting capacity of 150 t was at least 120 units. Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and India also expressed interest in acquiring such crane. According to the head of Chelyabkranservice, the capacity of the plant allows to produce 4-5 cranes per year.
