Finnish steelmaker Ruukki and the French transportation company Alstom Transport have jointly developed a new solution for the assembly of wall panels for train coaches.
According to a Ruukki release, steel components for the sides of regional train coaches have been made of Ruukki's high-strength, hot-rolled Optim special steel, which is laser welded and cut into components ready for installation. The first consignment of the panels, manufactured at the company's service centre in Uusikaupunki, Finland, was delivered to France in October.
High-strength Optim special steels have enabled the thickness of the wall panels to be reduced so that a coach side panel weighs less than 500 kilos.