12
rail transport l transmission
connecting shaft. The third group are bogies with freely rotating wheels without an
axle where the connection of the wheels
is provided by electronic control – here,
a solution with gearboxes or direct drive
can be used. The fourth group includes
a single-axle bogie with a portal frame.
The first three groups have a number
of other subgroups of drive types, so it is very difficult to have a solution ready for all
customers and, moreover, preferably the
one tested in practice. As the market simplifies and consolidates, certain trends are
also emerging. For example, there is an
increase in the use of simpler solutions
special 2020
T+T Technika a trh
with a classic axle, which is actually a return to it, supplemented by a pivot pin,
and a solution with a connecting shaft,
or single-axle bogies, is thus hindered. Wikov has gradually developed gearboxes
for almost all types of drives used, and for
most of them they can rely on references
from the market, which gives them a certain lead over the competition.
EMU + metro
d
The production of electric multiple units
(EMU) is a much larger market. Today,
about 50% of the world market is held by
three European players and China is trying
to change this situation in its favour. With
just a few players on the market, the situation of drive types is much clearer than it
is on the tram market, while price pressure plays a big role here. This also applies
to the drives of metro trains. Wikov has
not been able to succeed in terms of prices in this market segment for a long time,
but thanks to a two-year very intensive
development project, bringing a significant simplification of design and streamlining the production of gearboxes, today
they regularly win very interesting orders
in this area.