Construction of a portal for the technology of an automatic pantograph damage detection system and a vehicle outline exceeding control system.
This involves a steel portal structure designed to span a railway track. The steel structure is designed as a spatial truss. The total width of the structure is 22.3m (excluding access ladders). The height of the portal from the top edge of the foundation footings is 10.63m. The clear height of the walkway is 1.9m. The walkable floor is at a height of 8.63m from the top edge of the foundation footings. The portal consists of a pair of support columns and a truss walkway connecting the columns. Within the walkable part of the portal, two cantilevered sections are designed for access to technological equipment – pantograph damage detection scanners. Technological equipment and elements addressing other parts of the project documentation are distributed along the perimeter of the structure. Access to the walkway is from both sides via access ladders with safety cages. Entry to the ladders is secured against unauthorized access by a foldable structure lockable with a pentagonal key.
During the production of the portal structure, steel profiles, gratings, and sheets with a total weight of 7,350 kg were used. The steel structure consists of four main elements, which are joined using steel bolt connections. Various materials were used in the production, comprising 23 types of different profiles and sheets of various thicknesses. As our production facilities are not equipped with an overhead crane, handling the already welded structure was complicated but managed with the help of a forklift. Approximately 165 meters of welds were executed for the welding of the portal structure. Hot-dip galvanizing was chosen as the surface treatment. Since there is no company in Slovakia capable of performing hot-dip galvanizing for such a large structure, this requirement had to be fulfilled by a company in the Czech Republic. The portal was transported to the installation site by two trucks and was erected in mid-July 2025.
