Photos and text supplied by Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group Ireland.
A track tamper in operation at Galway station.
Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group (RSRG) is one of only four Railway Undertakings (RU) on the island of Ireland.
The others are Irish Rail, Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) and Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) and the RU license issued by the Commission for Railway Regulation (CRR) means the four can operate and provide services in Ireland.
A new entrant to the Irish market in 2019, RSRG established a base in Kildare after winning the competitive tender to operate and maintain the fleet of 14 On Track Machines (OTMs) on behalf of Iarnrod Éireann - Irish Rail (IÉ).
While very new in the Irish market, the RSRG has a deep history and longstanding clients across Europe, Australia and the US.
Headquartered in Austria, the Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group (RSRG) was formed at the end of 2012 following the merger of the rail division of Rhomberg Construction Group, Rhomberg Bahntechnik, and the Sersa Group. Together they provide a comprehensive range of services via 17 companies across eight countries as well as the Nordics.
However, their experience goes back much further. In 1886 the Rhomberg Construction Group was created in Bregenz, Austria. It grew during the following century but underwent significant expansion between 1999 and 2005.
The Sersa Group was formed in 1948 and between 1992 and 2009 a number of subsidiaries were formed in Holland, the UK and Canada.
Following the merger in 2012 the company has continued to grow and now employs over 3,000 globally. It currently has operations in Ireland, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, North America, the UK and Australia. Most recently, in mid 2023, the company opened an office in the Nordics.
In Ireland the company predominantly delivers tamping and ballast cleaning services across a 24/7 schedule. However, it also offers additional services via RSRG’s Digital Rail Services (DRS), which offers services across all Rhomberg Sersa companies.
While focused on rail maintenance in Ireland, in other territories the RSRG delivers major infrastructural projects such as new rail tunnels while other companies in the portfolio focus on other aspects of the rail industry such as machine maintenance.
Irish Rail has recently purchased a number of new OTM machines including a Techne Kirow Crane. When fully commissioned this crane and others will also be operated by the Rhomberg Sersa team.
Next year Irish Rail will begin the retendering process for the OTM contract with the new contract set to begin in July 2026.
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