Abrams MBTs Test a Polish Railway Loading Ramp

The photos published by the PGZ Group, depict loading and unloading of four types of US-made heavy military vehicles, involving the RM 70 ramp. The vehicles included the M1A2SEPv3 Abrams MBT, M2A3 Bradley IFV, M88A2 Hercules ARV, and M113A4 AMEV. An analogous set of tests was performed in April last year when vehicles of the 11th "Lubuiska" Armoured Cavalry Division were involved in an operation as such that took place at the training range in Żagań. The vehicles involved included the Rosomak IFV, and BWP-1 IFVs.

The RM-35 and RM-70 loading ramps have been designed for loading and unloading of vehicles onto train carriages, and this refers to vehicles operated by the Polish Armed Forces and NATO, with weights below 35 and 70 tonnes correspondingly. These can be used both by tracked, as well as wheeled vehicles. The pressure inflicted onto the ramp by the vehicles cannot exceed 275 kN/sq. meter. The loading and unloading take place at railway siding, or at any other location that has been prepared for the purpose in question. The mobile ramp has been fitted with a set of spanners and tools needed for disassembly and assembly.

Notably, it was in August last year when analogous tests were performed by US Army jointly with Deutsche Bahn, involving a prototype of a German ramp railway platform. The tests involved a single M1A2SEPv3 MBT with extra equipment. The new design can carry loads of up to 83 tonnes at a top speed of 100 kph. Furthermore, the platform also features new enhancements that save time and increase safety levels, during the loading and unloading operations. This refers to the automatic lock for the vehicle, and to a system that makes the platform rigid. So far, the soldiers were forced to perform those tasks on their own.