Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
The Belgian mining company Carmeuse is a major global supplier of lime, limestone and limestone aggregates. These are necessary additional raw materials in the production of steel, chemicals, glass, paper or construction materials. Limestone products are used in agriculture, they enable the stabilization of soils in the construction of roads, in the desulphurization of flue gases in the energy sector, as well as in the treatment of drinking water and wastewater. Without lime and limestone, many other key sectors, not only in Slovak industry, would remain at standstill.
With one and a half centuries of operation, Carmeuse also has its companies in Slovakia in three plants, each of which is focused on a different segment of production. They are located in the Gemer and Košice areas and, by working together, they enable all customers to find their demand satisfied in the diverse use of production. And ZSSK CARGO has been helping in this cooperation for many years.
Limestone for Tourists and for the Industry
The limestone bedrock of the Slovak karst has created not only by a beautiful natural scene, which attracts more and more tourists to the Gemer region. Thanks to this mineral resource, Slovakia is rich in reserves of limestone, so necessary for the operation of various industries and mankind. Although the region is at the forefront of unemployment, Carmeuse employs 250 people thanks to its minerals. And some of them also work in Lom Včeláre, on the opposite hill from the famous Zádieľská strait.
Busy life in the quarry
After a carefully planned shooting, all activity in the quarry and its surroundings is regularly stopped for a while. After the warning signals sound, a shot is fired. Precisely controlled landslide accumulates coarse pieces of limestone, and the bustle comes to life again with loaders and the arrival of large dump trucks. When fully loaded, trucks take the route down the hill for processing, making this route countless times a day. While the crushed aggregate travels directly to the neighbouring cement plant of CRH in Turňa nad Bodvou for processing, part of it accumulates in the storage area directly below the quarry, next to the railway siding.
Unusually short distance for a train
One of the highest quality limestones in Slovakia from Včeláre, with reserves for several hundred more years, is needed by the Carmeuse company in its limestone mill in Slavec, near Rožňava. Limestone has several fractions after crushing and Slavec limestone needs its regular supply from this quarry, which belongs to the top 5 in Europe. What stands in his way? The Jablonov Pass.
The distance between the Včeláre quarry and the lime kiln in Slanec is only 40 kilometers. At such a distance, the rule of thumb is to transport raw materials by trucks. However, Carmeuse Slovakia approached these shipments with environmental responsibility. In order to get thousands of tons of lime aggregate through Jablonov Pass, under the castle Krásna Hôrka, via Rožňava to Slavec, it uses the ecological way: Railway transportation. At the same time, it takes the advantage of railway sidings on both sides of this route, which proves the importance of maintaining and building new railway sidings, if Slovakia also wants to transfer 30% of goods to the railways by 2030.
Saving the environment and roads thanks to the railways
Even in the European Year of Railways 2021, unit trains with lime aggregates are assembled to set out on a short but ecologically important journey through Gemer. For many decades, locomotives class 751 and 752, from the Plešivec locomotive depot, have been regularly deployed. After unloading, the Faccs self-dump wagons are placed in a regular regional train between Plešivec and Košice,in order to form a complete set of 26 freight wagons in Turňa nad Bodvou again, for the loaded freight train Pn 51154. Two locomotives stand at the front of this train, while the third serves as a pusher to climb into the Jablonov Pass. This tunnel, unlike a mountain road passage, intersects the mountains, so it is not necessary to climb as steeply as on an asphalt road. But just like the trains loaded with petrol and diesel from Stožok near Zvolen to Kapušany near Prešov, this 2,000-tonne set, going in the opposite direction, must overcome the ascent, the top of which is inside the tunnel. This climb will therefore fully test all 3,300 kW in the three locomotives on this train. After passing the summit, it is just a descent to town of Rožňava, so that after short 40 kilometers the wagons are unloaded in Slavec - jaskyňa thanks to their fast self-discharging system. Every single train through the Jablonov Pass saves more than 80 truck rides in a single direction, which would otherwise have slowly climb the mountain pass better known as Soroška. Not only in winter, this becomes a place of frequent traffic accidents and delays on this vital connection between the west and the east on the southern route through Slovakia.
Regular and reliable supply of companies with raw materials necessary for their production is a specialty of ZSSK CARGO. Thanks to such a short connection between the place of mining and processing, the roads are relieved from the trucks across the mountain pass, and the Gemer region traffic is smoother and more the region itself ecological. Do not hesitate to talk to our regional or commodity sales managers at any time about how ZSSK CARGO can help you in your supply of raw materials, or dispatch of finished products.
