1. Rail contact clamps

Why KAGO contact clamps?

Let’s take a look at the electrical power circuit in railway networks. Current flows from the substation to the locomotive, then via the rails back to the substation. But when lines are being laid or repaired, this circuit is broken. Until the rails can be welded together again, provisional rail connections have to be installed.

The conventional way of solving this problem used to be with temporary bolted connectors. These have various drawbacks: for good electrical contact the rail base must first be cleaned, which takes time and costs money. And vibration from passing trains can soon loosen this kind of connector. So trouble is already programmed!

Thanks to their ingenious design, KAGO contact clamps cannot loosen. They bite into the rail and ensure perfect electrical contact straight away, both for signal circuits and return current flow.

Without special tools or equipment, KAGO contact clamps are easily installed by unskilled labour ? with three blows by a 1.5 kg hammer. No holes have to be drilled, no ballast removed and there is no need to clean the rails.

Even heavy vibration from passing trains has no effect on KAGO contact clamps ? they just stay put. But removing them is the easiest thing in the world: just one hammer blow in the right place is enough.

Fast and easy installation and removal are not the only advantages of KAGO contact clamps. One of their outstanding benefits is that with correct use, they can be reused again and again. And that saves a lot of money in logistics ? particularly since only one clamp type can be used on up to four different rail profiles.

That is why more and more railway companies use KAGO contact clamps every day to ensure trouble-free operations.

References

Test report of an engineer of German Railways (English translation at the end)

Danger: Different rail potentials!