Cable ties speed Swiss tunnel antenna upgrade

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 24, 2003

SBB chose Dura-Ty extruded cable ties and stackable cable spacers for a recent key project upgrading antenna cables in several railway tunnels in Switzerland.

SBB chose Dura-Ty extruded cable ties and stackable cable spacers for a recent key project upgrading antenna cables in several railway tunnels in Switzerland.

SBB, the Swiss Federal Railway, is Switzerland's largest services company in the public transport sector and transports around 305 million passengers and nearly 60Mt of goods per year.

Its share in the railway transport market is 87% in transport traffic and as much as 94% in goods transport.

A recent key project undertaken by SBB was the upgrade of antenna cables in several tunnels, in order to improve mobile phone signal reception.

The 8km-long Ricken tunnel, located in the east of Switzerland and connecting Kaltburnn and Wattwill, was among the first to be upgraded.

SBB Project Manager, Hans Reichnbach, was tasked with sourcing a provider who could overcome the complex issues surrounding the project.

In the past, SBB chose to deploy Panduit's Aerial Support cable ties, which are specifically designed to attach telephone cables to the support strands and keep equipment and cables clear of pole hardware.

However, not only was Panduit faced with unique conditions inside the tunnel, the company also had to install antenna cable at night - the only time when there was no through traffic.

This limited the total installation time to just 6h in which to position 1km of antenna cable and adhere to the project's tight time frame.

To meet this challenge, Panduit recommended the use of Dura-Ty extruded cable ties and stackable cable spacers.

Panduit account managers are trained specifically by market.

This ensured that Reichenach dealt with a highly knowledgeable Panduit team, who understood his application requirements and could propose a tailored solution to meet his specific needs and at the same time increase productivity and reduce costs.

Panduit's proven commitment to research and development guarantees that products provide lowest installed cost through superior quality and ease of installation.

Outdoor applications require both cable tie strength and durability.

Dura-Ty extruded cable ties are UV light-, moisture-, impact- and chemical-resistant, making them the ideal solution for such environments.

The Dura-Ty is designed to meet industry standards and exhibits a loop tensile strength of 1112N.

The dual independent stainless-steel barb design of the head results in low insertion force and reduces installer fatigue, while ensuring consistent performance and reliability.

The angled tip and wide strap entrances easily guide the strap into the head body and speed up installation time, which was a vital feature for this particular tunnel application.

The friction grip head provides no-slip handling, making installation easy even with gloves.

The Dura-Ty is available in packages of 25 and 50 but also comes in a convenient, environmentally friendly friction-release reel, that equips the installer with cut-to-length flexibility and built-in storage for cable tie heads.

Panduit also offers a full range of handheld cable tie installation tools, with robust and ergonomic designs, that further facilitate cable tie installation.

According to Reichenbach: "Panduit secured the project through their superior product capabilities, coupled with the excellent service and expertise demonstrated by their team of account managers and regional business support manager.

The rapid execution and completion of the project helped reinforce our choice of supplier".