INFRATRACK Solutions will offer a new railway testing facility in Austria
posted on 13th Nov 2025 16:46
The two railway specialists Boom Software AG and PJ Messtechnik GmbH have taken over the feeder line at the Mellach Verbund power plant site. The 832 MW Mellach combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant is located at energy company Verbund’s Mellach site, south of Graz. Owned and operated by Verbund, the thermal, gas-fired combined-cycle power plant was developed with an investment of 550 million EUR. Operational since 2012, the plant also provides 400 MW of district heating for the Greater Graz region. The Mellach site previously housed a 246 MW coal-fired power plant, which was retired in 2020 as part of a transition from coal to cleaner energy.
The new INFRATRACK Solutions cooperation will allow the existing rail infrastructure of the decommissioned coal-fired power plant to be used more intensively, particularly for testing purposes. Located in the immediate vicinity of Graz and the new Koralmbahn, as well as the two Styrian companies, the site will be home to innovations and further developments in the railway sector, particularly in the fields of measurement and testing technology and software.
The optimally located and equipped connecting railway line provides an ideal environment for testing rail vehicles and components. The range of activities extends from physical asset inspections to sensor- and software-based testing. This purpose has led to the foundation of the joint venture INFRATRACK Solutions GmbH. The new company‘s managing directors are Andreas Schaller and Martin Joch.
The location on the main line and the infrastructure were both convincing. The most important points are:
- the railway line is fully electrified (overhead line) and suitable for heavy vehicles,
- a large hall (previously used as a defrosting hall) is equipped with a roof work platform and a crane,
- different sections of track, such as a curve with a radius of 150 m,
- the site is fenced throughout and manned 24/7.
These conditions make the site ideal for various tests on rail vehicles and railway systems. The focus is on:
- quipping vehicles with measurement technology (instrumentation),
- commissioning of rail vehicles,
- static tests,
- acoustic and EMC measurements,
- testing and optimisation of the interaction between sensor technology and software under real operating conditions,
- further development and automation of digital processes in the depot.
Andreas Schaller, the CEO of Boom Software and the managing director of INFRATRACK Solutions, explains: ‚Finding modern test environments and test tracks for rail vehicles in Austria has long been a growing challenge, but we can now offer a solution. Thanks to its connection to the main transport route, full electrification, and the capacity to roll in vehicles of all weight classes, Mellach is the ideal location for us and for our customers.‘
