An HWT-204 road-rail vehicle, showcased at InnoTrans 2026, has successfully completed its acceptance testing in the presence of representatives from the customer, SPIS Railways Construction, and Israel Railways.

HIAROM has successfully completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for its specialized rail welding vehicle. Testing took place at HIAROM's facilities, on the company's own railway test track, in the presence of a delegation from Israel comprising representatives of the customer, Israel Railways specialists and technical consultants.

The FAT procedure is one of the most important contractual milestones before the delivery of complex industrial equipment. It allows the customer to verify system functionality, compliance with technical specifications and the fulfillment of operational requirements. For the HWT-204, testing covered the road and rail travel systems, working equipment and the overall functionality of the vehicle under test conditions.

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A Specialized Vehicle Designed for Road and Rail Operations

The HWT-204 is built on a MAN truck chassis, converted by HIAROM into a road-rail vehicle capable of operating both on public roads and railway tracks. The conversion is achieved through retractable rail bogies developed by HIAROM.

The vehicle destined for Israel features HIAROM's most advanced rail traction system, with a fully hydrostatic transmission. Unlike solutions where rail traction is achieved through friction between the truck's rubber tires and the rails, this configuration transfers traction directly to the rail wheels.

Developed in-house by HIAROM, this technology reflects the company's extensive experience in designing and manufacturing specialized road-rail vehicles.

The welding equipment is supplied by Contrail, HIAROM's partner in this project. The system enables flash-butt welding of railway rails using specialized equipment mounted on a hydraulic boom, while also allowing welding parameters to be monitored and recorded.

During the FAT procedure, the technical teams from HIAROM and Contrail demonstrated the operation of their respective systems, addressing the inspections and technical requirements of the customer's representatives.

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From InnoTrans to Customer Delivery

The HWT-204 is the same vehicle HIAROM presented in September at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin, alongside the HDM-21 "București" Track Motor Car.

Participation in the world's leading international trade fair for transport technology provided HIAROM with an opportunity to showcase two key areas of its engineering expertise: self-propelled railway vehicles and specialized solutions built on truck platforms.

"For us, the FAT procedure is the moment when the solutions developed by HIAROM's teams are tested directly by those who will operate them. A project of this kind involves integrating multiple technical systems, adapting them to the customer's requirements and verifying the performance of the complete vehicle.

Our experience gained through international projects enables us to develop specialized vehicles for a wide range of applications, while maintaining control over the essential engineering solutions."- Cătălin Dragomir, CEO, HIAROM Invest

Israel is an established market for HIAROM. The company has previously supplied specialized railway vehicles for infrastructure projects in Israel, including equipment designed for overhead catenary works.

The HWT-204 project builds on this experience and further expands the range of applications supported by the Romanian manufacturer's road-rail solutions.

Following the successful completion and acceptance of the FAT procedure, the vehicle is now entering the export preparation stage, with delivery to the Israeli customer scheduled for later this month.

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