Patent ID: 7739811

Claim:
An installation for rehabilitating a ballast bed of a track by excavating contaminated ballast, comprising a train of cars moving in an operating direction, a first ballast excavating device preceding a second ballast excavating device, in the operating direction, the first ballast excavating device being arranged to excavate an upper layer of the ballast, a first conveyor band unit arranged to receive and convey the excavated upper ballast layer from the first ballast excavating device to a screening unit arranged to receive the conveyed excavated upper ballast layer, the second ballast excavating device being arranged to excavate the ballast underneath the upper ballast layer, a second conveyor band unit having an end receiving the ballast excavated by the second ballast excavating device and conveying the excavated ballast past the screening unit to an end of the installation for disposal, and a movable deflecting device for selectively deflecting ballast from the second to the first conveyor band unit.