Abstract
The relatively high turnover of timber sleepers (crossties in a plain track), bearers (skeleton ties in a turnout), and transoms (bridge cross beams) is responsible for producing greenhouse gas emissions 6 times greater than an equivalent reinforced concrete counterparts. This paper presents an innovative solution for the replacement of aging timber transoms installed on existing railway bridges along with the incorporation of a continuous walkway platform, which is proven to provide environmental, safety and financial benefits. Recent developments for alternative composite materials to replace timber components in railway infrastructure construction and maintenance demonstrate some compatibility issues with track stiffness as well as structural and geometrical track systems. Structural concrete are generally used for new railway bridges where the comparatively thicker and heavier fixed slab track systems can be accommodated. This study firstly demonstrates a novel and resilient alterative by incorporating steelconcrete composite slab theory and combines the capabilities of being precast and modulated, in order to reduce the depth, weight and required installation time relative to conventional concrete direct-fixation track slab systems.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 13th International Railway Engineering Conference, 30th June - 1st July 2015, Edinburgh, UK |
| Publisher | The Institute for Rail Infrastructure Engineers |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Print) | 947644806 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Event | Railway Engineering Conference - Duration: 30 Jun 2015 → … |
Conference
| Conference | Railway Engineering Conference |
|---|---|
| Period | 30/06/15 → … |
Keywords
- composite construction
- railroads
- sleepers