For the North American rail network – for which the track must be designed for static loads up to 40 metric tonnes – RAIL.ONE developed and successfully tested a new prestressed-concrete sleeper. This concrete sleeper satisfies the strict requirements as set forth in the US AREMA specifications, as well as the stipulations of European standard EN 13230.
Extensive tests conducted by Munich Technical University have revealed that the new RAIL.ONE sleeper for heavy-haul traffic satisfies all regulations: i.e., in static tests (conducted to determine the concrete cracking and breaking strengths), in dynamic rests (to reveal cracking behaviour during passage of trains), and in fatigue tests (which correspond to long-term behaviour of approx. 30 to 40 years). In September of 2007 all test sleepers were transported to Brady, Nebraska, a small community between Denver and Chicago. According to information from the private US railway company UP RR, the rail line passing through Brady carries the heaviest loads of any freight line in the world: the annual volume of transport on this route is between 225 and 250 million gross tons.
Technical data HHS 32.5/5 | |
|---|---|
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Permissible axle load | 32.5 metric tonnes |
Maximum speed | 110 km/h |
Concrete grades | C 50/60 |
Concrete volume | 136 I |
Weight (without rail fastenings) | 333 kg |
Length | 2500 mm |
Width | 265 mm |
Sleeper height | 240 mm |
Height of rail-seat centre | 235 mm |
High of sleeper centre | 180 mm |
Supporting-surface area (total) | 6625 cm² |
Standard application cases | Heavy-haul sleepers |
