20 February 2009

Network Rail trials recycled plastic sleepers on UK lines
Recycled plastic could be the material of choice for railway sleepers if a Network Rail trial proves successful.

A summer trial will test around 250 individual sleepers in various pockets of the rural rail network to see how they perform under the stresses and strains of a running railway.

Howard Waghorn, managing director of i-plas, the Halifax plastic recycling firm commissioned to develop and supply the sleepers, said the trial proved Network Rail was embracing recycled products.

If the sleepers prove more durable and cost effective than the timber versions, the trial could lead to the uptake of up to 185,000 new sleepers, made from old car bumpers and plastic bottles, every year.

Jerry England, director of engineering at Network Rail, said: “This is an important scheme for Network Rail, helping recycling while putting waste to good use. Rail has the enviable position of being the most environmentally friendly and sustainable form of transport, and it is new thinking like this that will help us to improve our record further.”

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