Date of Post : 16 Oct, 2018

New Delhi: Railways has decided to replace wooden sleepers with composite sleepers that are not only lighter but also stronger. A senior Railways official said,“The Railways has decided to use the composite sleepers in a limited way. It is being used mainly on girder bridges.”

More Information:

• Composite sleepers were first used by the Indian Railways in the Muradabad division in 2003.
• No complaint has been received till date about the use of these sleepers, which were deployed on a bigger scale from 2016 in over 10 zones, the official said.
• The Railways preferred them over wooden sleepers because of environmental issues that cropped up over the cutting of trees, he said.
• “This decision has been taken in the wake of a Supreme Court order imposing restrictions on cutting trees. If successful, all wooden sleepers will be replaced with composite sleepers.”
• In June 2016, the Railway Board Executive Director (Track), in a letter to all the zonal offices, said that the RDSO (Research Designs & Standards Organisation) was planning to replace wooden sleepers with those made of composite material.
• It would initially be tried on bridges.
• The primary function of a sleeper is to grip the rail to the gauge and to distribute the rail load to ballast with acceptable induced pressure.

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Author:

Deepak Kumar is a part of the content team of Rail Analysis India as a writer and analyst .
His focus is on new initiatives on the Railway Sector of India .
Please reach us at editor@railanalysis.com for more information .