It is designed and produced by Cemex Rail Solutions, which claims that it is the first new sleeper design in more than 30 years.
Cemex says that it is a bespoke solution offering faster installation of new track with improved reliability and greater longevity.
The first contract of 900 sleepers was fitted by Track Partnership, a collaboration between London Underground and Balfour Beatty Rail, on the track around Harrow on the Hill on the Metropolitan Line.
The new 1502 concrete sleeper comes preassembled incorporating the Pandrol Fastclip ‘FE’ fastening system for automated installation. It is also fitted with the required insulators and pads in place, reducing the five installation steps to one. The final step requires the rail to be threaded on to the sleepers and the clips to be driven automatically on to the rails.
The 1502 has been developed in partnership with Pandrol, Balfour Beatty Rail and London Underground in response to a growing need to construct track faster, safer and at a lower cost with reduced maintenance requirements. It has been estimated that the new sleepers and system can be laid in half the time, Cemex says.
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