The future of timber sleepers on Britain’s railways could be in question with the announcement that Network Rail is trialling a new kind of sleeper made from recycled plastic.
The trial will see around 20 tonnes of waste material recycled to form the new sleepers that will replace timber ones along some of the rural lines on the country’s railway network.
During the trial, Network Rail, which uses around 185,000 timber sleepers a year (13% of the total), will test whether they can withstand the rigours of a running railway, and once proven, says it will look to progressively roll them out across parts of the network.
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 further improve our record.”
The sleepers are being developed and supplied by Halifax-based plastic waste recycling company i-plas.
