Connected Sleeper Track
Effectively suppresses track settlement and minimizes the need for ballast work during maintenance.
Key Features
- PC sleepers are connected in the longitudinal direction of the rails, giving the overall track structure enhanced longitudinal rigidity.
- When track maintenance is required, the connecting components can be easily disassembled, enabling efficient access for track adjustment and repair.
Structure
This system uses specially designed PC sleepers fitted with inserts on their sides. The sides of adjacent sleepers are bolted together using insulating plates and connecting hardware (H-beams), forming a rigid and electrically insulated joint structure.
Performance Benefits
Simulation (*1) confirmed that the connected sleeper track structure exhibits only about one-third the
settlement
progression compared with conventional elastic sleepers.
In addition, we have verified a reduction in ballast vibration acceleration at a testing facility (*2).
1: Conducted by the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), a public interest incorporated foundation.
2: Conducted in FY 2002.
Achievements
It has been installed on the Osaka Loop Line of West Japan Railway Company (JR West) since FY 2004.
