Arc Infrastructure is the first rail network in Australia to trial a new steel sleeper system through a trial program on the Leonora to Kalgoorlie line.
The innovative design provides an alternative solution to more traditional steel sleepers and hard to source timber sleepers and will deliver cost benefits over the life of the asset.
Arc Infrastructure's Head of Network Strategy and Long Term Planning, Michal Golinski led the research program and procurement of the new system after a worldwide search.
"We are the first in Australia to use this type of steel sleeper which we've had slightly modified to better suit our installation processes.
The sleepers are also delivered with all fastenings attached as one unit and as such reduce the number of steps within the installation process for the teams on the ground.
This particular sleeper system is expected to out-perform traditional steel and timber sleepers due to a longer design life and improved reliability.
The sleepers can also be recycled into new steel products, helping to reduce waste and our carbon footprint." said Michal.
The $2.3M program involved the replacement of over 6,000 sleepers and the upgrade of a further 2,400 sleeper plates.
Arc Infrastructure will assess the performance of the steel sleeper over future years and will continue to fine tune processes to better optimise the performance of the sleeper and track.
The re-sleepering work was carried out by Arc Infrastructure's local maintenance and major projects teams and local contractors over a two month period.
These works are part of Arc Infrastructure's ongoing major maintenance program and are critical to providing a safe, efficient and reliable freight network.
Article source: Arc Infrastructure
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