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May 2023
Compiled by Michael Popke
Vossloh Tie Technologies (VTT)/Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. (RCTI) has been supplying ties in North America for more than 35 years. This year began with consistent demand from customers compared with previous years, with a slight uptick for specialty applications such as yards, VTT officials said in an email.
To that end, VTT has introduced a newly engineered yard tie driven by demand from Class I customers for a longer-lasting product, they said. The 102 Yard tie is an “economically optimized” tie and fastener combination designed with less reinforcement and material for yards, as well as a variety of transit applications, VTT officials added.
“We believe the cost efficiencies we have driven into this new tie and fastener design makes it extremely competitive to plated wood ties, coupled with a much longer lifespan as compared to traditional ties, thus driving a compelling return on investment for new yard construction as well as total yard rehabs,” they said.
Designed to be a one-for-one maintenance replacement in wood-tie territory, the concrete Keyway Tie from voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak offers the same size, modulus and spacing as timber ties, company officials said.
Features include an integrated fastening system aimed at making the tie more resilient than traditional mainline concrete ties. The Keyway Tie leverages the strength of the concrete and ductile elements to provide immediate and durable improvements to gauge control, company officials said.
Because the tie acts as a concrete gauge rod, it carries more of the gauge holding load compared with adjacent wood ties. The reduction in stress allows the service lives of wood ties to be extended, company officials said.
The Keyway Tie can be installed with existing maintenance-of-way equipment.
L.B. Foster Co. continues to pursue new market opportunities for its CXT® concrete ties, especially in the western United States.
After noting a steady increase in North American concrete tie manufacturing capacity over the past decade, the company experienced a precipitous drop in demand just before and during COVID. But business has since picked up.
“There is ample capacity for increased tie volumes to feed heavy haul, industrial and light-rail construction projects,” said Vince Petersen, engineering manager at CXT Inc./L.B. Foster. “With West Coast transit finally starting to get back up to speed, especially in California, CXT sees opportunities for increased volumes ahead.”
Meanwhile, Class I yard modernization and expansion projects across the U.S. West are breathing new life into industrial projects, and the company is working with fastener suppliers to introduce new heavy-haul rail-fastening systems for concrete ties to the market, company officials said. The new systems are designed to reduce wear and degradation on polymeric fastening components from lateral forces due to faster train speeds and more tonnage.
L.B. Foster also is developing products and initiatives aimed at increasing track and train safety to prevent derailments, as well as specialty tie replacements targeted at 1970s-era concrete designs and installations.
“Creative storage terms have enabled us to feed material to their project sites on an as-needed basis to help our customers maintain their project schedules and costs,” said Petersen.
Engineered for optimum performance, NARSTCO’s “forever” ties and turnouts are safe for installers as well as the environment, and meet “Buy America” standards, company officials said.
NARSTCO officials believe more customers are realizing the benefits of building their track with steel ties based on reduced ballast volumes, product availability, faster track construction and the use of high-quality recycled U.S. steel.
That’s been especially true as companies continue to “push the importance of sustainability in their decision-making process,” said NARSTCO Vice President of Sales and Marketing Matt Violin.
Produced entirely from recycled U.S. steel, NARSTCO steel ties support carbon footprint reduction initiatives. They contain no toxic creosote or other preservatives that are harmful to installation crews and the environment, company officials said. NARSTCO steel ties also use less ballast, which helps reduce reliance on natural resources.
NARSTCO uses steel from recycled cars and can be incorporated into LEED certification for projects; one car can provide enough steel for up to five NARSTCO steel ties, company officials said.
Sicut North America is working with railway infrastructure specialist Pandrol North America as the exclusive distributor of its composite ties.
Produced from recycled polymers reinforced by glass fiber, Sicut ties have been “widely proven in over 20 countries and work across all track types,” company officials said. They believe the ties offer greater durability and longer lifecycles compared with more traditional materials.
The company’s newest manufacturing facility in Neodesha, Kansas, produces standard ties for mainline track and a full range of turnout ties for transit and freight railroad markets. Sicut also operates a manufacturing hub in the United Kingdom and supplies such European railroad customers as Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, and the London Underground and Stockholm Metro transit networks.
Integrico Composites manufactures durable composite materials produced entirely from landfill-bound plastic. A patented low-heat process helps maintain the integrity of the hard plastics and allows products to be recycled at the end of their life, company officials said.
Integrico’s railroad ties offer strong spike retention and high compressive strength. All the company’s ties are produced to exceed industry standards, company officials said.
Integrico works with post-consumer and post-industrial sources to gather plastic for composite manufacturing that otherwise would be deposited in landfills or burned in incinerators.
Integrico’s composite railroad ties are in use on Class I, short-line and transit-rail networks, as well as on multiple industrial tracks across the United States. The ties also are being installed in Chile, India and Australia, company officials said.
Michael Popke is a Madison, Wisconsin-based freelance writer. Email comments or questions to prograil@tradepress.com.
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