AROUND the world, governments and businesses find themselves under extreme pressure to commit to net zero targets and to provide evidence of how they will meet them by 2050. In the field of transport emissions and rail in particular, there is an opportunity to make major gains, a challenge that technicians, engineers and designers at Pandrol have been addressing by focusing on two key areas: making production processes more sustainable; and minimising the impact of installing and maintaining track components.

Pandrol aims to deliver sustainable and resilient track components designed to reduce environmental impact without compromising quality, efficiency or cost-effectiveness. Part of Pandrol’s E+ Range is the portfolio of Sustainable Resilient Systems (SRS) designed to attenuate vibration and reduce maintenance requirements for all types of track. SRS products include floating slab mats, under-ballast mats, under-sleeper pads and the FTrack and QTrack embedded rail fastening systems.

SRS products have a best-in-class carbon footprint, generating two to three times less CO₂ during manufacturing than similar products from other suppliers. They have been independently certified with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), involving a transparent, third-party audit using scientific parameters to measure their environmental impact.

Recycled materials are used during 90% of the SRS manufacturing process. Pandrol has been using recycled rubber for over 20 years for its wide stiffness range and excellent fatigue and creep resistance, and every kilometre of track laid with SRS components saves up to 40,000 life-expired tyres from being sent to landfill or incinerated. Using recycled rubber also saves nearly 80 tonnes of CO₂ per km of track - the equivalent of an average passenger road vehicle driving 630,000km or 16 times around the globe - and SRS components are themselves 100% recyclable.

The environmental impact of new line construction or track maintenance is further reduced by the use of battery-powered tools

Designed to improve track quality, provide better load distribution and reduce vibrations, under-sleeper pads require around 2.3kg of old tyres per sleeper, producing a carbon footprint that is less than half of a similar product made using virgin material. Every kilometre of track laid with Pandrol under-sleeper pads therefore saves 3000 tyres from landfill or burning, but the pads also contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of railway operations during their own life by reducing maintenance requirements and increasing component life.

The environmental impact of new line construction or track maintenance is further reduced by the use of battery-powered tools that also form part of the E+ range. These include the CD100 B clip driver and a compact shear for removing rail welds, which produce no exhaust fumes and eliminate CO₂ emissions while vastly lowering noise pollution when compared with petrol-driven tools.

Achieving a major reduction in environmental impact was also a key consideration in the design of Pandrol’s Safe Driven (SD) fastening system, which is much more compact, lighter and more robust than other systems. Designed to be delivered pre-assembled on the sleeper or slab element, SD provides controlled clip guidance from the parked to the in-service position and can also deliver high rates of installation with mechanical methods. The SD clip system is tensioned using a screw and insert system. This provides enough axial force to compress the clip and deliver the necessary clamping force to the rail foot.

SD has been designed for use on all types of railways, ranging from heavy haul freight to urban light rail networks. It has been selected for the Grand Paris Express automated metro network in France and is currently being used across a range of projects to replace screwed fastening systems that have been in use for many years. SD offers a range of advantages over generic screwed systems, which include avoiding ballast entrapment, fully automated installation and extraction, and the ability to replace the clip without the need to remove the screw.

The green credentials of the SD system are notable. When retrofitted to existing track, SD saves 1500kg of raw materials per kilometre of track in comparison with other screwed systems that fit in the same type of sleeper, such as the B70 concrete monobloc design. Its lighter weight also reduces the emissions produced by moving the product to its destination. Shipping SD components for a 100km project on a set route from Germany to Saudi Arabia, for example, would save over 22 tonnes of CO₂, or enough energy to recharge 2.8 million smartphones.

This reduction in weight does not mean less resilience, however. The SD range has been designed to operate under conditions of high-frequency vibration associated with track operating conditions, reducing the risk of damage to the fastening system and guaranteeing track safety. This increases the lifespan of the product in track, in turn reducing its total carbon footprint.

The “switch on/switch off” function of the SD clip enables it to be moved simply and quickly from the parked position into the service position, clamping the rail, by loosening the screw. When combined with the pre-assembled nature of the SD system and the option of mechanised installation, this ensures that high rates of track construction and maintenance can be achieved. This produces substantial savings in labour costs and reduces distribution and handling costs during the whole lifecycle of the system.

Green production

Alongside developing greener products like the SRS range and the SD fastening system, Pandrol has been installing solar panels, harnessing wind energy and using biomass to power its facilities around the world. Over 50% of its sites are now at least partly supplied with electricity from renewable sources, with others to follow. As a result, the company’s annual emissions decreased significantly between 2019 and 2022, from 46,660 to 36,687 tonnes of CO₂.

Sustainability is a big priority for Pandrol, and the company is committed to reducing its footprint and creating a more sustainable future. It expects to achieve this through environmentally friendly design, modifying manufacturing processes, engaging with its supply chain, and adopting a “sustainability built-in” mindset. It understands that advances in sustainability will only be possible with the collective buy-in of staff and by empowering them to make a difference. Pandrol has therefore rolled out training across the company to drive and implement its corporate sustainability strategy.

* Mr Ernesto San Vicente is head of technology at Pandrol SRS, Mr John Porrill is Pandrol’s technical director and head of the Fastening Systems product line, and Mr Olivier Jullien is global procurement director.