Sustainable Solutions for Railroad Trackwork

The awareness of climate change has become a focal point of scientific development in the 21st century. Both producers and consumers have been trying to reduce the carbon footprint of human activity, and this has led to the increased use of sustainable solutions. These sustainable solutions can be described in two groups: pre-consumption, using renewable resources, such as bamboo; and post-consumption, such as recycled plastics. Both of these types of solutions result in lower carbon footprint emissions and reduce impact on climate change. Given the higher maintenance costs and destructive nature of using wood ties, there is the potential to utilize a more sustainable material. HDPE ties are composed of recycled plastic offering both performance and environmental advantages for use as railroad crossties versus the widely used wood ties that are often troublesome in warm, moist soils, where biological organisms can attack wood ties and greatly shorten their service life. Plastic crossties have the ability to divert considerable amounts of waste from landfills if used on the several million crossties that are replaced each year by the railroads. This paper examines the future of plastic ties, utilizing several case studies.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784413210.030
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784413210
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Louie, Monica L
• Conference:
  • Third International Conference on Urban Public Transportation Systems
  • Location: Paris , France
  • Date: 2013-11-17 to 2013-11-20
• Publication Date: 2013

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: pp 338-346
• Monograph Title: Urban Public Transportation Systems 2013

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Plastics; Railroad ties; Railroad tracks; Recycled materials; Sustainable development
• Uncontrolled Terms: High density polyethylene
• Subject Areas: Materials; Railroads; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01501080
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784413210
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Dec 10 2013 11:00AM