The right track to a greener tomorrow Railway sleepers have historically been made out of concrete, yet with concern over sustainability rising, researchers are looking to develop alternatives. The Greenrail sleeper makes use of recycled materials and could also help turn the railways into a source of clean energy, as the company’s founder and CEO Giovanni De Lisi explains. The majority of
sleepers used on Europe’s railways are made out of concrete, now researchers are exploring an alternative solution that promises to not only address sustainability concerns, but also turn railways into a source of clean energy. This is built on Giovanni De Lisi’s experience of working in railway infrastructure, during which he saw the shortcomings of conventional sleepers first-hand. “I observed all the technical and environmental issues deriving from the use of concrete sleepers, such as high vibration and noise levels, ballast pulverization, and elevated maintenance costs,” he says. This planted the seed which eventually led Mr De Lisi to found Greenrail, a Milan-based company developing an innovative sleeper utilising recycled materials; this combines the attributes of a concrete sleeper with those of a composite one, resulting in significant technical and environmental benefits. “This allows us to reuse up to 35 tonnes of endof-life tires and recycled plastic for each kilometre of a railway line,” he explains.
Greenrail Greenrail, innovative and sustainable railway sleepers: the greener solution for railway sector Greenrail S.r.l aims to bring to European and global market a new kind of innovative and sustainable railway sleeper with a high potential in railway field, improving technical, economic and environmental characteristics, able to become a standard solution for global railway lines. Giovanni De Lisi Via Giovanni Durando c/o PoliHub, 39 20158 Milano (Italy) T: +39 02 91773151 E: info@greenrail.it W: www.greenrailgroup.com Project Manager since 2003, born and raised in the infrastructure sector, has worked for 9 years in the railway field, supervising the maintenance and strengthening of the lines. In 2011, his technical background allowed him to invent a new concept of an eco-sustainable railway sleeper. In 2012, he founded Greenrail S.r.l., which shortly became an important player in the railway sector and an example of sustainable industrial development according to the principles of circular economy.
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Greenrail sleeper This work has already attracted a lot of interest, and the company has gained backing from the EU under the Horizon 2020 programme to further develop the sleeper, with a view towards wider commercialisation in future. The inner core of the Greenrail sleeper is produced using pre-stressed, reinforced concrete, and so retains the same mechanical characteristics as a conventional sleeper; the novel aspect lies in the outer shell. “This protects the inner core in concrete, and leads to numerous improvements in the sleeper’s performance, such as better electrical insulation, increased track stability, and less vibration and noise,” outlines Mr De Lisi. The outer shell of the Greenrail sleeper has a damping effect, which helps to transfer the train loads to the track ballast and subgrade. “Therefore, it not only protects the inner core
thawing phenomenon,” outlines Mr De Lisi. Railways are operated in a wide variety of environmental conditions, from extreme cold to searing heat; Mr De Lisi says the Greenrail sleeper can be adapted to local conditions. “Our sleepers can be designed and produced according to different technical specifications of each country and, hence, may be applied on all kinds of railway lines. We can also modify our outer shell’s composition, in order to ensure the best performance,” he says. This also helps to reduce maintenance costs, which is an important consideration for many railway companies. In Italy for example, the cost of maintaining a high speed railway line comes to around 30,000 – 50,000 euros per kilometre a year; the Greenrail sleeper could have a significant impact in these terms. “Thanks to the reduced ballast pulverization, a railway line
This protects the inner core in concrete, and leads to numerous improvements in the sleeper’s performance, such as better electrical insulation, increased track stability, and less vibration and noise. from weather agents and climate phenomena, but also reduces the vibration and noise levels deriving from railway traffic,” continues Mr De Lisi. “This is especially important for railway tracks in the vicinity of populated areas.” The Greenrail sleeper is designed to be extremely durable, with the outer shell produced using a unique mix of rubber and plastics, which provides effective, reliable protection against the elements. It has been designed to endure severe climate conditions, from -40°C right through to +80°C, while the major issues that can affect a sleeper have also been taken into account. “The design of the sleeper prevents the concrete from being penetrated by sand or water, ensuring protection from the freezing/
constructed with Greenrail sleepers requires less maintenance, which reduces costs by at least 30 percent,” says Mr De Lisi. These are important attributes in terms of the future of the railways, yet Mr De Lisi is keen to stress that Greenrail’s long-term vision goes beyond producing sleepers towards something more transformative. “Thanks to the possibility to incorporate smart systems in the outer shell of the sleeper, such as PV panels for energy harvesting and systems for predictive maintenance, railway infrastructures will be turned from passive to active ones. In such a scenario, Greenrail will become a smart railways’ services’ provider, able to foresee and plan maintenance activities, and make sure of smooth railway traffic,” he says.
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