RAIL FASTENERS Progress Rail’s patented ADFF (Acoustical Direct Fixation Fastener) was created “to provide noise and vibration attenuation expected from high resilient DF units.”
HOLD IT!
Gauge-holding capability, resiliency, noise reduction, ease of installation and maintenance, low life-cycle cost, safety: Railroads rely on fasteners with these qualities to perform under heavy traffic. or as long as there have been rails sitting on crossties—the foundation of railbeds since the industry emerged in the early 19th century—there have been fasteners. Yet even after roughly 200 years, fastener technology is still evolving. The mainstays of this industry segment (other than for traditional cut spikes, still the dominant type because they’ve always done what they’re intended for)—Howmet Fastening Systems, L.B. Foster, Lewis Bolt and Nut Co., Pandrol, Progress Rail and Vossloh North America, among others— continue to innovate. MARKET CONDITIONS, LONG-TERM OUTLOOK 2020 has been a year of uncertainty for fastener demand in the transit industry. According to Sarah McBrayer, General 34 Railway Age // October 2020
Manager, Transit Products, L.B. Foster Co., “The transit market has declined in some areas of North America and increased or pulled forward work in other areas based on funding and track time impacts from COVID-19. Many of the negative effects are often highlighted, but we have seen some very positive impacts as well. Reduced ridership has allowed for increased access to perform maintenance on track systems and unease regarding funding has pulled work forward to ensure the funding remains available to complete scheduled projects. But L.B. Foster has also used time this year to internally focus on our new product development and R&D efforts.” On the freight side, “new railroad construction requiring new concrete ties has slowed,” according to Progress Rail. “This had a natural impact on demand
for elastic fasteners. Railroads have also deferred maintenance and certain capital projects, mainly due to PSR. However, with maintenance often staying within a certain cyclical range, many projects cannot be postponed any longer, and we should see more activity in the coming months. If a customer has a tie problem, it becomes a ballast problem. The cost then becomes exponentially higher.” On the transit side, “the U.S. government has invested heavily in new expansion projects due to an expected, long-term uptick in ridership, and we have been busy supplying customers with the fastening products they need for the past several years,” Progress Rail says. “We see this continuing for the foreseeable future.” For many years, Progress Rail notes, “there was an emphasis to make products last longer. For example, at one time, rail railwayage.com
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BY WILLIAM C. VANTUONO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
