A new path for manganese alloy track cores
The need
RATP wanted to create a new circular economy sector in a closed loop on manganese alloy core tracks.
Through this sprint, the objective is to adapt purchasing procedures, to reduce the carbon impact associated with rail activity and the associated equipment, to secure the supply of raw materials in the face of potential shortages and finally to find a potential financial gain on the markets.
Vossloh Cogifer, a world leader in the design of rail fastening systems, concrete sleepers and switch systems, wanted to meet this need by committing to a 4-month sprint.
The experiment
The experiment focused on 4 central points:
The recovery, cutting and redesign of 21 cores;
The framework of the conditions for the commercial success of the service;
Carrying out a life cycle analysis;
The maximum size of the economy loop
The results
The results obtained are positive and are summarized in the following graph:
The recovery, cutting and redesigning stages are a success and the results of the LCA show a strong improvement in the ecological impact as a result of this recycling.
However, some difficulties emerged:
The procurement, recovery, and treatment of worn track cores is complex.
Recovery is dependent on networks and is subject to strong competition.
The pricing of the circular economy service is complex.
The commercial success of this sector will depend on the costs of buying the recycled product.
Learn more
Want to know more about Vossloh Cogifer? Consult hither the web page of our partner.
For more than 135 years, rail infrastructure has been the core business of the Vossloh Group.
A world leader in its field, Vossloh offers its customers — public and private railway companies, network operators and local and regional transport companies — a wide range of products and services ranging from switch systems and track cores, rail fastening systems, concrete sleepers, to innovative and digital services that allow products to be controlled throughout their life cycle.
Vossloh is involved in the Rail Open Lab because the collaborative framework it offers makes it possible to accelerate the marketing of digital solutions with high added value and high technology, intended to optimize and facilitate the management, operation and maintenance of the track to guarantee maximum availability. The proposed partnership framework also allows the rail sector to transform more quickly to meet the needs of passenger mobility and freight transport in a safe and sustainable manner.
