INNOTRANS: Lankhorst Engineered Products will be showing what it says is the world’s first composite sleeper with integral moulded baseplate connections at InnoTrans 2024.
The Dutch company’s KLP Hybrid Polymer Sleeper Type 104 avoids the need for machining baseplates on-site, simplifying the installation of composite sleepers.
It is manufactured from a ductile polymer with encased steel bars to provide high strength and excellent damping characteristics, as well as bending stiffness and low thermal expansion.
The fastenings are incorporated into the moulded sleeper geometry. The sleeper at InnoTrans will feature the Pandrol Fastclip and W14/W30 fastening clips, as well as a power line connection.
‘The ability to mould the KLP sleeper allows us to explore various sleeper designs’, said Technical Director Aran van Belkom. ‘At InnoTrans, we’re showing traditional rectangular KLP sleepers, as well as the new Type 104 with a sleeper geometry developed for the recent Network Rail project looking into ways of reducing the environmental impact of wooden and concrete sleepers.’
