The new ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM from PANDROL, which dramatically reduces re-railing time for F40 concrete sleepers, has won the Technical Innovation category at the Railway Gazette International magazine’s annual Rail Business Awards.
The Pandrol team attended a glittering event at London’s Hilton hotel on Park Lane, where the prestigious trophy was presented by TV celebrity and comedienne Sandi Toksvig OBE.
The Pandrol ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM was selected from amongst hundreds of entries for its time and efficiency savings as it minimises track infrastructure downtime and allows more work to be done within a single possession. It also improves the ergonomics and efficiency for contractors undertaking the re-railing work.
Gavin Livie, UK Market Manager at Pandrol, said: “We are delighted that our ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM was successful in winning this award, especially against such strong competition. This innovative new product offers huge benefits to rail track operators in terms of reducing installation time and enhancing safety. The award is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team in working with rail operators and contractors to develop innovative solutions.”
He adds: “We expect that with increasing adoption of the new ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM, there will be a significant contribution to reducing the cost of maintaining the railway network, both in the UK and globally.”
The ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM is a rail fastening innovation that has been designed to increase the output rates during the re-railing process and has been proven in trials to reduce installation time by as much as 35 per cent, as well as significantly reducing the number of components required.
In addition, the ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM, which requires very little product training to install, can be retrofitted on existing PANDROL e-clip and PR clip concrete sleepers, therefore improving the longevity and durability of rail fastening components on older types of sleeper.
The ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM features a composite pad which centralises the rail in the rail seat during the threading and clipping process. The flexibility of the ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM also means that rail pads can be provided in different materials and stiffness where required, such as EVA, or studded rubber.
The ‘Re’ 1800 SYSTEM follows the design of the PANDROL FASTCLIP System in providing a two-part electrical insulator concept, but reduces the number of components from five per rail seat to just three: two PANDROL Re clips with integral toe insulator and one rail pad with integral side post insulators.
