16.09.2022
This week, we would like to share the 16th technical sheet. As a reminder, all the technical sheets are available on a dedicated page on our website.
This 16th technical sheet deals with timber under rails, as wood is a widely used material in the world for the manufacture of railway sleepers.
In Europe, four species are mainly used: oak, beech, pine and azobe. In France, the share of wood on the network has decreased significantly over the last few decades; when wood is used, okan has become the first choice in recent years.
This document describes the types of timber used on the rail network and their conditions of use. It also describes the main quality requirements and defects tolerated for timber used under rails.
The comparative advantages of wood compared to competing materials are analyzed, both in environmental and technical terms. Timber is indeed an eco-material storing carbon, and has many technical advantages thanks to its physical and mechanical characteristics.
To learn more, you can download the technical sheet n°16 "Timber under rails and related uses".
This document was written by Mr. Emmanuel Groutel (Wale) and Mr. Jean Gérard (CIRAD) respectively President and Secretary of the ATIBT Timber Material & Normalisation commission.
As a reminder, all the technical data sheets can be found on this page of the ATIBT website media library.
