SUWOS: SUstainable WOoden Railway Sleepers

The use of concrete sleepers has rapidly grown in Europe during the past years; however, wooden sleepers are still widely used principally for technical, but also for economical, reasons. To be prepared for a possible ban of creosote in Europe and to reduce its negative external effects in wooden sleepers, infrastructure managers (IM) have recently been actively looking for viable alternatives to creosote sleepers. Research has already been done on potential substitutes to creosote and on alternatives to wooden sleepers. Some of the alternatives and substitutes have been analysed, tested and put into use in some national networks such as using other wood species without any preservative, “more ecological” preservatives (e.g. wood polymer), the use of composite and steel sleepers. At the end of 2010, UIC members approved the project “Sustainable Wooden railway Sleepers” (SUWOS) in order to obtain an overview of all alternative wood preservation technologies and to evaluate the technological, mechanical and environmental features of each one.