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Trafikverket successfully installed hybrid plastic sleepers in test track Sweden
- 13th of June 2016 -
The recessed version of the KLP® Hybrid Plastic Sleeper is one of the innovations developed and produced by Lankhorst Engineered Products in The Netherlands. Trafikverket has chosen the plastic main track sleepers of Lankhorst for the selective replacement of timber sleepers on a test track in Kalmar (Sweden). The Lankhorst products were selected due to their low Life Cycle Costs, good damping characteristics and at the same time high strength properties.
KLP® Hybrid Plastic Sleepers have the same damping characteristics as timber sleepers and provide continuous track stiffness, which makes them suitable for one-on-one replacement of timber sleepers in track. The hybrid plastic sleepers are reinforced with 2 steel bars, using a unique production process developed and patented by Lankhorst, to achieve the required rigidity and strength. Due to the long design lifetime of KLP® Hybrid Plastic Sleepers the total Life Cycle Costs are lower when compared to the Life Cycle Costs 
of timber sleepers.
The installation of the test track in Kalmar was done overnight on the 28th of April 2016. The section is already successfully in service. Lankhorst’s KLP® Hybrid Plastic Sleeper and 5 other alternative sleepers were installed by Trafikverket.
Lankhorst Engineered Products presented the hybrid plastic sleeper to the railway industry early 2006, a European debut. The ban on creosote and restricted availability of hardwood were the main drivers for Lankhorst to develop a plastic sleeper which is manufactured out of 100% recycled plastics as a sustainable and maintenance free alternative to timber sleepers. Since the introduction Lankhorst has supplied various types of hybrid plastic sleepers to several projects in The Netherlands, France, Germany and now in Sweden. KLP® Hybrid Plastic Sleepers are available in various types which include main track sleepers, bridge sleepers or transoms and switch sleepers or bearers.
Watch installation video:
