Case Study
More Elasticity for theHeavy Haul Malmbanan Line (SE)First major project with undersleeper pads for heavy haul

Significantly improved service
life and track bed quality

Effective protection ofthe ballasted track

A Convincing Argument:
Under Sleeper Pads under
Extreme Conditions

Description of the project

The Getzner solution

Particularly in heavy haul, ballasted track often reaches its limits.
High axle loads and freight tonnage directly place a disproportionately high strain on the track.
For this reason the Swedish operator Trafikverket opted to install under sleeper pads in 2014.

an axle load of 30 metric tons run on
the southeastern section in Sweden(Malmbanan Line) at 60 km/h when
loaded and at 70 km/h when unloaded. Weighing roughly 8,500 metrictons, the fully loaded trains have an
impressive size, measuring up at nearly 750 metres.

TLoads far beyond the design

rafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration, is responsible for all transportation matters. In addition to the planning,
constructing and maintaining theroad network, it is also the body incharge of expanding and maintainance of the rail infrastructure.
This also includes the Swedish section of the heavy haul line fromLuleå to Narvik. The world's northernmost electrified railway line ismore than 473 km long and is mainly used to transport iron ore andpellets from the mines in Kiruna
and Malmberget to the harbours.
High frequency, high tonnage
In addition to passenger and freighttrains, heavy haul trains belonging toSwedish iron ore mine owner LKAB
(Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag) also run on the line. The heavy
haul trains with up to 68 wagons andDue to the ever increasing mining ofiron ore, the traffic volume has increased steadily over the past few years
and a further increase in live loads isexpected. The problem is that, when
the track was constructed in the1960s, it was designed for an axle
load of no more than 25 metric tons.
Since 2000 however, the track section between Narvik and Kiruna has
permitted a load of 30 metric tons.
Despite using high-grade rail steels
and sleepers made of pre-stressed
concrete, this has caused above-average amounts of wear. Consequently,
the ballast is the weakest link in therailway track. Trafikverket neededa solution. Thanks to Getzner, theyfound one.

Under sleeper pads with special
properties

Getzner and Trafikverket are boundby their close collaboration on several projects with mass-spring systems, under ballast mats and also
joint research projects. Trafikverket knew that under sleeper pads
help significantly to protect the ballast. But no-one had ever tested whether this solution would work as efficiently and on this scale north of
the arctic circle before. The ideal load
distribution within the track was required. This was the goal behind theattempt to reduce the stress between
ballast and sleeper by enlarging thearea of contact between the sleeper
and the ballast. Under sleeper pads,
such as those offered by Getzner,are perfect for such a scenario.

At Getzner, the message came throughloud and clear: we needed to combine
both resilient and plastic properties in
our under sleeper pads.
Plastic and yet resilient
The special challenge lay in combining plastic and resilient properties. In addition to the resilience,plastic under sleeper pads — whichallow the gentlest possible beddingof the ballast grains — are required
to enlarge the area of contact between the underside of the sleeper
and the uppermost layer of ballast.
Getzner's solution for Trafikverket
shows that these two properties do
not have to be a contradiction interms.

sleepers with padded concrete sleepers. Based on the knowledge gained
from test tracks and international
experiences, Trafikverket opted for
concrete sleepers with under sleeper
pads made from Sylomer®. The concrete sleepers were fitted with type
SLB 2210G under sleeper pads fromGetzner.
Impressive results

Concrete sleepers instead oftimber sleepers

Since 2014, around 20,000 padded concrete sleepers have been
installed on approx. 12 km of track.
Trafikverket therefore expects significantly greater availability along
this section of track, coupled witha lower maintenance requirement.

When the track section between Gällivare and Koskullskulle was renewed, Trafikverket replaced the timberFirst major project with undersleeper pads for heavy freight
operations
For Getzner this project was a double success. In addition to another satisfied customer, this is also the firstmajor project for under sleeper pads
on a heavy freight line under arctic
conditions.

Advantages— Effective protection of theballasted track— Thus, increased availability
and profitability— Less maintenance workrequired— Significantly lower life
cycle costs— Improved track bed quality— Reduction of short-pitch/rail corrugation on rails intight curves— Reduction of vibration
emissions— Prevention of voids under
the sleepers

Facts and figures at a glanceLine mileage (over which
the material was installed):
Operator:
Material required:
Axle loads on theheavy haul line:

12 kilometres
Trafikverket
20,000 under sleeper pads of type SLB 2210G
30 metric tons

Founded:Chief Executive Officer:
Employees:
2018 turnover:Business areas:
Headquarter:
Locations:
Ratio of exports:

1969 (as a subsidiary of Getzner, Mutter & Cie)
Jürgen Rainalter
490 (360 in Bürs)
EUR 100.3 million
Railway, construction, industry
Bürs (AT)
Berlin (DE), Munich (DE), Stuttgart (DE), Lyon (FR), Amman (JO), Tokyo (JP),Pune (IN), Beijing (CN), Kunshan (CN), Charlotte (US), Decatur (US)93 %Find out more at
www.getzner.com/heavy-haul

AUSTRIA — Bürs GERMANY — Berlin — Munich — Stuttgart FRANCE — Lyon
JAPAN — Tokyo INDIA — Pune CHINA — Beijing USA — Charlotte

JORDAN — Amman
www.getzner.com

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