Fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs) are being used in rail application such as trackbeds, gantries, vehicles/modules, interiors, lineside furniture and platform systems.
The rail industry is fully embracing FRPs and is one of the key specifiers of fully composite bridge structures in the UK as these can be craned in overnight minimising disruption to the rail network. These bridge structures are favoured as they are low maintenance, have a long life-cycle and if specified at the design stage can be made to be graffiti and fire proof.
FRPs are widely used in train interiors, including vestibule pods that can be moulded and then ‘dropped in’ to the vehicle structure to be connected to internal services.
The platform at East Midlands Parkway station is made up of pultruded structural composite profiles that were installed in a matter of days.