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Innovation in railroad track construction

Reducing noise: The Bayflex®-based material Büfaflex® makes rail vehicles quieter.

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Reducing noise: The Bayflex®-based material Büfaflex® makes rail vehicles quieter.

Berlin – As a raw materials and systems partner to the rail industry, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) exhibited a wide range of rail transport applications for polyurethane systems and thermo-plastics at InnoTrans, the international trade fair for transport technology, held in Berlin. A major focus was on developments in track construction involving polyurethane systems that BaySystems® has been working on in close cooperation with its partners. BaySystems® is the global umbrella brand of BMS for its polyurethane systems business. One example of this collaboration is a track superstructure system that cuts noise pollution and maintenance costs. Here liquid Durflex®, a noise-reducing ballast system, is injected into the spaces between the ballast stones.

Railroad ties based on the glass fiber reinforced integral skin foam Baydur® have been successfully used in Japan for many years. On high-speed Shinkansen lines, the material offers far greater durability than timber along with correspondingly lower lifecycle costs. The noise produced by streetcars (trams) – the cause of numerous complaints from local residents, particularly in city centers – can also be effectively dampened using the BMS material Büfaflex®.