Booted Sleepers for Resilient Track in Sydney's Metro West Tunnels 

Vossloh, a rail infrastructure technology supplier, has been awarded a contract to supply around 72,000 specially designed sleepers to the Australian infrastructure company John Holland for the Sydney Metro West Linewide Package. The booted sleepers are intended for resilient track systems on the new underground metro line, an application in urban rail infrastructure where track performance must be balanced against vibration impacts on surrounding neighbourhoods.

Project Background: Sydney Metro West
Sydney Metro West is a new 24-kilometre underground metro railway that will double rail capacity between Parramatta and the Sydney Central Business District, with a target opening date of 2032. John Holland is the delivery partner for the Linewide Package, which covers the rail infrastructure and systems needed for metro train operations along the underground line connecting the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs through to Westmead.

Operational Requirement: Capacity With Minimal Impact on Residents
Metro lines running beneath densely populated areas must carry high passenger volumes while limiting the effects of train operation on nearby buildings and residents. Track design in tunnels therefore has to address the transmission of vibration from the rail into the tunnel structure and surrounding ground.

"In densely populated metropolitan areas, high-capacity rail transportation must go hand in hand with minimising impacts on residents," says Oliver Schuster, CEO of Vossloh AG. "Sydney Metro West Linewide package is an impressive example of how modern infrastructure can achieve both."

Technical Solution: Booted Sleepers for Resilient Track
The sleepers supplied by Vossloh are booted sleepers designed for use in resilient track systems. In this type of track, each concrete sleeper sits in a boot with an elastomeric under-sleeper pad. The pad adds elasticity to the track structure and isolates the sleeper from the track bed, limiting the vibration transmitted into the tunnel and surrounding ground.

Manufacturing and Delivery
Because of the project's specific technical requirements, the sleepers will be manufactured in France and shipped to Australia for installation on the Linewide Package. Vossloh supplies rail fastening systems, concrete sleepers, turnouts and crossings, lifecycle services and digital condition-monitoring solutions, and operates more than 60 production sites worldwide.

Long-Term Track Performance
The added elasticity of resilient track also contributes to the service life of the track, a relevant factor for new metro infrastructure running beneath densely populated parts of Sydney.

Edited by Aishwarya Mambet, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.