BarChip Fibre Eliminates Steel from Concrete Track Slab
Used in Light Rail, Metro and High-Speed Rail Systems.
What is Concrete Track Slab?
Concrete track slab is a ballastless rail track system where the rail track is laid on a continuously reinforced concrete slab rather than traditional ballast material. The concrete track slab design is ideal for high-speed rail, metro, elevated rail and light rail tram systems, providing a stable and low-maintenance track design.
BarChip is at the forefront of innovative concrete track slab design. Our fibre reinforcement makes concrete track slabs a more efficient and durable alternative to traditional ballast systems, delivering unmatched performance in modern rail infrastructure.
Fibre Reinforced Concrete Track Slab – The BarChip Advantage
By eliminating steel reinforcement from railway track slab design, BarChip fibre provides a faster, low cost, more sustainable, and lower maintenance alternative to meet the demands of modern rail systems.
Faster Construction
Low Carbon
Reduced Costs
Reduced Current Leakage
Increased Durability
Construction Efficiency
For the 120-year design life Forrestfield-Airport Link Concrete Track Slab, BarChip fibre reinforced concrete was pumped a world record 2km from the surface to placement in the tunnel.
Heard Enough?
Let’s Talk About Your Track Slab Project
Our guarantee is simple: with BarChip fibre your concrete track slab will be faster to build, corrosion free and more sustainable. Let’s talk and find out by just how much.
Fibre Reinforced Concrete Track Slab Design
Traditionally, railway construction has used a bottom-up construction method. Rail track has been laid on previously built ballast material which provides a relatively stiff bearing surface that’s able to transfer the train load through to the ground below.
In the concrete track slab design method, rail tracks are installed on top of a sub-base at their final location. Following this, the installed rails are encapsulated with concrete to hold them in place.
Installing steel reinforcement between the rails and sub-base, and placing bars at close centres in such a confined environment is awkward, tedious and time consuming to say the least. BarChip fibre eliminates these issues, providing construction efficiency, durability and an easier construction process.
BarChip Track Slab Designs are Fully Supported by Finite Element Analysis
BarChip Fibre Reinforced Concrete Track Slabs are fully supported by finite elements analysis (FEA). More than 10 years of testing and calculations have led to BarChip being the only synthetic fibre incorporated into the ATENA software’s materials selection, providing engineers with a reliable model for simulating BarChip’s behaviour under load, crack control and durability factors. With proven performance, BarChip enables engineers to optimise their designs for high performance concrete track slab applications. With FEA, you get:
Low Carbon Concrete Track Slab
At Parramatta Light Rail, 101 tonnes of BarChip replaced 2.246 tonnes of steel reinforcement, for a direct GHG emissions reduction of 4.815 tonnes of CO2e.
Where is Fibre Reinforced Concrete Track Slab Used?
Fibre reinforced concrete track slab is increasingly used as an alternative to ballasted rail track design, particularly for high-speed rail and metro tunnels. It’s also commonplace in light rail and electrified tramway construction, where the rail corridor is shared by road traffic and the rail is embedded into the concrete track slab. BarChip can be used in:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is concrete track slab?
Concrete track slab is a rigid, reinforced concrete base that supports railway tracks, providing stability, durability, and reduced maintenance compared with traditional ballast systems.
What is a ballastless track slab?
A ballastless rail track (track slab) is a rigid railway system that uses reinforced concrete as a replacement for traditional ballast. It offers greater stability, lower maintenance and longer service life.
Can fibres replace traditional steel in concrete track slab?
Yes, macro synthetic fibres can replace traditional steel reinforcement in concrete track slabs, offering equivalent structural performance with benefits such as reduced corrosion and easier installation.
What is the best fibre for concrete track slab?
The best fibre depends on the application, but BarChip macro synthetic fibre is widely used due to its high post crack performance, durability, and ease of placement.
Where is fibre reinforced concrete track slab used?
Fibre reinforced concrete track slabs are used in high-speed rail, metro systems, light rail, tramways and elevated rail.
What are the benefits of fibre reinforced track slab?
BarChip fibre reduces the construction time and cost of concrete track slab, improves crack control, eliminates corrosion and reduces the risk of stray current leakage.
Do fibres lower the carbon footprint of concrete track slab?
Yes, macro synthetic fibre is a low carbon reinforcement system that reduces the embodied carbon when used to replace steel reinforcement.
What types of concrete track slab use fibres?
BarChip fibre concrete is used in embedded rail, floating slabs, precast track slab, cast in sleepers, booted sleepers, direct fixing and resilient baseplates.
Get in touch for a personal information session about your next project. One of our concrete fibre experts will guide you through the following 4 keys items:
