The Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) announced on the 23rd that it has pilot-installed “eco-friendly plastic sleepers,” made by combining waste plastics and slag, at the Panam Rolling Stock Depot of the Daejeon Transportation Corporation.
KRRI will conduct a one-year field application test, from this month through October next year, on a 10-meter section of the Daejeon urban railway where the eco-friendly plastic sleepers have been installed. The developed technology has been transferred to the participating company, EOMTech Co., Ltd., which plans to proceed with commercialization, including obtaining relevant certifications.
The eco-friendly plastic sleepers are low-carbon, environmentally friendly sleepers made from 100% recycled plastics and steelmaking slag, an industrial byproduct generated during the steelmaking process. They were developed to replace wooden sleepers, which are entirely imported.
Wooden sleepers have a relatively short service life of approximately 12 to 15 years and face issues such as unstable supply due to full import dependence, as well as increasing maintenance and replacement costs, leading to a transition toward concrete sleepers. However, in locations such as railway turnouts, where sleepers of various lengths are required, replacement is difficult, and wooden sleepers are still in use, highlighting the need for alternative solutions like eco-friendly plastic sleepers…
