Britpave

Britpave, the British Cementitious Paving Association, is an independent body established to develop and forward concrete and cementitious solutions for infrastructure.

Please note, Britpave Trade Association has no commercial interest in or trading association with Britpave concrete step barrier. For contact details see: www.bbsbarriers.com

It is active in the development of solutions and best practice for roads, rail, airfields, guided bus, drainage channels, soil stabilisation and recycling. As such, the Association is the focal point for the infrastructure industry.

The broad membership of Britpave encourages the exchange of pan-industry expertise and experience. Members include contractors, consulting engineers and designers, specialist equipment and material suppliers, academics and clients – both in the UK and internationally.

The Association works closely with national and European standards and regulatory bodies, clients and associated industry organisations. It provides a single industry voice that facilitates representation to government, develops best practice and technical guidance and champions concrete solutions that are cost efficient, sustainable, low maintenance and long-lasting.

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Contact Info
  • Address:

    Easthampstead Park House
    off Peacock Lane
    Wokinghamk
    Berkshire RG40 3DF

  • Phone:
    +44 (0)118 4028915
  • Email:
    info@britpave.org.uk
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Life Cycle

These web pages reproduce the executive summary of the Britpave publication Slabtrack Life-Cycle energy study of railway track beds.

Visit the Britpave Shop to purchase Slabtrack Life-Cycle energy study of railway track beds as a hard copy (free to Britpave members)

Executive Summary

Construction of new railways and upgrading existing lines forms a central part of European transport policy. In the UK, ballasted track bed remains the most commonly constructed, partly because of relatively low initial costs. Concrete slab track beds, while more expensive to construct, can have lower life-cycle costs and are being actively promoted for use in the UK.

This publication describes an evaluation of the life-cycle energy use impacts of ballasted track bed and two generic concrete slabtrack beds: cast-in sleeper and embedded track systems. The lifecycles were analysed taking into consideration the manufacturing, construction, maintenance, dismantling and recycling of the track bed components. The environmental impacts were then indicated by energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission.

Comparison of the results showed that concrete slab track beds are not associated with higher life-cycle energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, when compared with ballasted track bed.