Over the past few months, a number of rail companies have launched upcycling and recycling initiatives aimed at tackling climate change and preserving the environment. With their minds set on preventing waste from ending up in landfill, they are saving used materials and repurposing them in creative ways. In October 2018, a report published by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claimed the world only has a dozen years left to stop climate change. Failing to do so would lead to irreparable damages.
While governments and companies begin to develop strong sustainability strategies, everyone needs to play their part, and the rail industry is not excluded. Other than being a valuable and more sustainable alternative to road or air transport, the rail sector has also been coming up with new innovative and creative ideas to prevent used materials from ending up in landfill.
This autumn, for example, the Heathrow Express – which links central London to its main airport – launched a poster campaign featuring illustrations of objects made from train rubbish.
In the US, passenger rail operator Amtrak has given new life to the leather seat covers from its ageing trains and turned them into designer bags, hoping to set an example for many other companies. Similar contributions to the environmental cause are being launched around the world, as everyone slowly wakes up to the necessity of being more sustainable.
The Italian Greenrail Company has developed sleepers (including a smart solar sleeper with sensors)that generates electricity by solar panels and piezo,the latter useful for tunnels and the tube trains,partly made from recycled rubber tires and plastic,15-20% cheaper with a 50 year longer lifespan reducing maintenance costs by half,perhaps Greenrail could use waste from the railways creating whats called a circular economy.Greenrail has signed agreements with SafePower1 in the US and Indra in Spain.
http://www.ejinsight.com/20181206-how-used-tires-turn-railways-into-smart-solar-power-plants/
UK Bankset Group has also developed an all new carbon fiber solar sleeper and a solar panel that clips on to existing sleepers,Bankset Group wants to power trains across the world including Britain using solar sleepers with batteries.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/10/10/bankset-energy-announces-gw-scale-plans-for-solar-railways-the-world-over/
@Jason Leahy
Interesting, thanks. Hopefully they are sufficiently rugged and durable.