MUSCAT, APRIL 8
A South African company that is credited with pioneering the introduction of ballast-less railway track systems, which have being increasingly adopted in sandy and desert environments, has offered to provide its technology to the Sultanate of Oman for use in the development of the landmark Oman-UAE rail project.
Pretoria-based D2 Track Solutions Pty Ltd, a privately owned company, specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of a proprietary T-Track system that it says helps rail operators build faster, while also saving on construction and maintenance costs.
“With this technology, Oman can emerge as a leader in rail track systems and design for the wider Gulf region,” said Jan Van Wyk, representative of D2 Track Solutions in the Sultanate of Oman. “This relatively modern technology, which does not use ballast rocks under the rail tracks, is being increasingly adopted around the world as a cost-effective alternative to ballasted rail track systems. With this T-Track technology, you build faster and cheaper, with operators saving millions of dollars in lower maintenance costs.”
Speaking to the Observer, van Wyk said a consortium of international and Omani investors has been in discussion with the Omani government on the possible use of T-Track systems in the construction of a privately funded freight rail network serving a key logistics hub in Oman.
“That project, which was discussed under the government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, is now on hold to allow for the development of the Oman-UAE rail project to progress before this initiative is revisited again. Had it gone ahead as planned, our T-Track technology would have been deployed in their project,” van Wyk explained.
According to the executive, the T-Track (tubular-track) system is a precast modular track system with longitudinal continuous support. The system sits on a bed of concrete that runs along the length of the track. As they do not involve the use of aggregates as ballast, T-Track based rail systems are not subject to a phenomenon known as ballast-fouling sand mitigation.
Consequently, such ballast-less track systems are increasingly used for higher speed rail, particularly in desert regions of the world. It saves hundreds of thousands of tonnes of ballast that no longer need to be cut crushed and transported to site – savings averaging around 3,000 tonnes of ballast per kilometer.
“There is no viable solution to prevent ballast fouling where wind-blown sand is encountered in sandy and desert areas,” said van Wyk.
“The only available solutions to protect ballast and components in these environments are to construct expensive tunnels or other wayside structures to attempt to protect the track and ballast from wind-blown sand. In contrast, ballast-less systems are easier and less costly to maintain as only the top of rails need to be exposed to allow safe passage of trains.”
In South Africa, T-Track ballast-less rail tracks have been widely used by state-owned Transnet, the country’s biggest freight and passenger rail operator. The technology has also been deployed in Namibia, Zambia, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Saudi Arabia since 2008 and are still in operation, he said.
T-Track systems are also popular in the mineral transportation sector, urban metro systems, passenger platforms and other freight and main lines. The technology can also be adapted for use in heavy haul rail transportation, in-motion weigh bridges, level crossing, and sidings and loading facilities.
Significantly, T-Track systems can also create long-term jobs for young Omanis in the design, communication and signaling, as well as track manufacturing and track building and operations, said van Wyk. With knowledge-transfer, T-Track technology will also eventually be localized in Oman for future track design and development.
“T-Track technology is open to joint venture partnerships with local Omani companies that are keen to be part owners of the technology for use in future rail track building projects in Oman and the GCC,” he added.
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