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Alstom to test advanced concrete rail track in Germany

French engineer Alstom is to trial a rail line made from concrete that it says can be installed more 40% more quickly than conventional track.

The company calls its system "non-ballast concrete-slab track", or NBT, and it says it can be used on conventional or high-speed systems up to a maximum speed of 360km/h.

Alstom created the line for projects that required a track with a long lifespan and low maintenance.

The construction process is derived from the Appitrack technology, which allows 300m of track to be laid per day.

A pilot project is to be tried in German. Alstom worked on the technology with the Department of Engineering at the Technical University of Munich and TÃœV Rheinland, which inspected and tested the technology.

Alstom notes that the German Railway Federal Authority is "recognised worldwide for its experience in the slab track homologation, which is carried-out over the past 40 years on the German high-speed railway network".

Image via Alstom

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