Article: For conserving resources.
DB Bahnbau Gruppe develops and delivers solutions for a high‑performance yet resource‑efficient railway infrastructure. The sulphur concrete sleeper represents an innovative, resource‑efficient and almost fully recyclable alternative to the conventional prestressed concrete sleeper.
Why sulphur concrete?
The use of sulphur concrete offers both ecological and technical advantages across the entire lifecycle of a sleeper.
Up to 50 % lower CO₂ emissions
In conventional concrete sleepers, the cement content is the primary source of high CO₂ emissions.The sulphur concrete sleeper completely replaces cement with sulphur — a by‑product of the oil and gas industry — thereby significantly reducing the carbon footprint.
Nearly 100 % recyclable
The entire manufacturing process for sulphur concrete sleepers is purely physical and therefore 100 % reversible. This means that, once the sleeper has reached the end of its service life, the sulphur concrete can be remelted and fully reused. Material loss amounts to only around 1%, allowing sulphur concrete to remain within a closed loop.
Technically robust and durable
Sulphur concrete sleepers offer outstanding material properties, including:
- three times less creep than conventional concrete, i.e. under constant load, sulphur concrete deforms more slowly than conventional concrete
- an almost unlimited electrical resistance
- high resistance to acids, alkalis and oils
With 85 % identical raw materials, sulphur concrete sleepers are comparable to conventional concrete in terms of density, modulus of elasticity and thermal expansion — and even surpass it in certain performance parameters.
Cooperation & testing
The sulphur concrete sleeper is a product of our partner THIOTRACK®, a Belgian company specialising in the development and production of innovative precast elements made from circular sulphur concrete. Together, we are working to integrate sulphur concrete into the German railway infrastructure in order to make it more sustainable.
The German Federal Railway Authority (EBA) has already approved operational testing. DB InfraGO AG is expected to begin trials on a heavily used line from mid‑2026.
Our vision: closing the loop
In the long term, our goal is to manufacture sulphur concrete sleepers using recycled concrete sleepers. The crushed material from conventional concrete sleepers is to be reintroduced into new sulphur concrete sleepers. In this way, we close the loop and make a further contribution to a high‑performance and environmentally friendly rail infrastructure.
Picture Gallery: Sulphur concrete sleeper
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