Israel Railways Ltd

APPENDIX B'

ISRAEL RAILWAYS LTD.

INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION

ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE MONOBLOCK SLEEPERS

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION - CHAPTER 1

2004

ISRAEL RAILWAYS LTD. / INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION / ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

1.  Terminology:

1.1.  The General Specification: The General Specification for Construction Works (“The Blue Book”) published by the Special Inter-ministerial Committee with participation of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Construction & Housing, especially in the following chapters:

▪  Chapter 03 – Precast Concrete Products (Revised 4th Edition 1990)

▪  Chapter 13 – Prestressed Concrete Products (Revised 3rd Edition 1988)

1.2.  In any case of conflict, inconsistency or ambiguity between the technical requirements presented in this specification and those presented in the General Specification and Israeli standards, the order of priority shall be as follows: (The earlier is of higher priority than the latter).

a)  This specification.

b)  The General Specification.

c)  Relevant Israeli standards.

2.  Scope of Specification:

2.1.  This specification deals with various technical issues associated with the production, storage and supply of prestressed concrete monoblock sleepers which are used by Israel Railways Ltd. and constitutes an integral part of the Tender Documents and documents of the contract for the production and supply of the said sleepers.

2.2.  This specification does not deal with administrative issues such as the contract, rate of production and supply, point/s of supply, the number of sleepers the manufacturer is obligated to store at his own plant, etc. Such issues are all dealt with within framework of other Tender/Contract Documents.

3.  Upon signing the contract, the winning bidder shall be required to meet the following requirements:

3.1.  The manufacturer must be in possession of adequate transportation and handling equipment capable of lifting, maneuvering etc. - as required by relevant production, transportation and storage procedures.

3.2.  The plant must operate an adequate quality assurance system for all products, including a permanent laboratory in which certified professionals are employed on a full time basis, with all equipment which is necessary for the execution of all common concrete and concrete components tests (including a machine for testing of concrete blocks under compaction) and for testing the design of concrete mixtures.

3.3.  In his plant, the manufacturer must be in possession of all prestressing equipment which is required for the production of sleepers in accordance with the approved plans and all of the equipment which is required for measurement of forces and expansion as specified in Section 13064 of the Inter-ministerial Specification (“The Blue Book”) Chapter 13: Prestressed Concrete Works (1988) with a calibration certificate which shall remain valid for no less than 6 month.

3.4.  In his plant, the manufacturer must employ an engineer or practical engineer, as defined by the Engineers and Architects Law 5718—1958, with adequate experience in the production of concrete products, erection of production lines and production management / control.

4.  Sleeper Description and Design – By Manufacturer:

4.1.  The sleeper shall be made of prestressed concrete and shall be manufactured in accordance with the following plans which are attached hereto:

a)  Sheet H/6/67 – General Design

b)  Sheet 0.2373 by VOSSLOH Ltd. - Rail Connection Item.

c)  Screw anchor by VOSSLOH Ltd. - No. 1.745 A.

4.2.  The shape, external dimensions and all data and requirements associated with parts which are required for connection of the rails to the track, including specification of all permissible deviations, have all been determined by the engineer and are detailed in the said plans.

4.3.  On the other hand, the plans do not include any details concerning the reinforcement of sleepers, the prestressing steel or prestressing forces.

4.4.  The manufacturer shall be required to design the sleeper reinforcement and prestressing. When designing the sleeper, the manufacturer shall take all test loads which are to be exerted on the sleeper into account in order to meet all requirements set forth herein, subject to the following provisions:

a)  The quantity of prestressing cables and prestressing forces shall be determined by the manufacturer, with no less than four cables in the sleeper profile, one at each of the four profile corners. In any case, the distribution of cables inside the sleeper profile must ensure the prestressing is absorbed by the profile in its entirety.

b)  A looped hoop made of 1 mm galvanized steel rod shall be placed around each screw anchor. The hoop shall include no less than 4 bindings of 100 mm ± 6 mm, 0.2 and each of its two ends shall include a loop of adequate diameter that enables convenient yet tight insertion of the hooped loop around the screw anchor. The galvanization thickness shall be no less than 40 microns.

The steel grade shall be no less than St-37.

The distance between each binding shall be uniform and placement of the hoop along the length of the screw anchor shall cover no less than 60% of it (the upper part of the screw anchor). A diagram of the spiral surrounding the screw anchor is attached hereto.

4.5.  All prestressing cable ends must be closed using an epoxy compound coating.

4.6.  It is necessary to produce sleepers with and without fittings as per Israel Railways requirements. All fittings shall be carried out as specified in the 'Technical Specification for Sleeper Fittings' which constitutes an integral part of this specification (Technical Specification B').

5.  Materials

5.1.  The Concrete Mix:

a)  The type of concrete used shall be consistent with the manufacturer's design provided it is no less than – 50.

b)  All concrete must be produced using aggregates which are compliant with Israeli Standard SI 3 requirements, Portland Cement which is compliant with Israeli Standard SI 1 requirements, and admixtures which are compliant with all requirements set forth in Section 130124 of the General Specification.

c)  In addition to the information provided in Section 130124 of the general Specification, the authorization to use additives shall also be stipulated by requirement to prove there is nothing in the admixture that may harm the screw anchors (plastic compound) or the galvanization of the looped hoops in any way.

d)  The concrete mixture ratios require authorization of the engineer, on the basis of the criteria specified in Sections 03011 and 13014 of the General Specification.

5.2.  Prestressing Steel:

All prestressing steel shall comply with the requirements set forth in Sub-chapter 1302 of the General Specification.

5.3.  Prestressing Axes: (In the case of Post-tensioning)

All prestressing axes shall comply with the requirements set forth in Section 13082 of the General Specification.

5.4.  Grout for Closing of Prestressing Axes: (In the case of Post-tensioning)

All grout shall conform with the requirements set forth in Sub-chapter 1304 of the General Specification.

5.5.  Screw Anchors:

Each sleeper requires 4 screw anchors (see plans) into which the screws connecting the rails are to be threaded. All screw anchors are to be supplied by the manufacturer at his own expense.

All screw anchors shall be consistent with the plan attached to this specification, shall be of VOSSLOH make, type SDU9 and made of High Density Polyethylene.

(a) Shore-D hardness

65 Shore D hardness, in accordance with DIN 53505

(b) Melt Flow Index

(MFR 190\2 16) ≤ 2/3 gr\10 min, in accordance with DIN\ISO 1133

(c) Density

≤ 0.950 gr\cm3, in accordance with DIN 53479

(d) Tensile Strength

At 20°C, N\mm2, in accordance with DIN 53455

(e) Pull out Force From Sleeper

Min 75 kN.

(f) Volume resistivity

> 10 Ohm-cm2, in accordance with DIN 53482\VDE 0303 Section3\05.83.

In addition, all screw anchor dimensions must conform with plan specifications and with all tolerances presented therein.

All screw anchors shall be free of cracks or any other surface defect.

6.  Materials

6.1.  All sleepers shall be manufactured in accordance with the manufacturer plans, and this only after the plans are approved by testing of sleeper samples as part of the technical testing procedure which is carried out within framework of the tender for the production and supply of sleepers.

6.2.  All production shall be carried out under close monitoring and supervision of an engineer or practical-engineer who is professionally certified as required and proficient in the design and production processes of prestressed concrete products, in the establishment of production lines, and in production management and control. Only persons who have been specifically approved by the Head of the Israel Railways Engineering Department may serve in this position, however, the Department Head shall be entitled to demand the replacement of this engineer / practical-engineer for any reason whatsoever under his sole discretion, and this without having to provide any reason for his decision and the manufacturer shall be obligated to replace this engineer / practical-engineer with another certified engineer, holding the required skills as specified above, immediately upon being instructed to do so.

6.3.  All production processes shall conform with the sleeper designs prepared by the manufacturer and with all processes according to which the samples which had passed the tests were produced.

6.4.  The concrete mixture shall be produced at the manufacturer's own plant and the use of imported concrete shall be prohibited. All components of the concrete mixture shall be stored in separate and the production of concrete shall be carried out automatically with computerized control.

6.5.  The prestressing type (pre-tensioned or post-tensioned) and method shall be determined by the manufacturer provided all relevant requirements specified in Chapter 13 of the General Specification concerning prestressing, including measurement thereof.

The prestressing may not be released until the concrete has reached a compressive strength of no less than 30 MPa.

6.6.  The concrete finishing method requires authorization of the engineer and must be such that it does not damage the sleeper or weaken it over time.

In any case, finishing by steam shall not be permitted.

Should the engineer decide, after having approved any given method of finishing, that the method is not fulfilling its purpose and/or is undesired due to any other reason, he shall order its termination and the manufacturer shall be required to propose an alternate finishing method subject to approval of the engineer.

6.7.  Finishing:

a)  All face surfaces of the sleeper, excluding its underside, shall be smooth, without pores, air bubbles, grout segregation or any other defect. Regarding light defects which according to the engineer do not warrant the rejection of the sleepers in which they were found, the manufacturer shall be entitled to carry out repairs by mixing cement, subject to engineer approval, and all this provided such repairs are carried out immediately following removal of the clamps and in a professional manner.

b)  The underside of the sleeper shall be rougher and for this reason, the manufacturer shall be entitled to expose the aggregate using steel brushes. In any case, the manufacturer shall be responsible for verifying that the roughening works do not compromise the smooth flatness of the sleeper underside.

c)  The manufacturer shall clean out all screw anchor holes, using air pressure, from any dirt which may have entered and seal them using plastic caps which are to be supplied by him at his own expense. All caps must be of precise dimensions for matching the screw anchor holes, but easily detachable during the connection of rails.

d)  In the case of pre-tensioning, the cutting of cables must be clean, smooth and with no cable stump bumps protruding beyond the concrete surface. Once the cables are cut, the manufacturer shall paint all areas in which cables were cut in protective paint.

6.8.  Marking:

a)  The following markings shall be branded onto the sleeper surface:

- Manufacturer name and/or commercial logo/symbol.

-  Year of production (this mark shall be revised on a yearly basis towards the beginning of the new year, regardless of the number of sleepers still remaining within framework of the existing contract, including its incrementation, exercise of options, etc).

b)  The position of such markings on the actual sleepers shall be as specified in Plan H/6/67.

c)  In addition to the above, the sleeper's Date of Production (Day, Month, year) shall also be marked on the sleeper, as specified in Plan H/6/67. The Marking shall be implemented using a template and long-life durable paint.

7.  Storage and Supply

7.1.  All sleepers shall be stored in a professional and organized manner. The bottom layer of of sleepers shall be laid down on top of wood supports, in a stable manner and perfectly leveled without any sinking resulting from improper support. In order to separate the layers from one another, it is necessary to place wooden rafters between them. The total number of layers stacked on top of one another shall be no more than 15.

7.2.  Each batch of sleepers shall be accessible such that it allows loading of separate sleepers from it. The sleepers shall be stocked such that they may be identified by date of production.

7.3.  The loading of sleepers which are to be supplied to Israel Railways inside the plant shall be carried out by the manufacturer. The manner by which sleepers are loaded onto trucks, including their arrangement, binding etc. requires prior approval of the engineer. All sleeper layers shall be separated from one another using wooden rafters.

7.4.  All sleepers shall be transported by the manufacturer, in his own trucks and at his own expense, to their final destinations as specified in the contractual provisions. Unless otherwise stated within framework of the contractual provisions, all sleepers shall be unloaded using any one of the following methods, as determined by the engineer:

a)  Unloading from trucks for piling up on the ground. The pile surface shall be certified by Israel Railways. The manner by which the sleepers are stocked up shall be as instructed by the engineer's representative in the field.

b)  Loading from trucks onto rail-cars. The manner by which the sleepers are to be arranged inside the rail-cars shall be in accordance with the instructions provided by the Israel Railways on-site supervisor. All sleeper layers shall be separated from one another using wooden rafters.

7.5.  The manufacturer shall be responsible for the completeness and integrity of all sleepers until the unloading process is complete, as specified in Section 7.4 herein-above, and they are safely delivered onto the train.