Development of Hot Water Jet Nozzles for Synthetic Resin Sleepers with Integrated Water Channels on the Shinkansen

The Shinkansen hot water spray snow melting equipment (hereafter “hot water jets”) contributes to stable train transportation by eliminating railroad switch freezing through spraying of hot water before switch freezing can occur. As the exposed piping and spray nozzles of the hot water jets hindered track maintenance (roadbed tamping), they had to be detached and reattached each time.

The protective sleepers with integrated pipes that do not hinder track maintenance technology developed in FY2017 eliminated exposed piping. This time, we have developed special spray nozzles that can be installed directly above the sleepers, with a compact design that means they do not protrude from the sleepers while maintaining the same spraying performance as existing nozzles.