Composite Braiding awarded for TPC twin track cantilever support

Source (All Images) | Composite Braiding

Composite Braiding (Derby, U.K.) has been selected by Rail Forum as regional winners of the 2025 European Railway Clusters Initiative (ERCI) Innovation Awards for its sustainable thermoplastic composite Twin Track Cantilever that supports overhead line equipment for electrified railways.

Weighing just 277 kilograms, the structure reduces weight by 84% and carbon footprint by 80% versus steel supports. It is not only fully recyclable but can reportedly be installed in 15 minutes, reducing installation time by 50% as well as the need for lifting equipment, heavy goods transportation and service roads. Its lightweight also significantly reduces the amount of concrete needed for the structure’s foundations.

“This award recognizes our innovative work as part of the Catapult Clean Futures Accelerator,” says Composites Braiding general manager, Steve Barbour. “Described by industry experts as ‘game-changing,’ this is the kind of innovation that can transform infrastructure delivery.” The Clean Futures Accelerator is a program within Catapult Connected Places, part of The Innovate UK Catapult Network.

Reporter Lisa Baker explained in a Business in the News article that steel cantilevers across the U.K.’s rail network number in the tens of thousands. Composite Braiding’s technology has the potential to considerably reduce the carbon footprint of the sector — a critical step for the U.K. to reach its target of net-zero railways by 2050.

“With our manufacturing capabilities, we combine fibers like carbon, glass and basalt with thermoplastics to create advanced composites quickly and at scale,” says Composite Braiding’s technical director, Alastair Barnett. “This fully automated process can reduce labor costs by 90%, industrial waste by 97% and uses 95% less energy that traditional composites manufacturing. We believe that our new lightweight cantilever design is the next step in sustainable rail infrastructure and, once scaled, can truly help to move the needle toward a low-carbon, cost-effective rail network for the future.”

As reported by Ryan Witton in the Derbyshire Times, Composite Braiding’s lead development engineer, Guy Lawrence, explained the innovative design:

“We had one simple aim — to show that composite rail infrastructure is not just a viable alternative to steel, but brings substantial mechanical, economic and environmental benefits. Our main driver was mass reduction, which ultimately leads to lower installed costs per unit, improved worker safety and significantly reduced installation time.

“Our unique ability to easily adapt product designs means each unit can be tailored mechanically and aesthetically for its given application, while our in-house production methodology enables low-cost, high-volume production of high-performance composites that is repeatable, predictable and easily scalable. By using thermoplastic composites, we can manufacture rail infrastructure that is truly sustainable: low waste, low energy usage, recyclable and repairable.”

Composites Braiding notes that large structural components are ubiquitous in the rail industry, both in infrastructure and rolling stock. That’s where its braiding equipment generates value, able to produce large recyclable components from carbon, glass and/or basalt fiber, combined with sustainable thermoplastics. It can produce tubes and beams of almost any shape that significantly reduce weight and CO2 emissions.

The company thanks Connected Places Catapult, BCIMO and Coventry University for their support through the Clean Futures Accelerator and its in-house Composite Braiding team for succeeding in this achievement.