Manufacture and supply of a tubular stretcher bar.

The function of a stretcher bar is to keep the 2 rails in a railway switch a defined distance apart at all times and to ensure that both rails move simultaneously as a coupled pair when commanded.

The failure of a stretcher bars can, in extreme circumstances, lead to the derailment of a train, as occurred at Potters Bar and Lambrigg. For this reason, the stretcher bar is deemed a safety critical assembly.

The tubular stretcher bar is a new design of stretcher bar, created as a high-integrity replacement for existing designs of stretcher bar on the UK rail network.

The tubular stretcher bar briefly comprises of:

A cold drawn steel tube, connected to a Motion Unit at either end. Each Motion Unit contains pre-compressed elastomeric components designed to damp the transmission of loads imparted from railway vehicles into the tube.