SIST EN 16431:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2026
Nadomešča:
SIST EN 16431:2014
Železniške naprave - Infrastruktura - Votli pragovi in nosilci
Railway applications - Infrastructure - Hollow sleepers and bearers
Bahnanwendungen - Infrastruktur - Hohlschwellen für Gleise und Weichen
Applications ferroviaires - Voie - Traverses et supports creux
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 16431:2026
ICS:
45.080 Tračnice in železniški deli Rails and railway
components
93.100 Gradnja železnic Construction of railways
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 16431
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
June 2026
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 93.100 Supersedes EN 16431:2014
English Version
Railway applications - Infrastructure - Hollow sleepers and
bearers
Applications ferroviaires - Infrastructure - Traverses et Bahnanwendungen - Infrastruktur - Hohlschwellen für
supports creux Gleise und Weichen
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 13 April 2026.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 16431:2026 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations . 5
3.1 Terms and definitions . 5
3.2 Abbreviations . 7
4 Requirements . 7
4.1 General. 7
4.2 Mechanical requirements . 7
4.3 Functional requirements . 7
4.4 Design requirements . 8
4.5 Materials requirements . 9
4.6 Environmental requirements . 9
4.6.1 General. 9
4.6.2 Cold and hot temperature . 9
4.6.3 Flammability . 9
4.6.4 Effect of exposure to severe environmental conditions . 9
4.7 Requirements for interfaces with mechanical equipment in case of integrated system
(optional) . 9
5 Tests and calculation methods for homologation . 9
5.1 General. 9
5.2 Tests for fastening system interface . 9
5.2.1 Effect of repeated loading test . 9
5.2.2 Pull-out test . 10
5.2.3 Pad and assembly stiffness test . 10
5.3 FEM calculation for the body (for steel body only) . 10
5.3.1 General. 10
5.3.2 Service fatigue design for centre section . 10
5.3.3 Service fatigue design for rail seat section . 11
5.3.4 Maximum load at rail seat section . 12
5.4 Bending test for the body . 12
5.5 Electrical resistance test . 13
5.6 Field test . 13
6 Acceptance criteria for homologation . 13
6.1 Fastening system interface . 13
6.1.1 Effect of repeated loading test . 13
6.1.2 Pull-out test . 13
6.1.3 Pad and assembly stiffness . 14
6.2 Body . 14
6.2.1 Bending test . 14
6.2.2 FEM calculation (for steel body only) . 14
6.3 Electrical resistance . 14
6.4 Field test . 14
7 Tests and tolerances for quality control . 14
7.1 Dimensional tolerances . 14
7.2 Electrical resistance . 15
8 Quality . 15
8.1 General . 15
8.2 Quality control during homologation tests . 16
8.3 Quality control during manufacturing (routine tests) . 16
9 Traceability . 16
Annex A (normative) Bending test for body only . 17
A.1 Scope . 17
A.2 Apparatus - Load application devices . 17
A.3 Test specimens . 19
A.4 Procedure . 19
A.4.1 General . 19
A.4.2 Test arrangement . 19
A.4.3 Resilient pad . 20
A.4.4 Procedure . 21
A.5 Test report . 22
Bibliography . 23

European foreword
This document (EN 16431:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 256 “Railway
applications”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by December 2026, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by December 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 16431:2014.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
In comparison with EN 16431:2014, the following technical modifications have been made:
— update clauses concerning the rail fastening system and references to the new fastening system
standard series;
— improve the document with the latest experience acquired by suppliers and customers in the field of
design of hollow sleepers and bearers;
— include improvements about acceptance procedures, particularly with regard to the testing of hollow
sleeper body and its fastening system interface.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
1 Scope
This document defines technical criteria and control procedures which are satisfied by hollow sleepers
and bearers used in ballasted track with Vignole rails. The hollow sleepers and bearers designed for
ballasted track can also be used in ballastless track. In this case, the requirements are defined by the
customer.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 13481-7:2022, Railway applications - Track - Performance requirements for fastening systems - Part 7:
Fastening systems for switches and crossings, check rails, insulated rail joints and rail expansion devices
EN ISO 22074-3, Railway infrastructure — Rail fastening systems — Part 3: Proof load test method for pull-
out resistance (ISO 22074-3)
EN ISO 22074-4, Railway infrastructure — Rail fastening systems — Part 4: Test methods for resistance to
repeated loading (ISO 22074-4)
EN ISO 22074-5, Railway infrastructure — Rail fastening systems — Part 5: Test method for electrical
resistance (ISO 22074-5)
EN ISO 22074-6, Railway infrastructure — Rail fastening systems — Part 6: Test method for resistance to
severe environmental conditions (ISO 22074-6)
EN ISO 22074-8, Railway infrastructure — Rail fastening systems — Part 8: Test method for vertical
stiffness (ISO 22074-8)
EN 50125-3, Railway applications - Environmental conditions for equipment – Part 3: Equipment for
signalling and telecommunications
EN 13230-2:2016, Railway applications - Track - Concrete sleepers and bearers - Part 2: Prestressed
monoblock sleepers
EN 17343, Railway applications - General terms and definitions
EN 16730:2016, Railway applications - Track - Concrete sleepers and bearers with under sleeper pads
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN 17343 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1.1
hollow sleepers
sleepers and bearers with hollow structure, with support for Vignole rails on ballasted or ballastless
track, including the fastenings systems and all components, with a minimum of 50 % of the cross
sectional-area hollow throughout its length
3.1.2
special hollow sleepers
sleepers and bearers with a length > 2,6 m and minimum of three fastening points at different positions
(for example bearers in moveable crossings, inside double slips…)
3.1.3
body
hollow structure which is in contact with the ballast/slab and supports the fastening system and other
components
3.1.4
other components of the hollow sleepers
parts inside or around the body of the hollow structure except fastening system components
3.1.5
interface
any device used to fix the fastening system to the top of hollow sleeper body
3.1.6
top width
maximum width of the hollow sleepers at the top (including the body and the fastening system)
3.1.7
bottom width
maximum width of the hollow sleepers at the bottom level of the body (in the tamping area)
3.1.8
tamping area
distance on each side to the rail centre where the ballast has to be tamped
3.1.9
bending moment
moment applied on the hollow sleeper which produces tension and compression in the element
3.1.10
positive bending moment
moment which produces tension at the bottom of the hollow sleeper
3.1.11
negative bending moment
moment which produces tension at the top of the hollow sleeper
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviations apply:
MGT Mega Gross Tons
USP Under Sleeper Pad
FEM Finite Element Method
S&C Switch and Crossing
4 Requirements
4.1 General
A hollow sleeper is different from a regular sleeper by the fact that at least 50 % of the cross-sectional
area is hollow to permit containment of devices and/or systems as:
— switch and crossing actuation, detection and locking (in the case of bearers);
— wheel detection;
— rods, bars, cables, pipes, etc.
A sufficient space for maintenance of these devices and/or systems shall be considered.
In this document electrical, mechanical, chemical and corrosion tests for approval are defined which
provide assurance of the capability of hollow sleepers and bearers to resist repeated loading and provide
sufficient durability.
Additional controls during the manufacturing process are not part of this document and shall follow the
corresponding material test standards.
4.2 Mechanical requirements
The body of the hollow sleepers and bearers shall be designed in order to withstand the bending
moments due to the traffic load.
The fastening system interface and the mechanical resistance of the body shall be checked according to
Clause 5 and 6 of this document.
Elastic fastening systems should be used.
Elastic fastening systems shall only use components from homologated fastening systems according to
EN 13481-7.
Specific design may require rigid fastening systems (e.g. bearers housing actuation, detection and locking
system for turnouts).
NOTE Test loads, given in Table 1 and Table 2, correspond to the category C of EN 13481-7:2022 and category
E limited to a maximum axle load of 300 kN.
4.3 Functional requirements
All types of hollow sleepers and bearers shall meet the following requirements:
— the height between the top of the rail and the bottom shall be defined by the customer. This height is
usually the same as the neighbouring sleepers;
— the tamping area shall be defined by the customer;
— the mass per unit of length (including rail fastening, cover plates) shall be ≥ 80 kg/m;
— the length shall be defined by the customer (regarding, transportation and installation limits or
regulations);
— the maximum bottom width shall be 350 mm, and flat part of the bottom shall represent minimum
70 % of the bottom width (see Figure 1);
— the electrical resistance shall be checked according to 5.5, 6.3 and 7.2 of this document.
Hollow bearers shall fulfil the following additional requirements:
— the maximum top width in the tam
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