Style and comfort in rail interiors

The interiors of railroad, subway and trolley cars have changed significantly in recent years. What was uniform and often uncomfortable has become stylish and highly functional, with state-of-the-art lighting concepts, comfortable seating and spacious aisles – all for the sake of passengers who demand comfort and convenience. Increasingly, rail operators are also discovering the importance of interiors for their own purposes, and have started using special colours and surface structures to ensure their vehicles convey a distinctive image to their customers.

In the transportation sector, Bayer MaterialScience has been supporting its rail industry partners in producing cutting-edge interior designs with its range of customised polycarbonates, polycarbonate blends and the sheets made from them.

Polycarbonate sheets of the Makrolon? and Bayblend? ranges from Bayer MaterialScience are lightweight and hence ensure a greater energy efficiency of rail vehicles, whilst at the same time maximising passenger safety through their flame retardance. 

The high-performance and sustainable properties of Makrolon makes it a go-to material for applications in diverse industries. Manufacturers rely on Makrolon’s  unique combinations of properties. It is virtually unbreakable, lightweight with glass-like transparency and is impact resistant – even at extremely low temperatures. It has a high dimensional stability and is easily molded, yet has excellent heat resistance with a glass transition temperature of up to 148oC.

Bayer offers a broad portfolio of Makrolon polycarbonate resins. These include general purpose, lighting, medical and food contact, flame-retardant, impact-modified and glass-fibre reinforced grades.  

Bayer offers a diverse portfolio of Bayblend Polycarbonate+acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC+ABS) blends that exhibit an excellent balance of properties, most notably high toughness – even at cold temperatures –, rigidity, dimensional stability, excellent creep resistance, low moisture absorption and good heat resistance.  Flame-retardant grades provide excellent flow properties especially suitable for thin-wall applications that must meet strict flammability standards and thermal requirements. Bayblend flame-retardant grades usually pass the glow wire test IEC 60695-2, some of them even at 960oC and 1.0 mm.

The UL 94 rating is the most important flammability classification in the world for the IT, electrical and electronic industries. Bayblend flame-retardant grades for the smallest possible wall thickness (from a minimum of 0.75 mm up to 1.5 mm depending on grade), satisfy UL 94 and the qualitatively highest gradings – “V-0”.  

Bayblend polycarbonate blend sheets are a key focus at InnoTrans 2014. Bayblend MTR sheets meet the fire protection requirements of the North American and Chinese markets, whilst Bayblend MTX sheets are aimed at the requirements of the European EN45545 standard. Both grades are available in a countless number of colours and can also be used to produce textured surfaces. The two product ranges boast eco-friendly flame retardance and can be processed highly efficiently using thermoforming.

Wide design freedom thanks to thermoforming

The method used to process is particularly efficient and versatile. The semi-finished products are heated until they soften and shaped into the desired form in the mould by bending or drawing. This makes it possible to manufacture wall and ceiling coverings, window frames and backrests for seating in small to medium quantities.

China South Railway Nanjing Puzhen

Flame-retardant Makrolon FR DX polycarbonate sheets that meet the requirements of the EN 45545-2 R4/HL3 fire safety standard are new to the range. Their outstanding light diffusion makes them particularly well suited for LED lamp covers, where they ensure bright, consistent illumination. They are thus also the material of choice for slimline design solutions.

Bayer MaterialScience also offers polycarbonate grades for manufacturing components in accordance with EN45545-R22. These are designed for injection molding and extrusion applications.

Products made from Makrolon? and Bayblend? can be recycled on reaching the end of their useful lives, thus saving money and protecting the environment. IRNA