Plastic Products for Bus & Rail Applications
Products for Safety, Compliance, & Comfort
About Bus & Rail Industry Plastics
With an increased focus on safety, sustainability, and compliance, performance plastics are bringing innovation to the Bus and Rail industry. Choosing the right plastic can help you reduce system costs, meet industry standards, and enhance safety and appearance for a wide range of structural/bearing and aesthetic mass transit applications. Plus, when looking at the overall carbon footprint – including costs to manufacture, transport, fabricate, install, and maintain – plastics win out over virtually all traditional materials.
When compared to glass, materials such as LEXAN™ Polycarbonate by POLYVANTIS can significantly lower system costs by consolidating parts to streamline production, avoiding secondary operations such as machining and polishing, and reducing maintenance, downtime, and replacement costs while significantly reducing weight and increasing vehicular efficiency. At half the weight of glass with 250 times the impact strength, LEXAN offers virtually unbreakable strength, crystal-clear transparency, and excellent formability. Anti-fog, UV-resistant, abrasion-resistant, and anti-vandalism options are available.
Contact Polymershapes today to discuss the best material for your mass transit application.
Wide Collection of Bus & Rail Safe Materials
Polymershapes carries a portfolio of materials that meet all flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST) regulatory testing standards for the bus and rail industry, including ANSI Z26.1 (vehicular glazing safety), ASTM E-162 (surface flammability of materials), ASTM E-662 (specifical optical density and smoke), ASTM E-84 (surface burning), EN-45545 (fire safety standards), and SMP800C (toxic gas).
Easy to Fabricate & Customize
Performance plastics are easy to fabricate and come in a wide range of colors and textures for design flexibility. Because they are durable and resistant to corrosion, chemicals, and weather, they require less maintenance than many traditional materials, which results in less vehicle downtime. Because of performance plastics, today’s trains and buses are lighter, safer, and more comfortable than they used to be.
Easy to Fabricate & Customize
Performance plastics are easy to fabricate and come in a wide range of colors and textures for design flexibility. Because they are durable and resistant to corrosion, chemicals, and weather, they require less maintenance than many traditional materials, which results in less vehicle downtime. Because of performance plastics, today’s trains and buses are lighter, safer, and more comfortable than they used to be.
Features & Benefits
Lightweight
•FST Compliant
•Chemical & Impact Resistant
•Easy to Fabricate
•Reduced Maintenance
•High Optical Clarity
•Thermal & Acoustic Insulation
•Vandalism Resistant
•Recyclable
Lightweight
Improves fuel efficiency and lowers carbon footprint.
FST Compliant
Meets flame, smoke, and toxicity safety standards.
Chemical & Impact Resistant
Durable against environmental stress and wear.
Easy to Fabricate
Thermoforms and machines for consistent component quality.
Reduced Maintenance
Long part life with minimal service needs.
High Optical Clarity
Ideal for windows, partitions, and light panels.
Thermal & Acoustic Insulation
Help regulate heat and reduce cabin noise.
Vandalism Resistant
Resists graffiti, scratching, and breakage.
Recyclable
Supports transit system sustainability goals.
Applications
Bearings, Bushings, Wear Pads, & Wear Plates
Engineered plastics are an excellent choice when you need to reduce friction or wear. Cast nylon (PA6) is the preferred material for mass transit applications because it reduces component weight and does not need to be lubricated. It’s also corrosion and weather resident, which reduces maintenance and improves service life.
Driver Security Partitions
Polymershapes offers turnkey driver partitions and passenger barriers made of LEXAN 9034 or LEXAN MARGARD for additional abrasion resistance. Virtually shatterproof with high optical clarity, these highly functional enclosures and dividers make protecting drivers a breeze.
Seat Backs, Folding Trays, & Compartments
Simona’s Boltaron® 4800 is a proprietary thermoplastic alloy formulated for the transportation industry for a wide range of interior applications such as seat backs and trays. It meets all FST requirements, is easy to clean and fabricate, and available in several textures. It is often thermoformed into a sandwich composite with Diab’s Divinycell foam to reduce weight.
Transit Shelters
For tougher and more durable transit shelters, consider LEXAN MARGARD. Its proprietary coating is scratch and chemical resistant, which makes it difficult to damage and easy to clean, even spray paint and graffiti. It won’t yellow in the sun and has excellent impact and flame resistance.
Wall Panels & Compartments
LEXAN H6506 and LEXAN DH65011(S) offer high stiffness with molded in colors to provide decorative solutions for your rail car interiors. Boltaron 4800 meets all FST requirements for interior mass transit applications and is available in a wide range of textures with thermoforming consistency from lot to lot.
Windows & Windshields
LEXAN polycarbonate is an excellent alternative to glass in both fritted and non-fritted windows and windshields because it is lightweight and impact resistant. Transportation grades have anti-fog and anti-UV properties. LEXAN MARGARD FRA25C (dual glazed) and FRA460 (single glazed) were designed for rail applications. LEXAN MARGARD MRT is a single glazed transportation grade perfect for buses and off-road vehicles. If desired, black border and frit can be digitally printed onto a LEXAN sheet before fabrication, or painted on after the part has been routed.
Other Applications
- Air conditioning housings
- Bezels
- Brake guides
- Center bowl liners
- Coupler carriers
- Dividers
- Electrical wear shoes
- Electronic displays
- Gear shelters
- Impact plates
- Insulation
- Lavatory / galley components
- Lighting covers
- Mirrors
- Pedestal liners
- Placards
- Rollers
- Safety film
- Sliders
- Vehicle wraps
Have a Project? Get in Touch Today!
Our materials experts will help identify the right solution for your application, put together a quote and a detailed timeline.
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