Greenbrier named Swedish Steel Prize 2025 finalist

The fleeting life of a railcar

American railcars endure a harsh life described as nasty, brutal, and short. Across the continent rail is mainly used to transport bulk commodities, including hot briquetted iron, pig iron and steel slabs. Loading and unloading causes much abrasion and often damage. What’s more, railcar management is standardized, meaning the users are not necessarily the owners. 

“Existing standards don’t even meet life range requirements,” says Peter Jones, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Greenbrier. “But no one cares since railcars are expected to take the loads and the abuse.” 

In the past the strategy to cope with the short life of railcars was to use thicker steel to make them more durable, but also heavier. But in 2021 Greenbrier was approached by the Norfolk Southern who wanted something more sustainable: A lighter, more durable railcar with a longer lifespan.

A different approach

Once steel fabricators working out of Oregon, USA, today The Greenbrier Companies (GBX) is a global leader in railcar manufacturing, transportation, and freight services. Mainly in North and South America, and Europe.

Using high strength steel, Greenbrier set about designing and constructing an innovative railcar that would provide utilization and capacity gains, as well as lower life-cycle costs.
“Our approach was fundamentally different. We have used stronger steel which results in a lighter railroad car, as well as longer life expectancy,” says Peter.

The right stuff

On the US market “exotic” steels have a bad reputation due to outdated ideas that these necessarily become brittle. Peter and his colleagues had a hard time finding the right material for their new construction. The first batches sourced were brittle and shattered – literally – under production. Peter turned to SSAB.

“They were able to step up. We tested our new railcar design with Strenx^® and Hardox^® – with no problems. They meet all North American standards, too.”

The product

Greenbrier’s Ultra High Strength Steel gondola construction uses Strenx^® performance steel that reduces each gondola’s unloaded weight by about 7 metric tons (15,000 pounds). Using less but stronger steel also makes the gondola more resilient.

The new construction using Hardox^® wear plate eliminates the vast majority of the welding that goes into the railcar. Key points in the bottom of the gondola – the area that consistently takes the greatest beating – are folded rather than welded. For added strength, the welds are longitudinal, rather than traverse. Greater strength results in greater durability with fewer repairs and a longer life-span. The stipulated length is 50 years.  

“No gondola in existence today has ever reached this ripe old age. This one has the potential. That’s a bet,” says Peter with a proud smile.

Built-in efficiency

The GBX gondola is not only built for greater strength and lower weight, but also for greater efficiency. Traditional design features a sharp, welded angle where loads tend to get stuck and not lie perfectly flat. The gentle angles at the bottom of the new “tub” eliminate this problem. The freight self-centers, reducing damage and failure. The gondola can be loaded, unloaded and cleaned out in a more efficient way. 

“Earlier evolution has only been about making railway cars more and more heavy. This is a big change in the market.”

Tons of sustainability

Rail is safer, more efficient, and more sustainable than other ways of transporting bulk commodities. A railcar carries the equivalent of 4 hauler trucks, and a typical, long American train can take 16,000 metric tons on 3 engines. Add to that a 15,000 pound weight reduction and a longer lifespan on every railcar. It all adds up to make a massive difference to a massive industry.
“Do the math,” concludes Peter.

For further information, please contact: 

Eva Petursson, Chair of the Jury, Swedish Steel Prize, [email protected]
Anna Rutkvist, Project Manager, Swedish Steel Prize, [email protected]