In my Master of Science thesis ”Considering life cycle efficiency in the procurement of railway materials” I studied the environmental impacts of railway sleepers, J9 springs and fishplates, and contemplated how these impacts could be considered in the procurement of materials. It was interesting to work on such a broad project and I learned a lot about railway construction and our way of operation. Sometimes it was difficult to find the information that I needed but luckily, I got help from many of my colleagues. The study showed that the selection of raw materials, manufacturing process, mode of transport etc. can have a significant effect on the environmental impacts. In the future, we should challenge our suppliers by asking for environmental product declarations and learn more about materials with lower emissions, such as eco concrete and composite sleepers.