BAHIRDAR UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL & WATER RESOURCES

ENG.
RAILWAY ENGINEERING (CENG 4172)
CHAPTER 3 RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURES

Amdebrhan M.
(SWJU, P.R China )
(AAU/AAiT, Ethiopa)
Feb. 2013 anedebrha@gmail/[Link]
Chapter 3 Railway track
structure
Contents
Component and
function of track
structure
Rail support:
sleepers/ties
Ballasted track
Slab track
Rail fastening system
 3.1 Component and function of
track structure

In contrast to road transport, where vehicles

merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles
are also directionally guided by the tracks they
run on
Track usually consists of steel rails installed on
sleepers/ties and ballast, on which the rolling
stock, usually fitted with metal wheels, moves.
However, other variations are also possible, such
as slab track where the rails are fastened to a
concrete foundation resting on a prepared
subsurface.
Components of track structure
 Upper structures
• The upper part consists of two
parallel steel rails, anchored
perpendicular to members
called ties (sleepers) of timber,
concrete, steel, or plastic to
maintain a consistent distance
apart, or gauge.
• The track guides the conical,
flanged wheels, keeping the
vehicles on the track without
active steering and therefore
allowing trains to be much
longer than road vehicles
3.1.1 Rail
guides the conical,
flanged wheels, keeping
the vehicles on the
track without active
steering and therefore
allowing trains to be
much longer than road Rail
vehicles
a) Functions:
Supports the loads of vehicles (cars) and
locomotives and guides their movements
The excellence of the track determines the
permissible wheel loads, speeds, safety and
dependability of railroad operation
support and guide the wheels
provide a surface with smaller resistance
 No modern railroad can hope to survive in a
competitive economy if its track is a hindrance
to safe, dependable, on-time service
 bear the force of the wheels and spread it to
sleeper
 used as track circuit in electrified railways and
automatic block segments
b) Characteristics

 rigidity

 tenacity

 hardness

 roughness of top surface

C) Profile
The rail profile is the cross sectional shape of a
railway rail, perpendicular to the length of the
rail.
A rail is hot rolled steel of a specific cross
sectional profile (an asymmetrical I-beam)
designed for use as the fundamental
component of railway track.
  Composed of rail head, rail web and rail base
 The rail head and base must be large and thick

rail head

rail web

rail base
 CN 60 kg/m rail (unit: mm)
CN 75 kg/m rail (unit: mm)
 d) Types and length
 The weight of a rail per length is an important factor
in determining rails strength and hence axle loads
and speeds. So rail types are divided by its unit
weight in China, such as 75, 60, 50, 43 kg/m.
 Weights are measured in kilograms-per-meter or
pounds per yard; the pounds-per-yard figure is
almost exactly double the kilograms-per-meter
figure.
 Rails in Canada, the United Kingdom, and United
States are described using pounds per yard. In
China, Australia metric units are now used as in
mainland Europe.
 types: 75 kg/m 、60 kg/m 、50 kg/m and so
on.

 length: 12.5m and 25m.

• The following rail forms are in use at present:
 Vignoles rail (standard railway rail with head,
web and foot),
 double-head rails with head, web and foot
(obsolete)
 grooved rails for tram ways,
 switch rails and
 crane rails etc
e) Rail gap

To adapt to the needs of expanding with heat

and contracting with cold, the rail gap can not
too big or too small.
 1
=δ 0.0118L ( t2 − t0 ) + δ q
2
 δ — size of rail gap(mm)
 L— length of track(m)

 — structural joint gap, track of 38kg/m、43kg/m

50kg/m、60kg/m、75kg/m are 18mm

 t0 — temperature of rail gap(oC)

1
=t2 ( tmax + tmin )
2
 e) Continuous welded track (CWR)

The 25 m rail are welded into 100-200m long rail

in factory, and then be welded again into1000-
2000m long rail in the laid place

Advantages:

smooth driving

low maintenance
cost

long life
 f) Rail requirement
• The rail is running surface, carrier and guiding
element at the same time.
• It is subject to equal static and dynamic
stress. In heavy haul traffic, axle loads up to
35t are applied.
• Depending on the topography rails are laid
with radii as low as 300 m, therefore, they
have to bear very high lateral forces exerted
by the wheel flange striking against the gauge
corner of the outer rail.
• To be able to withstand manifold and high
forces, the rails must meet the following
requirements:
 high resistance to wear,
 high resistance to compression,
 high resistance to fatigue
 high yield strength, tensile strength and
hardness
 high resistance to brittle fracture
 good weld ability,
high degree of purity
good surface quality
evenness and observance of profile and
low residual stress after manufacturing
g) Composition
Unlike some other uses of iron and steel,
railway rails are subject to very high stresses
and have to be made of very high quality
steel. It took many decades to improve the
quality of the materials, including the change
from iron to steel. Minor flaws in the steel that
pose no problems in reinforcing rods for
buildings, can, however, lead to broken rails
and dangerous derailments when used on
railway tracks
 3.1.2 Sleeper
(a) function

 bear the force of track

 Act as elastic medium to absorb blows &

vibrations

 Longitudinal & lateral stability

 spread the force to ballast bed and roadbed

 keep the direction, position and gauge of

track
(b) Characteristic
It is solid, flexible,
reasonably cost,
convenient for
manufacturing and
maintenance.
c) Requirements
 Moderate weight- easy to handle
 Fixing and removing of fastening should be
easy
 Sufficient bearing area
 Easy maintenance and gauge adjustment
 Track circuiting must be possible
 Able to resist shocks and vibrations
 Minimum maintenance and initial cost
 （c）types
 Traditionally, ties have been made of wood, but
concrete is now widely used. Steel ties and
plastic composite ties are currently used as well,
although far less than wood or concrete ties

 According to production material: reinforced

concreted sleeper, wooden sleeper, steel sleeper

 According to their usage: regular sleeper, switch

sleeper and bridge sleeper.
 Wooden Sleeper
 T imbe r tie s are usual ly o f a var i e ty o f
hardwoods, oak being a popular material.
 T he y h a v e t h e ad v a n t a g e o f a cce p t i n g
treatme nt more readily, the y are more
susceptible to wear. They are often heavily
creosoted. Creosote treating can reduce insect
infestation and rot. However, creosote is also
carcinogenic and environmentally damaging.
 L e ss o fte n, tie s ar e tr e ate d w it h o t he r
preservatives, although some timbers are
d ur a b le e n o ug h t ha t t he y ca n b e use d
untreated.
 Concrete Sleeper

 Concrete ties have become more common

mainly due to greater economy and better
support of the rails under high speed and
heavy traffic than wooden ties
Wooden sleeper

concrete sleeper
 Steel sleeper
 In past times steel ties (sleepers) have
suffered from poor design and increased traffic
loads over their normal long service life. These
aged and often obsolete designs limited load
and speed capacity but can still, to this day,
be found in many locations globally and
performing adequately despite decades of
service.
 The steel sleepers’cost benefits together with
the ability to hold rail gauge, lower long-term
maintenance costs, increase the life of other
track components, reduce derailments and
meet ever growing and stricter environment
standards provide railroad companies with
savings and capital to redirect to other areas
of maintenance-of-way and business projects.
Advantages:
 Long life
 Better lateral rigidity
 Free from decay and fire hazards
 Good scrap value
 Lesser damage during handling
/transportation
 Less maintenance problems
 Easy to maintain gauge
Disadvantages:
 Liable to corrosion
 Unsuitable to track circuiting
 Becomes center bound due to sloping ends
 Rail specific
 Other sleepers

Bridge sleeper

Switch sleeper
Short sleeper long sleeper
 Wide sleeper
 Concrete monoblock sleepers have also been
produced in a wider form (e.g. 57 cm (22 in)) such that
there is no ballast between the sleepers; this wide
sleeper increase lateral resistance and reduces ballast
pressure.
 Y-shaped sleepers
 An unusual form of sleeper is the Y shaped
sleeper. First developed in 1983, Y steel
sleepers have advantages and disadvantages
compared to conventional steel sleepers.
 Co mpare d to co nve ntio nal slee pers the
volume of ballast required is reduced due to
the load spreading characteristics of the Y-
sleeper.
 Noise levels are high but the resistance to
track movement is very good. For curves the
three point contact of a Y steel sleeper means
that an exact geometric fit cannot be observed
with a fixed attachment point.
 Bi-block sleepers
 Bi-block (or twinblock) sleepers consist of two
concrete rail supports joined by steel
 Advantages include
 increase lateral resistance
 lower weight than monoblock concrete
sleepers
 eliminate damage from torsional forces
on the sleeper centre due the more
flexible steel connections
 Bi-block sleepers are also used in ballastless
track systems
 Mono-block vs. twin block sleepers

The advantages of the twin-block The advantages of the

sleeper mono-block sleeper
• Well-defined bearing surfaces • low price
in the ballast bed; • less susceptibility to
• high lateral resistance in the cracking
ballast bed • can be pre-stressed
 d) Arrangement
Configuration number at each kilometer is decided
by volume, speed and line level

The rule:

 wooden sleepers must no more than 1920 per

1km and no less than 1440

 reinforced concreted sleepers must no more than

1840 per 1km and no less than 1440
 3.1.3 Ballast and sub ballast
Ballast- it is a layer of broken stones, gravel,
moorum or any other gritty material placed
and packed below and around sleepers for
distributing the load from the sleepers to the
formation and for providing drainage as well
as giving longitudinal and lateral stability to
the track.
A layer of loose, coarse grained material which,
as a result of internal friction between the
grains, can absorb considerable compressive
stresses, but not tensile stresses.
 a) Functions
The six most important functions of ballast:
 To resist vertical & longitudinal forces and
hold the track in position
 To provide energy absorption for the track
 To provide voids for storage and movement of
fouling material in the ballast
 To facilitate the adjustment of track geometry
 To provide immediate drainage of water falling
on to the track
 To reduce pressures on underlying materials
by distributing loads
(b)Requirements
 Tough and resist wear
 Hard enough
 Cubical with sharp edge
 Non porous, non-water absorbent
 Resist attrition
 Durable
 Good drainage
 Cheap and economical
Minimum depth of ballast
 Sub ballast
Is a layer of material between the top ballast
and sub grade with a gradation finer than the
top ballast and coarser than the sub grade
a) Function
• Used to reduce total ballast cost
• Provide a filter layer between the top ballast
and a fine grained sub grade
b) Application
A sub ballast layer is recommended for most
new construction. In addition to providing
filter to keep sub grade particle from working
up in to and fouling the ballast, it provides a
good mat to distribute loads from the ballast
and prevents ballast particles from being
pushed in to the sub grade
 A sub ballast layer is required whenever:

i. The sub grade contains 85% or more (by

weight) of silt and clay sized particles or,
ii. The sub grade material has a liquid limit
greater 50 and a plasticity index grater than
20
c) Material
Sub ballast should be hard, angular, non
cementing material, primarily of sand sized
particles
d) Gradation
To function as a filter layer, the sub ballast
particles should range in size from the
smallest ballast particles to the largest sub
grade particles
e) Depth
i. During structural analysis, the sub ballast
layer is considered as part of the total ballast
depth
ii. A sub ballast layer may comprise up to 40%
of the total ballast thickness on main running
tracks and up to 50% on auxiliary and
terminal tracks
 3.1.4 Rail fastening system/ Union piece

 A Rail fastening system is a means of fixing

rails to railroad sleepers.
 The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and
track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all
of a rail fastening system. Various types of
fastening have been used over the years.
Union pieces are divided into rail joint fastenings
and middle joint fastenings.
a) Function:
• The purpose of the rail fastenings:
 To maintain the track gauge
 Offer sufficient resistance in a vertical
direction, each pair of rail fastening elements
has to be able to take over the weight of the
concrete sleeper and the respective rail
section without excess deformation.
 To transmit forces acting on and in the rails to
the sleepers (cross, longitudinal, concrete
plates etc.)
 Electrically insulate the sleeper against the
remaining track grid, to minimize the loss of
signals of the direct-current circuits
b) Types
(1) rail joint fastenings
Rail joint fastenings are used at the end of the
two tracks.
(2) Middle joint fastenings
 They are used to connect the track with the
sleeper

 According to the character of sleeper, middle

joint fastenings can divided into reinforced
concreted joint fastenings and wooden joint
fastenings .
wooden joint fastenings
reinforced concreted joint fastenings
 3.2 Ballasted and slab track
Ballasted track
Advantages:
Lower cost, small noise emission scope, short
construction period, easy repair when failure
occurs, high efficiency of maintenance work
due to its mechanization, easy to adjust its
geometrical unevenness
Experience from Japan and France shows:
 Ballast has tendency of deterioration, wear due
to traffic loading, railway lines thus need to be
repaired time after time
 On high-speed railways, the time for repairing
lines is limited due to fast speed and short
interval between trains, it is unpractical to do
high-frequency maintenance work.
 Disadvantages
• In comparison to slab track:
 The tendency of the track to “float” in both
longitudinal and lateral direction after a period
of time
 Limited non-compensated lateral acceleration
in curves caused by the limited lateral
resistance provided by ballast
 Pulverization of the ballast grains in the ballast
bed resulting in particles damaging the rail and
wheels
 Problems with ballast churning with high speed
 Reduced permeability due to contamination,
the wear of the ballast, and intrusion of fine
particles from the sub grade
 Limited non-compensated lateral acceleration
in curves caused by the limited lateral
resistance provided by ballast
 Pulverization of the ballast grains in the ballast
bed resulting in particles damaging the rail
and wheels
 Reduced permeability due to contamination,
the wear of the ballast, and intrusion of fine
particles from the sub-grade
 Slab track
 In slab track, ballast as the load distributing
element is replaced by another material which
has a stable position, such as concrete or
asphalt.
 The necessary elasticity has to be provided by
inserting elastic elements below the rail or the
sleeper, as the concrete or asphalt layer is
very stiff.
 In comparison to ballasted track, the
advantages of slab track are in general
reduction of maintenance and a higher stability
of the track
Slab track
Advantages:
 Less or free maintenance, costs 20%~30%
 better line evenness
 Increased service life, and possibility of almost full
replacement at the end of the service life
 Increased lateral resistance and stability
 Reduced structure height and weight
 The excess of super elevation and cant deficiency
of the track with mixed used of freight- and
passenger trains does not cause altering of the
track position
 Track accessibility to road vehicles
 Preventing the release of dust from the
ballast bed into the environment
Disadvantages:
 Higher construction costs
 Higher airborne noise reflection
 Adaptability to larger sink age in the
embankment is relatively small
 In case of derailment, repair works will take
much more time and effort
 Transitions between ballasted track and slab
track require attention
 Large attentions in track position and super
elevation can only be made possible by
substantial amounts of work
 The application of slab track may require
extensive measures concerning the
preparation of the foundation.
 The sub layers must be homogenous and
capable of bearing the imposed loads without
significant settlements.
 The resulting high construction costs have
prevented widespread use of slab track for
main lines.
Types
Main types of non-ballasted track:
 Embedded in concrete
 Prefabricated slabs
 Monolithic slab
 AC-road bed
 Embedded rail
 LVT (Sonneville Company)
Slab track (Japan)- prefabricated

Floating Slab Track on springs (Gerb

Company)

Rheda (Germany)- sleepers

embedded in concrete
 Practical uses of slab track
 Metro, urban rail transit
 Bridge
 Repair inconvenience,
small space, traffic density
 Tunnels, subways, elevated
crossing, stations &
terminals
 High speed railway
谢谢
Thanks!