Steel sleepers

They are in the form of steel trough inverted on which rails are fixed
directly by keys or nuts and bolts and used along sufficient length of tracks.
Advantages of Steel Sleepers

1. Have a useful life of 20-25 years.

2. Free from decay and are not attacked by vermins
3. Connection between rail and sleeper is stronger
4. Connection between rail and sleeper is simple
5. More attention is not required after laying
6. Having better lateral rigidity
7. Good scrap value
8. Suitable for high speeds and load
9. Easy to handle
10. Good resistance against creep

Disadvantages of Steel sleepers

1. Liable to corrosion by moisture and should not because in salty

regions
2. Good insulators and hence cannot be used in track circuited regions
3. Cannot be used for all sections of rails and gauges
4. Should not be laid with any other types of ballast except store
5. Very costly
6. Can badly damage under derailments
7. Way gauge is obtained if the keys are over driven
8. The rail seat is weaker
9. Having good shock absorber as there is not cushion between rail foot
and ballast
Non-ballasted Track

Non-ballasted track, also called ballastless track, is the railway

track whose bed is composed of concrete and bituminous
mixture, etc. Generally, non-ballasted track is made up of steel
rail, railway fasteners and slab. Non-ballasted track’s railway
sleeper is formed by concrete casting. Instead of ballast bed,
steel rail and railway sleeper is laid on the concrete track. There
is no doubt that non-ballasted track is the advanced track
technology in the world. Slab track is one of the most important
types of non-ballast track structure.

Advantages

 Non-ballasted track need less maintenance, save cost.

 Non-ballasted track can reduce dust and beautify the
environment.
 Non-ballasted track has great ride performance and stability.
 Non-ballasted track has long durability and service life
(about 50-60yrs).
 Non-ballasted track has high train speed and make passengers
feel comfortable.

Disadvantages

 Non-ballasted need more investment cost than ballasted track.

 Non-ballasted track cannot be laid in some area like clay deep
cutting, soft dirt road and earthquake area.
 The most serious drawback of non-ballasted track is that
possibilities for improvement are limited.

Ballast Track

Advantages

 Ballasted track requires low investment cost.

 Ballasted track is usually easy to lay.
 Ballasted track has good drainage performance.
Disadvantages

 Train run on the ballasted track with banged sound and low
speed. So that, passengers may feel uncomfortable.
 Ballasted track is easy to be deformed.
 Ballasted bed requires frequent and costly maintenance.
 Train speed is limited on the ballasted track.
 Ballasted track has poor life expectation (about 15-20yrs).
 Ballasted track produce more pollution by releasing dust from
ballast.
 Ballasted track has higher noise level than non-ballasted track.
It is necessary to take effective noise reduction measures.