I

Week 4: Introduction to Railway Engineering

Course:
CE-309 Transportation Engineering-I

Course Instructor:
Engr. Muhammad Umair Khan
M.Sc Urban Infrastructure Engineering (UET Peshawar)
B.Sc Civil Engineering (UET Peshawar)
Lecturer/ Lab Coordinator
Department of Civil Engineering

Abasyn University, Peshawar

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Table of Contents

1. Definition
2. Elements of Track
3. Gauge and its types

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01 Definition

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 Definition

• “Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design,

construction, operation and maintenance of all types of rail transport systems.”

• It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil

engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical
engineering, industrial engineering and production engineering.

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 What is Railway?

• It is an engineered structure consisting of two metal guiding rails on which cars

are self propelled or pulled by a locomotive.

• A railroad consists of two steel rails which are held at fixed distance apart on a
roadbed. Vehicles guided by flanged wheels and connected into trains, are
propelled as a mean of transportation.

• First time developed in 1825 in England from George Stephenson’s locomotive,

speed was 12 mph. The first railway track developed was used by horse drawn
trains of wagons.

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Old Track

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02 Elements of Track

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1. Rail

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1. Rail

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 1. Rail
• It is the most expensive material in the track.

• Rail is steel that has been rolled into an inverted T or I shaped cross section.

• The first-time rail used was made of iron of length 15 ft weight 28 lb per yard. By
early 1900’s the length standardized to 60 ft of 95 lbs. per yard.

• The purpose of the rail is to:

1. Transfer train’s weight to cross ties /sleepers
2. Provides a smooth running surface.
3. Guide wheel flanges
4. The standard gauge is about 1432 mm or 5 feet 6 inches.

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1. Rail

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1. Rail

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2. Sleepers

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 2. Sleepers
• Railway sleeper, also known as railroad tie, cross tie, is laid perpendicular to
steel rail.

• Railway sleeper can be properly deformed to trimmer pressure when the train
passes through.

• By the raw materials, railway sleeper generally can be divided into these types:
1. Wooden sleepers
2. Concrete sleepers
3. Steel sleepers
4. Cast iron sleepers
5. Composite sleepers

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 2. Sleepers
• The main function of railway sleeper as follow:

1. Railway sleeper give firm and even support to rail.

2. Railway sleeper should have certain flexibility and elasticity. Act as elastic
medium between rail and ballast.
3. Railway sleeper absorb the vibrations from locomotive and transport the
load from rail to ballast.
4. Railway sleeper align the rails and keep the right rail gauge.

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3. Railway Fish Plate and Fish Bolt

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3. Railway Fish Plate and Fish Bolt

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 3. Railway Fish Plate and Fish Bolt
• Railway fish plate, also called rail joint, splice bar or joint bar, is a metal bar that
is used to the connect end of two rails by fish bolts.

• As the connection part between two rails, railway fish plate is used in
combination with the steel rail.

• Railway accident in France (2013) due to fish plate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP-jeroK4Rs

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4. Rail Fastening System

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 4. Rail Fastening System
• Rail fastening system refers to a group of railway fasteners that are used to
fasten steel rail to railway sleeper.

• The main function of rail fastening system is preventing steel rail from lateral
and horizontal movement.

• Besides that, rail fastening system also should absorb and transfer the pressure
from locomotive to railway sleeper.

• In a word, rail fastening system ensures the rail in gauge and protects rail
safety.

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5. Railway Switch

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 5. Railway Switch
• Railway switch is a special component of railway track, which is applied in the
railway crossing. Railway switch has another name: turnout.

• Railway switch is simply a rail component for converting track. Railway switch
increase the trafficability of railroad track, and it is important to transport safety
and efficiency.

• Detailed video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuR5QTlfOzk

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6. Check Rail

Track with guard rails in Myanmar, near Pekon

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 6. Check Rail
• Check rails (also known as Guard rail) laid parallel to a running track to guide
wheels through points sharp curves, slope, and round curves, to reduce wear
and the risk of derailments.

• They are generally used along areas of restricted clearance, such as a bridge,
trestle, tunnel, or level crossing.

• Check rails are also used on very sharp curves, even where there are no
switches.

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7. Ballast

Railway Ballast

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7. Ballast

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 7. Ballast
• Ballast is the name for stones beneath the track.

• Provides a hard and level bed for the sleepers

• Transmit and distribute the load from the sleepers to the formation

• Allows for maintaining correct track levels without disturbing the railroad bed

• Drain the water immediately

• Keep the sleepers in dry condition and discourage the growth of vegetation

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YouTube Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA3zb4dubPE

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 Rail Gauges and
03 Types

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 Gauge and its Types
• Gauge is defined as the minimum horizontal distance between two rails.

• In European countries, the gauge is measured between the inner faces of the
two rails at a point 14 mm below the top of the rail

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 1. Standard Gauge
• Standard gauge probably in many countries of the world is 1435 mm. This
measurement was developed by George Stephenson, a British railway
engineer, using the width of coal wagons that were in use before the invention
of the steam locomotive.

• In the United States, gauge can vary slightly between 4 feet, 8.5 inches to 4
feet, 9.5 inches (1,460 mm).

• All rail cars and locomotives built to this specification can use any standard
gauge railroad line in the world. However, not all railroads have been built to
standard gauge.

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 2. Narrow Gauge
• The narrow gauge ranges between 2ft to 2ft-6in

• Narrow-gauge railways are cheaper to build and better adapted to mountainous

terrain.

• Some narrow gauges are in use in mining operations, and in short-run railroads
that must account for sharp curves and steep slopes.

• However, narrow-gauge railways are limited in their weight capacity and

operating speed.

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 3. Meter Gauge
• This type is 3 ft 6 inches or 1.069 meter, mostly used in Japan, South Africa and
New Zealand

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 4. Broad Gauge
• It ranges between 5ft to 5ft-6in.

• Broad gauges are useful for heavy loads and higher rates of speed. Broad-
gauge railways are standard in Russia, Finland, Ireland, India, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Portugal, and Spain.

• When different gauges adjoin, for example at a nation's border, a break of

gauge occurs. Some lines solve the problem by building dual gauge lines, which
contain several different rails on a single rail bed for different gauges.

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 Factors Affecting Gauge Selection
• Choice of Gauge consideration is very limited, as each country has a fixed
gauge and all new railway lines are constructed to adhere to the standard
gauge. However, the following factors theoretically influence the choice of the
gauge:

1. Cost Considerations
2. Traffic Considerations
3. Physical Features of the Country

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 Difference in Gauges
• Gauge should be uniform otherwise:

1. It will cause problem for passengers as they have to change train where
there are two different gauges
2. Not suitable for commercial goods. There will be load and unload of goods
and will increase the cost of goods imported or exported
3. Will require wagons of different gauges, thus create shortage or over
crowd of wagons
4. Difficult in an emergency or in war if it is needed to transfer army or people
from one corner of the country to the other
5. For different gauges, there will require a station consist of duplicate
facilities.

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