Railway Engineering

INTRODUCTION

❖Transportation engineering is concerned with

developmental activities of various modes e.g.
railways, waterways, airways or road ways and
also by quasi transport agencies like conveyors
rope ways, pipe lines etc.
❖Railway engineering is one of the principal areas
of transportation engineering and is enlisted with
the activities of rail route development works
namely planning, design, construction and
maintenance of railway tracks.
DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAYS IN INDIA
The first proposal for construction of railways in India was made
in 1844 and first railway line between Bombay and Thane, a length of
32 km was opened on 16th April 1853 with 4 coaches driven by an
engine taking 4 hours for the journey. Second railway line over a
length of 39 km between Howrah and Hooghly started operating in
1854. During 1855 to 1860, eight railway companies (The Great
Peninsula Railway. East Indian Railway, Madras Railway, Bombay-
Baroda and Central India Railway, Scindia Railway, Eastern Bengal
Railway, South Indian Railway, Calcutta and South Eastern Railway)
were working and in 1879, total length of railway was around 14,920
km. In 1881-97 another eight companies were established. (Bengal
Central Railway, Bengal North Western Railway, Rohilkhand and
Kumaon Railway, Southern Marhatta Railway, Indian Midland
Railway, Bengal Nagpur Railway, Assam-Bengal Railway, Burma
Railway Company).
 Contd.
After independence, various railway companies were dissolved
with formation of Indian Railway as a public concern under Ministry
of Railway, GOI. And in 1950, Indian Railways were divided into 9
zones (ER, SER, NR, NER, SR, CR, WR, NEFR & SCR) with nearly
61000 km railway route.
Indian Railway serve the rail users in each and every part of the
country. This widespread network is classified into sixteen zones for
administrative purposes. Each and every zonal railway further
comprises several divisions. Konkan Railway is the recent addition to
the listed railway zones of India. The list embracing the names of
seventeen railway zones, abbreviations, headquarters and date of
establishment is given here.
S.No Name Abbr. Headquarters Date of
Establishment
1. Northern Railway NR Delhi April 14, 1952
2. North Eastern Railway NER Gorakhpur 1952
3. Northeast Frontier NFR Maligaon 1958
Railway (Guwahati)
4. Eastern Railway ER Kolkata April 14, 1952
5. South Eastern Railway SER Kolkata 1955
6. South Central Railway SCR Secunderabad Oct' 2, 1966
7. Southern Railway SR Chennai April 14, 1951
8. Central Railway CR Mumbai Nov' 5, 1951
9. Western Railway WR Mumbai Nov' 5, 1951
10. South Western Railway SWR Hubli April 1, 2003
11. North Western Railway NWR Jaipur Oct' 1, 2002
12. West Central Railway WCR Jabalpur April 1, 2003
13. North Central Railway NCR Allahabad April 1, 2003
14. South East Central SECR Bilaspur, CG April 1, 2003
Railway
15. East Coast Railway ECoR Bhubaneswar April 1, 2003
16. East Central Railway ECR Hajipur Oct' 1, 2002
17. Konkan Railway KR Navi Mumbai Jan' 26, 1998
 Classification of Indian Railways
Classification of railways can be made on the
basis of importance of the route and traffic carried by
each line and exclusively on the basis of speed. On the
basis of importance of route, traffic carried and
maximum permissible speed, Indian Railways have
been classified into 3 main categories:
i) Trunk route
ii) Main line and
iii) Branch line
Trunk Route & Main line
In trunk route-
– Maximum permissible speed limit-120 kmph
– Load carrying capacity is more than 15 GMT.
However all other lines other than trunk route capable of conveying at 100
kmph, 10 GMT or more annually, and 2.5 or more GMT at 75 kmph is MG
per annum are classified as main line.
Speeds (Kmph) Trunk Route Main Line
BG MG BG MG
Maximum permissible 120 80 100 75
Design speed for new track 160 100 -- --
Branch line:
Lines carrying less than 10 GMT having maximum permissible speed
of less than 100 kmph is BG or less than 2.5 GMT having speed less than
75 kmph in MG are classified as branch line.
Trunk Route
Route in B.G: Delhi – Mughalsarai - Howrah
Delhi- Kota - Bombay
Delhi – Jhanshi – Nagpur - Madras
Howrah - Nagpur - Bombay
Bombay- Guntakal- Madras
Howrah - Vijayawada - Madras
Route in M.G: Lukhnow – Gorakhpur – Gauhati
Delhi – Jaipur – Ahmedabad
Madras – Madurai – Trivandam
Classification basis of speed only:
Group A lines: trunk route on which trains move at 160 kmph or
more are called ‘A’ lines. There are 4 such routes – D/ND – Howrah,
ND – Bombay, ND – Madras Central, Howrah – Bombay V.T
Group B lines: routes on which trains are expected to run at 130
kmph maximum. There are 13 such routes.
Group C lines: all routes of Bombay and Calcutta
Group D lines: all routes permitting maximum speed of 100 kmph
Group E lines: those are main and branch lines permitting
movement at a speed less than 100 kmph.
Permanent Way and Gauge

Permanent Way
The rails fitted on sleepers and resting on ballast and subgrade is called
the railway track or permanent way. The name of permanent way is
given to distinguish the final layout from the temporary tracks laid for
transporting construction materials.
Typical cross-sections of permanent way in embankment and cutting are
shown below:-
 Contd.
In a permanent way, the rails are duly joined in series (using
fishplates and bolts or welded) and then they are fixed to sleeper by
appropriate fastening. The sleepers are duly spaced, rest on ballast
which is suitably packed. The ballast rests on proposed subgrade called
formation.
The rails act as girders to transmit the wheel load to the
sleepers. The sleepers hold the rails in proper position maintaining
proper tilt, gauge and level and transmit the loads from rails to ballast.
The ballast rests on prepared formation & distributes the loads over the
formation and holds the sleeper in position.
On curved tracks, super-elevation is maintained by the ballast,
the formation remaining level and horizontal. Minimum ballast
cushion is kept at the inner rail , the outer rail getting more of it.
Additional quantity of ballast is provided on outer edge of each track
and therefore the base width of ballast in curved track is more than on
the straight track.
Rail Gauge or Track gauge
 Rail Gauge is the horizontal perpendicular distance
between the inner sides of the heads of the two load
bearing parallel rails of the track. Larger the gauge,
larger will be the size of rolling stock and more will be
speed, more economical will be operation charges.
Selection of gauge is therefore largely dependent on the
volume, speed and demand of passengers, traffic and
goods movement. For main lines, gauge should be broad.
 Contd.
There are four types of gauges:-
Standard (1.435m)
Broad (1.676m)
Meter (1.000m)
Narrow gauge (0.610-0.762m)
In the world of rail, 56% of railways has standard gauge
while broad gauge covers 1/13th and the narrow gauge
covers 1/8th kilometerage of world rail. In India however
there are three principal gauges, namely
B.G 53%
M.G 40%
N.G 7%
 Choice of Gauge
• Wider the gauge, greater is speed , consistent with
safety.
• However construction, of BG truck is more costly,
heavier bridges longer tunnel and large quantities
of earth work are necessary.
• In hilly countries, narrow gauge becomes
economical.
• However it would be ideal to adopt a uniform
gauge in a country throughout to save traveling
public from extra hardship inconvenient &
expenditure to break of journey.
 Factors Affecting the Choice of Gauge
1) Traffic condition
2) Development of poor areas
3) Cost of the track
4) Cost of construction
– Cost of station and staff quarter buildings, and level crossings etc. is same for all
the gauges.
– Cost of bridges, tunnels, earth work, sleepers, ballast etc. however will increase
proportionally to the gauge width
– Cost of acquisition of land for permanent land width increases proportionally to
the gauge width
– Cost of rolling stock will be dependent of gauge width
5) Speed of movement: The speed of a train is proportional to
the gauge. It is also a function of wheel diameter and the wheel
diameter is kept 0.75 times the gauge width. Hence for higher
speeds B.G. is preferred.
6) Topography of the area or the nature of the country: In
hilly areas narrow gauge track is more useful as it is more flexible
and can be laid to a smaller radius on the curves.
Disadvantage of Break of Gauge
1) Delay and inconvenience in transmit
2) Extra transshipment, unloading from one set of wagons to another
set and consequently additional express.
3) Inefficient use of rolling stock
4) Theft during transshipment, extra correspondence, payment of
compensation charges
5) Damage of costly mechanism and goods
6) Provision of transshipment yard , goods sheds ,additional staff
7) Extra cost of handling at every break of gauge point is estimated
to be equal to that of extra haulage of 30-35 kms. or so
 Gauges in Different Countries
Type of gauge Gauge Width Countries Use of gauge in %
Standard Gauge 1.435m UK, USA, Canada
Australia, China, Egypt
1.451m Mostly European countries 53%
1.524m Russia & Finland

Broad Gauge 1.676m India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Brazil, Chile,

Argentina, Srilanka 9%

Meter Gauge 1.000m India, Bangladesh, France,

Switzerland, Argentina 6%
 Contd.

Narrow Gauge 0.762m India, Australia, Japan, Chile

9%
0.610m India, South Africa. Japan
Australia

In addition to above, there are nearly 23% other Gauges

 RAILS
Rails are continuous girders placed over the sleepers to receive
axle loads of rolling stocks and distribute the same to the formation
through sleepers and ballasts.
 Function of Rails

i) to provide smooth and uniform surface to bear heavy loads from

rolling stocks offering very low frictional resistance.
ii) to bear lateral and thermal stresses due to braking and centrifugal
force at horizontal curves.
iii) to resist wear and tear of rails, good quality steel should be
used, so that wear is low, making replacement cost low and
arresting failure due to wear.
Requirement for rails for proper functioning
i) Rails should be of adequate height to resist vertical shear
ii) It should have sufficient surface of contact with wheels and
sleeper surface
iii) High carbon steel shall be used . Composition should be as
below:-
Carbon – 0.55 - 0.68%
Manganese – 0.65 – 0.9%
Silicon – 0.05 – 0.3%
Sulphur – below 0.05%
Phosphorus - below 0.05%
Contd.

iv) Head, web and foot should be shaped appropriately to facilitate

transfer of vertical load from head to foot through fish plate at rail
joint.
v) C.G. of the section should preferably be very close to the mid
point to facilitate development of maximum tensile and
compressive stresses equally.
vi) Section should be so designed to avoid stress concentrations
vii) The rail section should satisfy specified weight
recommended by I.R.S.
 Rail section

An ideal rail section should be such that every part of material is

subjected to maximum allowable stress and resulting most
economical cross-sectional area.
There are three types of sections available
A) Double Headed Rail: rails having top & bottom tables of
equal size and shape and used with the idea to turn upside down when
upper table becomes worn out due to use. But the bottom tables were
also damaged at the sleeper face so that such purpose could not be
fulfilled and thus use of D.H rails became obsolete.

B) Bull Headed or BH Rail: D.H rails were replaced by B.H

rails where more metals were put in the top to meet the wear than the
feet. These rails available in lengths 9.2 m to 18.3 m weighing 29.8 to
49.6 kg per m., have been extensively used in England and European
countries. These rails maintained better alignment but were expensive.

C) Flat Footed Rail: F.F rails, developed by Charles Vignoles

(1836) could be fixed directly to sleepers and foot of the rails are
spread out to form a base which is spiked to the sleepers. This is the
most economical section and 90% of rail tracks are now being laid
with these rails, which weight to weight, have greater strength and
M.O.I than B.H rails. In FF rails, head consumes 42%, Web 21% and
flange 37% of total area.
 All rails used by IR
are 52kg/m rails, and
some of the 60kg/m
rails. The length of the
rails are 13m, 26m, and
80m and is now
manufacturing the 240m
and 260m welded rail
panels as well.
 Dimensions of rail section
CODE A B C D F H R
297 .297 .250 .125 .050 .083 .062 .016
250 .250 .224 .112 .044 .073 .055 .014
208 .208 .188 .094 .038 .063 .047 .012
172 .172 .156 .078 .031 .052 .039 .010
148 .148 .132 .066 .026 .044 .033 .009
125 .125 .125 .063 .021 .035 .028 .007
100 .100 .090 .045 .018 .030 .023 .006
83 .083 .080 .040 .016 .027 .020 .005
70 .070 .070 .035 .014 .023 .017 .004
55 .055 .055 .028 .011 .018 .014 .004
40 .040 .040 .020 .008 .013 .010 .003
32 .032 .032 .016 .006 .011 .008 .003
 Comparism between FF & BH rails
1. For same weight, FF rails are stronger than BH rails
2. FF rails provide more stiffness than BH rails laterally as well
as vertically
3. FF rails directly fitted to sleepers more conversantly
4. Arrangement for points & crossing are simpler for FF rails
5. FF rails cheaper than BH rails
6. FF rails require lesser fastening than BH rails & therefore
could be laid quickly and easily
7. Fastening of FF rails on wooden sleepers particularly on
curves becomes loose & thus maintenance of track becomes
difficult & costly while track on BH rails keeps alignment
better providing more solid smoother track
8. Removing sleepers for FF rails is more difficult than that with
BH rails
9. With BH rails, additional cost due to fastening are involved
 Coning of Wheel and its Effects on Rails:
• The rim or tread of wheels of all rolling stocks are not flat, but are coned or
tapered at about 1 in 20 and on the inside of the rails the flange projects.
• The distance between the inside edges of the wheel flanges is kept less than
the gauge, leaving a gap of about 1 cm on either side between the flanges and
running edges of the rail to prevent rubbing of the flange against inside face of
the rail.
• This tapered design of all the wheel treads of rolling stocks is known as the
coning of wheel.
• As the tread is not flat, so the rails are also not laid flat but tilted inwards at a
slope of 1 in 20. This tilt is provided in bearing plate’s chairs and all metal or
concrete sleepers at time of their rolling or casting.
• The rail seats of wooden sleepers which are used without bearing plates, are
adged or (adzed) to that tilt of 1 in 20 with correct templates.
 Reasons for Coning:
On straight and level track the wheel remains central and
circumferences at the treads of both the wheels are equal. When traveling on
curve, the outer wheel has to move a greater length then the inner wheel. As
the vehicle on a curve has a tendency to move a sideways towards outer rail
due to centrifugal forces, the circumference of the tread on the outer wheel
becomes greater than that on the inner rail. Coning helps the outer wheel on
outer rail to cover additional distance without slipping and if there was no
coning; the outer wheel would have shifted.
In case of flat wheels, there would have been lateral movement of the
wheels over the rails due to some unavoidable slight irregularities in the
railway track, till the flange came in contact with the side of the rail. This
lateral movement of wheel will cause a sudden but slight shock to the sides
of the rail. But due to coning, side movement results in tread circumference
of one wheel being increased. Thus for avoiding the lateral movement of
wheels and shocks to rail, the coning of wheels is done. Hence the coning of
wheels is done to maintain the wheels in the central position with respect to
the track and provides smooth riding.
 Advantages of Coning:

1. This arrangement brings the wheels to the

centre of the track
2. It reduces wear of the wheel flanges
3. It reduces extra stressing in rails particularly on
curves
4. It provides smooth riding by reducing
oscillation and shifting of wheels
 Disadvantages of Coning:

1. The pressure of the horizontal components near

the inner edge of the rail wears out the rail
quickly.
2. The pressure of the horizontal components
tends to turn the rails outwardly
3. Lateral bending stresses are also developed in
the rails
4. Sleepers are crushed due to non-uniformly
distributed load.
 Sleepers:
Sleepers are important components of the track laid
transversely under the rails. Sleepers are laid longitudinally
under each rail separately in rare occasion such as in
ASHPIT.
 Function of sleepers:
1. To hold two rails to correct gauge
2. To provide a strong base and support to the rails
3. To distribute load from the rails to the ballast and ultimately ground
4. To absorb blows and vibrations of the moving loads coming from the
train by acting as an elastic medium between rail and ballast
5. To maintain the alignment of the track
6. To offer longitudinal and lateral stability.
7. To provide easy fixing and replacement of rail fastening without
disturbing traffic seriously
8. To provide track insulation for electrified system
Types of Sleepers in railway
 Types of Sleepers

Sleepers may be made of different materials like

(a) Wooden sleepers
(b) Cast iron sleepers
(c) Steel trough sleepers
(d) Concrete sleepers like (i) RCC (ii) Prestressed concrete block
(e) Composite sleepers
 Wooden Sleepers
• Made of wood
• Used since olden days and still widely using in some
western countries.
• Either hardwood or softwood can be used to make wooden
sleepers
• Hardwood sleepers made of oak, sal, teakwood etc. are
more famous.
 Benefits of Wooden Sleepers

• Cheaper and easy to manufacture.

• Light in weight so, easy to transport and handle while installing.
• Fasteners can be easily installed to wooden sleepers.
• Good insulators so, rails are well protected.
• Any type of gauge can be maintained.
• Suitable for all types of rail section.
• Well suitable for tracks in coastal areas.
 Drawbacks of Wooden Sleepers

• Life of wooden sleepers is very less compared to others.

• Weak against fire.
• Easily affected by humidity which will cause dry rot, wet
rot etc.
• Vermin attack can be possible if it is not properly treated.
• Poor creep resistance.
• Good Attention is required even after laying.
 Size of wooden sleepers

B.G 274 x 25 x 13 cm
M.G 183 x 20 x 11 cm
N.G 152 x 15 x 10 cm
 Quality of Wooden Sleepers
Composite Sleeper Index
The suitability of timber for use as a sleeper is indicated by an index
called composite sleeper index (CSI)
CSI = (S+10H)/20
where S = General strength of timber at 12% moisture content,
H= General hardness of timber at 12% moisture content

Indian Railway prescribe following values of CSI

Type of sleeper Minimum C.S.I.
Bridge Sleeper 1455
Crossing Sleeper 1352
Track Sleeper 783
 Contd.

Timber sleeper shall be free from defects such

as split ends, twisted grains, presence of knots,
warps etc and shall be treated & seasoned with
preservatives like oil, solution of zinc chloride and
mercuric chloride etc.
 Packing by Ballast
• A sleeper need not be packed through out its length by ballast.
• Hand packing is necessary under the rail seat. Length packed is from
the center of rail towards the end of the sleeper and equal distance in
the inner rail.
• Distance on either side of rail to be packed is 45 cm, 38cm & 30 cm
for BG, MG & NG respectively.
 Contd.

A 274 cm long sleeper is assumed to have 45

cm bearing length on either side of each rail. Thus
given bearing area = 2(2x45x25) = 4500 cm2.
Similarly on M.G and N.G , bearing areas are
3040 cm2. (4x38x20) and 1800 cm2. (4x30x15).
 Steel Trough Sleepers
Steel trough sleeper consists of steel plate of 12 mm thickness,
formed into a trough shape with rail seats counted to 1 in 20. The ends
are flattened out in the form of spade to retain the ballast.
 Benefits
• Light in weight so, easy to transport, to place and to install.
• Recyclable hence possess good scrap value.
• Life span is more and is about 30 years.
• Good resistant against fire.
• Good resistance against creep
• Cannot be attacked by vermin etc.
• Well suitable for tracks of high speeds and larger loads.
• Holds the rail strongly and connecting rail to the sleeper is also simple.
 Drawbacks
• Effected by chemicals easily.
• Requires high maintenance.
• Not suitable for all types of ballast
• Damaged very badly if derailment is happened, and not
suitable for re using.
 Contd.
Cast Iron Sleepers
Most popular sleepers were in the IR, covering 45% of track
covered. These are 2 types
a) pot type &
b) plate type.

of
 Pot Type
• Consists of two hollow pots of circular or elliptical shape, placed
inverted on the ballast section.
• The two pots are connected by a tie bar of section 5 cm1.25 cm.
• The rail is placed on the top of the pot in a rail seat with a cant of 1 in
20 and head in position with the help of key.

Main disadvantage of this sleeper is that all fittings are

covered under the track, making inspection and
maintenance difficult. Further such sleeper can not be
placed under curves more that 4 degree. As a result such
sleepers have become obsolete now.
Plate type
 Benefits
• Life span period up to 60 years.
• Vermin attack is impossible.
• Provide strong seat to the rail.
• Scrap value of cast iron is good.
• Creep of rail can be prevented.
 Drawbacks
• Brittle in nature and can be damaged easily while handling. So,
transportation, placing is difficult to deal.
• Not suitable for coastal regions as easily be damaged and corroded by
salt water.
• Damage badly when derailment happened.
• Expensive compared to other sleeper materials. So uneconomical.
• So many fastening materials are required to fix the rail to the sleeper,
so the maintenance cost is high.
 Concrete Sleeper:

In the year1877, Mr. Monnier, a French

Gardener and Inventor of reinforced concrete,
suggested that cement concrete could be used for
making sleeper for railway tracks. But his design
did not work successfully.
 Development
The development of concrete sleepers that took place on
various railway systems was mainly based on the
following concepts of design.
(a) RCC of prestressed sleepers similar in shape and size to
wooden sleepers
(b) Block-type RCC sleepers connected by a steel tie bar
(c) Prestressed concrete blocks and a steel or a concrete tie bar
(d) Prestressed (pre-tensioned or post-tensioned) type of concrete
sleepers
These four concepts of design are the basis of the development of
present-day concrete sleepers.
 Advantages of concrete sleepers:
a) Being heavy, improves the track modulus (which is the load per
unit length of rail to cause unit deflection).
b) Maintain gauge and alignment very satisfactorily.
c) Flat bottom of sleepers very suitable for modern methods of
track maintenances.
d) Suitable for track circuiting as they are poor conductors of
electricity.
e) Free from fire hazard.
f) Long lifespan, about 40-50 years.
g) Suitable for mass production.
 Disadvantages of concrete sleepers:

(a) Handling and laying is difficult and costly due to

their large weight
(b) Concrete sleepers are heavily damaged at the
time of derailment.
(c) Have no scrap value
 Advantages of wooden sleepers over metal sleepers:

Wooden sleepers fulfill most of the requirements satisfactorily and

therefore where good timber is available, wooden sleepers are essentially
used. The followings are advantages of wooden sleepers.
1. Its is cheaper, easy to form and handle
2. In case of derailment, damage caused to the wooden sleepers is less
than that of metal sleepers
3. In yielding formations, timber sleepers are suitable for providing
ideal bearing surface for rails.
4. In track circuiting, rails are used as conductors of very small current.
The rails on wooden sleepers are automatically insulated whereas
special insulation is required on metal sleepers.
5. Wooden sleepers are less susceptible to corrosive action
6. Less amount of ballast is required with wooden sleepers than on
metal sleepers.
 Disadvantages:

1. Metal sleepers have better fittings for holding rails than

wooden sleepers
2. A track on metal sleeper is less likely to be dislodged
laterally compared to that on wooden sleepers.
3. Decay due to insects, white ants, fungus etc. is more in
wooden sleepers – Average life of sleepers is 12 – 15
years for wooden & 35 – 40 years for metal sleepers.
4. Metal sleepers are unaffected by fire and have much
greater scrap value then other sleepers.
 Design considerations
The concepts are being adopted in designing the
section of a concrete sleeper by considering the same as a
rigid, stiff and continuous beam supported on a firm and
unyielding bed.

The force and factors considered are as following:

(a) Force acting on a sleeper
(b) Effects of the geometric form including shape, size and weight
(c) Effects of the characteristics of fastenings to be used
(d) Provision of failure against derailments
Loading conditions adopted by Indian Railways
Concrete sleepers have been designed by the Research
Design and Standard Organization (RDSO) wing of Indian
Railways for the following different loading conditions
BG sleepers
(a) 15 t vertical loads at the rail seat.
(b) Vertical load of 15 t at rail seats plus a reaction at the center of
the sleeper equal to half of the load under the rail seats.
(b) A vertical of 13 t and a lateral load of 7 t directed towards the
outside of one rail only.
The sleeper is designed to resist a bending moment of 1.33 t-m at the
rail seat and 0.52 t-m at the center of the sleeper.
MG sleepers
(a) Vertical loads of 10 t at the rail seats plus a reaction
at the centre of the sleeper equal to half of that under
the rail seat.
(b) Vertical loads of 8 t at the rail seats with 4.5 t lateral
force directed towards the outside of one rail only.
 Types of concrete sleepers
The various types of concrete sleepers (prestressed, pre-tension,
post-tension and two block) being manufactured by Indian Railways
have been described in the following table:
Different types of concrete sleepers being manufactured by Indian
Railways

Gauge Type of Rail section Standard drawing Sleeper design

sleeper number number

BG Mono block 60 kg RDSO/T-2496 PDS-14

BG Mono block 52 kg RDSO/T-2495 PDS-12
BG Mono block 60 kg/52 kg RDSO/T-3602 Post-tension type

BG Mono block 90 R/75R RDSO/T-2521 RCS-6

BG Mono block 90 R RDSO/T-2503 PCS-17
MG Twin block 75R/60 R RDSO/T-3518 PCS-12
BG Twin block 75 R RDSO/T-153 PCS-11
 PCS-12 and PCS-14
PCS-12 is the latest type of prestressed concrete sleeper for
use on BG routes with 52 kg rails and elastic rail clips. For use of
60 kg rails and elastic rail clips, PCS-14 sleeper has been
standardized on Indian Railways.
The important dimensions of PCS-12 type of sleeper are
listed as follows:
• Length = 2750 mm
• Weight = 267 kg
• Reinforcement: 18 Nos. 33 mm diameter strands
• Concrete is to be of controlled quality with a minimum 28-days
crushing strength of 525 kg/cm2
• Each strand to be tensioned with an initial tensile force of 2730 kg.
 Sleeper Density
Sleeper density is the number of sleepers per
rail length. It is specified as M+x or N+x, where
M or N is the length of the rail in meters and x is a
number that varies according to factors such as-
(a) axle load
(b) lateral thrust of locomotives
(c) type and section of rails
(d) type and strength of sleepers
(e) type of ballast and ballast cushion
(f) nature of formation
 Ballast

• The ballast is a layer of broken stones, gravel, moorum, or

any other granular material placed and packed below and
around sleepers for distributing load from the sleepers to
the formation.
• It provides drainage as well as longitudinal and lateral
stability to the track.
 Function of Ballast
The ballast serves the following functions in a railway track:
• Provides a level, alignment and hard bed for the sleepers to rest on.
• Hold the sleepers in position.
• Transfers and distributes load from the sleepers to a large area of the
formation.
• Provides elasticity and resilient to the track for proper riding comfort.
• Provides the necessary resistance to the track for longitudinal and
lateral stability.
• Provides effective drainage to the track.
 Types of Ballast
• Sand ballast –
– Used primarily for cast iron (CI) pot
– Also used with wooden and steel trough sleepers with low traffic density
• Moorum ballast-
– Used as the initial ballast in new construction and
– also used as a sub-ballast
• Coal ash or cinder-
– Used in yards and siding or
– as the initial ballast in new construction.
• Broken stone ballast- Used the most on Indian Railways
• Other types of ballast- Such as the brickbats ballast, gravel ballast,
Kankar stone ballast and even earth ballast.
Used only in special circumstances.
 Sizes of Ballast
• Previously, 50 mm (2") ballasts were specified for flat
bottom sleepers and 40 mm (1.5") ballasts were specified
for metal sleepers.
• Now, to ensure uniformity, 50 mm (2") ballasts have been
adopted universally for all types of sleepers.
• As far as points and crossings are concerned, these are
subjected to heavy blows of moving loads and are
maintained to higher degree of precision. A small sized,
25mm (1") ballasts is therefore, preferable because of its
fineness for slight adjustments, better compaction and
increased frictional area of the ballast.
 Requirement of a good ballast

Ballast should be possess the following properties:

(a) It should be tough, durable and wear resistant.
(b) It should be hard so that it does not get crushed under the moving loads.
(c) It should be generally cubical with sharp edges.
(d) It should be non-porous and should not absorb water.
(e) It should resist abrasion.
(f) It should have sufficient elasticity.
(g) It should allow for good drainage of water.
(h) It should be cheap and economical.
 Design of Ballast Section

Minimum depth of ballast cushion:

▪ The pressure distribution in the ballast section depends upon the
degree of consolidation, size and shape of the ballast.
▪ Though the lines of equal pressure are in the shape of a bulb, yet
for simplicity, the dispersion of load can be assumed to be roughly
45 to the vertical.
▪ In order to ensure that the load is transferred evenly on the
formation, the depth of the ballast should be such that the
dispersion lines do not overlap each other.
 Contd.
For the even distribution of load on the
formation, the depth of the ballast is determined
by the following formula:
Sleeper spacing = width of sleeper + 2  depth of ballast
A minimum cushion of 15-20 cm of ballast below the
sleeper bed is normally prescribed on Indian Railways.
 Width of Ballast Section

▪ The width of a ballast section should be adequate to provide

necessary lateral stability to the track.
▪ The ballast section is extended by 30 cm on B.G. and 23 cm on
M.G. beyond the edge of the sleeper respectively.
 Specifications for Track Ballast

The following specifications of ballast, which have

recently been revised (June 2004), are followed on Indian
Railways. These specifications are applicable for the stone
ballast to be used for all types of sleepers on normal tracks,
turnouts and tunnels on all routes.
 Contd.

General Qualities
Basic quality- The ballast should be hard, durable, as far as possible
angular along edges/corners and free from organic impurities and
inorganic residues.
Particle shape- Ballasts should be cubical in shape as far as
possible and individual pieces should not be flaky and elongate.
Mode of manufacture- The ballast should preferably be machine
crushed. Hand broken ballast can be used in exceptional cases with the
prior approval of the competent authority.
 Laboratory Tests for Physical Properties of Ballast

The following tests are recommended to judge the

suitability of the ballast material for a railway track-
▪ Gradation
▪ Aggregate Abrasion Value
▪ Aggregate Impact Value
▪ Flakiness Index
▪ Specific Gravity and
▪ Water Absorption test
 Contd.
Physical Properties : All ballast samples should possess the
physical properties given in the following table when tested in
accordance with IS: 2386(IV)-1963

Characteristics BG, MG, and NG

Aggregate abrasion 30% maximum*

Aggregate impact 20% maximum*
Water absorption 1%

*In exceptional cases, relaxable on technical and/or economic grounds up to

35% and 25%, respectively, by the chief track engineer (CTE) in open lines
and the chief administration officer (construction) (CAO/C) for construction
projects.
 Contd.
Size and Gradation
The ballast should satisfy the size and gradation requirements given in the
following table-

Size of sieve % retained

65 mm 5% maximum
40 mm 40% to 60%
20 mm Not less than 98% for machine crushed
and not less than 95% for hand broken
TRACK FITTINGS AND FASTENING
 Rail Joints
• Due to the ease in handling and economy in
transportation, the rails are manufactured in
certain fixed lengths.
• In order to make a long and continuous rail
track, lengths are joined together.
 NECESSITY OF RAIL JOINTS
• In order to provide provision for expansion and contraction of rails due
to variation in temperature, certain gap is provided at each joint.

• This gap causes break in continuity of rails in horizontal as well as in

vertical plane, forming the weakest point of the track.

• The joint also causes severe blows to the passengers due to the moving
of wheels over this gap. Theses blows loosen the compaction of ballast
under the sleeper bed and make the maintenance of joint difficult.

The fittings used to connect rails become loose and cause

heavy wear and tear of the track materials. It has been
observed that joints need about 30% extra maintenance
than the plain track.
 REQUIREMENTS OF IDEAL RAIL
JOINTS
An ideal joint -
• Should be capable to hold the two ends of rails as near as possible and
at the same time at the same level and straight line.
• Should have the same length and stiffness as the rails, which have been
jointed together.
• Should provide space for expansion and contraction due to variations
in temperature.
• Should be such that any rail could be replaced without disturbing the
whole track.
• Should be capable to adjust the surface contact between the rails and
fish plates.
• Initial cost and its maintenance cost should be minimum.
• Maintenance should be easy.
TYPES OF RAIL JOINTS
Depending upon the position of joints and
sleepers, rail joints may be classified.

According to the position of joints

In this group following two joints may be classified:

1) Square joint
2) Staggered joint
Square joint
Staggered joint
Square joint:
When a joint in one rail is exactly opposite to the joint in the other
parallel rail, it is called a square joint. It is very common in straight
tracks.

Staggered joint:
When the joint in one rail is not exactly opposite to the joint of the
other parallel rail, then it is called staggered joint. In India, this type
of joint is used on curves. It has the following advantages:
i. Staggered joints have been found to reduce the effect of
centrifugal force to push the track out of line.
ii. Staggered joints provide more uniform vertical continuity
iii. It has been found that staggered joints give more smooth
running to the track than square joints.
According to position of sleepers
1) Suspended joints
2) Supported joints
a) Suspended joint:
When the rails are placed at the center of two consecutive sleepers, the
joint is known as suspended joint. The load is equally distributed on
two sleepers. It is widely used not only in India but in other countries
also.
b) Supported joint:
When the sleeper is placed exactly below the rail joint, the joint is
called as supported joint. There is heavy wear and tear of the sleeper
supporting the joint and maintenance of the joint is very difficult.

Suspended joint

Supported joint
 FASTENING OF RAILS

The devices used to connect rails and

sleepers together to form the track are
known as fastenings. The main purpose of a
fastening is to fix the rail with sleepers.
REQUIREMENTS OF AN IDEAL FASTENING
An ideal fastening should be
▪ cheap and durable.
▪ easy to fix and adjust.
▪ capable to absorb shocks and vibrations.
▪ capable to protect the sleeper from the action of vertical and horizontal
forces.
▪ capable to give sufficient insulation to the electrified track.
▪ capable to resist creep.
▪ capable to get correct initial gauge and maintaining the gauge
subsequently..
▪ able to resist corrosion and should have sufficient strength to resist
damage due to derailment.
▪ safeguard against sabotage.
▪ capable to hold the rail in correct position, level and alignment.
And should not be
▪ too rigid and should possess high torque resistance.
▪ affect rail, or sleeper, adversely in any way.
Accessories used for Fastening
Following devices are used as fastening to
keep the rails in their correct position.
a) Fish plates
b) Bolts
c) Chairs
d) Keys
e) Bearing plates
 FISH PLATES:
• The function of a fish plate is to hold two rails together
both in horizontal as well as vertical planes.

• At each joint, a pair of fish plates is used. Holes are drilled

through the plates and web of rails. The rails are joined
together by tightening fish bolts with the help of nuts.
 BOLTS
Bolts are two types-
1) Fang bolt- It is more effective
2) Hook bolt- Used to fix sleepers to girder of the bridges.

Hook bolt
Fang bolt
 CHAIRS
Chairs are used to hold the double headed and bull headed rails in
position. It is consisted of two jaws and a rail seat. The web of the rail
is held tightly against the inner jaw of the chair and a key is driven
between the rail and the outer jaw of the chair. The chairs are fixed
with the sleepers by means of spikes.
Plate screw spikes rail screw spikes standard spikes
 KEYS

Keys are wedge-shaped wooden or metal pieces. They

keep the rail in proper position. Now a days stewart metal
key is very popular.
 BEARING PLATES

Chairs used for flat footed rails are known as bearing

plated. They are used for fixing wooden sleepers to rail.
Bearing plates may be flat or canted
 ELASTIC FASTENINGS
Necessity of elastic fastening
The traditional rigid fastening
➢ has not able to meet the challenge of heavy dynamic forces
effectively.
➢ become loose under heavy dynamic forces of high frequency
vibrations of the order of 800 to 1000 cycles per second developed
even at an moderate speed of 100 kmph
➢ unable to hold the rail to the sleeper firmly with a constant pressure
for a good long time.
So there is a need of such a fastening which can safeguard
the track parameters and dampen the vibrations. An elastic
fastening is a possible answer for this problem.
 Requirement of an elastic fastening
An ideal fastening should possess the following characteristics:
1. It should be cheap and have a long life.
2. It should hold gauge as well.
3. It should provide sufficient elasticity to the track to absorb vibrations and shocks
caused by moving loads.
4. It should be able to keep the track parameters well maintained.
5. It should offer sufficient resistance to lateral forces.
6. It should have least maintenance. It should be of fix and forget type for least
maintenance.
7. It should not loose its properties with time. It should be able to be reused.
8. It should have as few parts as possible, which are easy to manufacture, lay and
maintain.
9. It should be easy to manufacture, laying and maintain.
10. It should be free from sabotage.
11. It should be able to be used on all types of sleepers such as wooden, concrete
steel etc.
12. It should have sufficient toe load which should not reduce under service.
 Types of elastic fastening
An elastic fastening is usually in the form of a clip. Various types of
clips are as follows:-
i) Elastic rail clip or Pandrol clip
ii) Spring Steel Clip
iii) New Resilient Clip RD-3
iv) IRN 202 clip
v) H.M Fastening
vi) NABLA Fastening
vii) Triple Elastic Fastening
Elastic rail clip or Pandrol clip
▪ It is a standard type of elastic fastening on Indian Railways.
▪ It needs minimum maintenance.
▪ The clip is made from Silico-Manganese spring steel bar of
20.60 mm diameter and given heat treatment.
▪ It exerts a toe load of 710 kg for nominal deflection of 11.4
mm.
▪ The toe load is quite adequate to ensure that no relative
movement between the rail and sleeper is developed.
The Pandrol clip can be driven with the help of an ordinary
hammer of about 2 kg weight. It does not require any
special tool. To ensure that the correct load is exerted, the
Pandrol clip should be driven to such an extent that the
outer leg of the clip flushes with the outer face of the cast
iron insert. This clip can be fixed on wooden, steel, cast
iron or concrete sleepers.
In case of concrete sleepers,
malleable cast iron inserts are
inserted directly into the
sleepers during their
manufacture. The Pandrol
clip is fixed in the holes of
cast iron insert. A 4.5 mm
thick grooved rubber pad
also has been provided under
the rail seat to make it more
elastic. For insulation,
insulated liners also have
been provided. Pandrol clip with concrete sleepers
 Drawbacks of Pandrol clips
Following drawbacks have been noticed of the Pandrol clips.
• Gauge adjustment is not possible.
• The Pandrol clip has a point contact, which causes
indentation on the foot of the rail due to heavy toe load and
small contact area.
• It does not provide sufficient safe guards against theft or
sabotage as it can be taken out by ordinary hammer.
 SPRING STEEL CLIPS
These clips have been used on prestressed concrete sleepers.
The assembly consists of a double elastic fastening. In this
assembly the rail rests on a grooved rubber pad and is held
vertically by a pair of spring clips at each rail seat. The clip is
pressed by a nut tightened on a 22 mm bolt inserted from under
side of the sleeper. The nut is tightened to a torque of about
13.7 kg-m. The manufacturers claim that with this torque a
creep resistance of one tonne per pair of clip is obtained. This
clip is also under experimental stage.
 NEW RESILIENT CLIP RD-3
To overcome the drawbacks
of Pandrol clips (elastic rail
clips) RDSO has developed
recently a new resilient clip
for use on concrete sleepers
in place of conventional
Pandrol clips. The new RD-
3 clip is of U shape. It is not
only economical in material
content but gives improved
performance in terms of toe
load.
Advantage of New Resilient RD-3 Clip

Following are the main advantages of RD-3 clip.

• Its shape is simple.
• In normal conditions it exerts a toe load of 1000 kg.
• It is easy to manufacture.
• It is difficult to pilferage.
• It can be fitted in all types of sleepers viz, wooden, steel,
concrete etc.
• Light in weight and as such it is economical in material.
• Good creep resistant.
 Triple Elastic Fastening
This fastening has been developed recently. The
manufacturers claim that this fastening provides initial toe
load, creep load and lateral elasticity to take care of vertical
and lateral vibrations of the track. Some details of this
fastening are as follows:
1. This clip is made out of 16 mm dia silico-manganese spring steel bar.
2. The weight of this clip is about 500 grams.
3. The clip has been designed for a toe deflection of 1.8 mm to 2.0 mm
with a creep load about 800 to 1000 kg per clip.
4. The fastening is of self tensioning type and does not become loose or
wear off.
5. This fastening provides a separate gauge check and a rail stop in the
insert. These are definite advantages over other elastic fastenings.
Triple elastic fastening
 Points and Crossings
▪ Points and crossings are provided to help transfer
railway vehicles from one track to another. The tracks
may be parallel to, diverging from, or converging with
each other.
▪ Points and crossings are necessary because the wheels
of railway vehicles are provided with inside flanges
and, therefore, they require this special arrangement in
order to navigate their way on the rails.
 Important Terms
The following terms are used in the design of points and crossing.
Turnout: It is an arrangement of points and crossing with lead rails by means
of which the rolling stock may be diverted from one track to another.
Tongue rail: It is a tapered movable rail, made of high-carbon or manganese
steel to withstand wear. At its thicker end, it is attached to a running rail. A
tongue rail is also called a switch rail.
Stock rail: It is the running rail against which a tongue rail operates.
Points or switch: A pair of tongue and stock rails with the necessary
connections and fittings form a switch.
Crossing: A crossing (frog) is a device introduced at the junction where two
rails cross each other to permit the wheel flange of a railway vehicle to pass
from one track to another.
Check rail: A check rail (Guard rail) is a short piece of rail placed alongside
the main (stock) rail opposite the frog. These exist to ensure that the wheels
follow the appropriate flangeway through the frog and that the train does not
derail. Check rails are often used on sharp curves.
Fig. Constituents of a turnout
Fig. Left-hand turnout
 Switches
A set of points or switches consists of the following main
constituents
 Contd.

Fig. Details of switch

a) A pair of stock rails, AB and CD, made of medium-manganese steel.
b) A pair of tongue rails, PQ and RS, also known as switch rails, made of
medium-manganese steel to withstand wear. The tongue rails are machined
to a very thin section to obtain a snug fit with the stock rail. The tapered end
of the tongue rail is called the toe and the thicker end is called the heel.
c) A pair of heel blocks which hold the heel of the tongue rails is held at the
standard clearance or distance from the stock rails.
 Contd.

d) A number of slide chairs to

support the tongue rail and
enable its movement towards
or away from the stock rail.
e) Two or more stretcher bars
connecting both the tongue
rails close to the toe, for the
purpose of holding them at a
fixed distance from each
other.
f) A gauge tie plate to fix
gauges and ensure correct Fig. Details of switch
gauge at the points.
 Types of Switches

Switches are two types-

1. Stud switch
2. Split switch

Stud switch
No separate tongue rail is provided and some
portion of the track is moved from one side to the
other side. Stud switches are no more in use on
Indian Railway.
Stud switch
 Split switch

Split switch consists of a pair of stock rails

and a pair of tongue rails. Split switches
may again be of two types-
i) loose heel type
ii) fixed heel type
 Contd.
Loose heel type:
In this type, tongue rail finishes at the heel of the switch by means of
fish plates to enable movement of the free end of the tongue rail. The
fish plates holding the tongue rail may be straight or slightly bent. The
tongue is fastened to the stock rail with the help of a fish plate and four
bolts. All the fish bolts in the lead rail are tightened while those in the
tongue rail are kept loose or snug to allow free movement of the
tongue. As the discontinuity of the track at the heel is the weakness in
the structure, the use of these switches is not preferred.

Fixed heel type

In this type, the tongue rail does not finish at the heel of the switch but
extends further and is rigidly connected. The movement at the toe of
the switch is made possible on account of the flexibility of the tongue
rail.
 Crossing
A crossing or frog is a device
introduced at the point where two
gauge faces cross each other to
permit the flanges of a railway
vehicle to pass from one track to
another.

– To achieve this objective, a gap is

provided from the throat to the
nose of the crossing, over which
the flanged wheel glides or jumps.
– In order to ensure that, this flanged
wheel negotiates the gap properly
and does not strike the nose, the
other wheel is guided with the help Fig. Details of crossing
of check rails.
Fig. Details of crossing
 Contd.
A crossing consists of the following component:

a) Two rails, the point rail and splice rail, which are machined to
form a nose. The point rail ends at the nose, whereas the splice
rail joins it a little behind the nose. Theoretically, the points rail
should end in a point and be made as thin as possible, but such a
knife edge of the point rail would break off under the movement
of traffic. The point rail, therefore, has its fine end slightly cut off
to form a blunt nose, with a thickness of 6 mm(1/4”). The toe of
the blunt nose is called the actual nose of crossing (ANC) and the
theoretical point where gauge faces from both sides intersect is
called the theoretical nose of crossing (TNC).
 Contd.

b) Two wing rails consisting of a right-hand and a left-hand

wing rail that converge to form a throat and diverge
again on either side of the nose. Wing rails are flared at
the ends to facilitate the entry and exit of the flanged
wheel in the gap.
c) A pair of check rails to guide the wheel flanges and
provide a path for them, thereby preventing them from
moving sideways, which would otherwise may result in
the wheel hitting the nose of the crossing as it moves in
the facing direction.
 Types of Crossing
A crossing may be of the following types.
(a) An acute angle crossing or ‘V’ crossing in which the intersection
of the two gauge faces forms an acute angle. for example, when a right
rail crosses a left rail, it makes an acute crossing. Thus, unlike rail
crossing form an acute crossing (A and C of Figure).
(b) An obtuse or diamond crossing in which the two gauge faces meet
at an obtuse angle. When a right or left rail crosses a similar rail, it
makes an obtuse crossing (B and D of Figure)
(c) A square crossing in which two tracks cross at right angles. Such
crossings are rarely used in actual practice.
Fig. Square crossing
 Diamond Crossing
A diamond crossing is provided when two tracks of
either the same gauge or of different gauges cross each
other. It consists of two acute crossing (A and C) and two
obtuse crossing (B and D).
 Contd.

In the layout, ABCD is a rhombus with four equal sides. The

length of the various constituents may be calculated as follows.
EB=DF=AE cot α =G cot α
AB=BC=G cosec α
Diagonal AC= G cosec α/2
Diagonal BD=G sec α/2
It can be seen from the layout that the length of the gap at
crossing between two noses of a diamond crossing increases with the
decrease in angle of crossing. Longer gaps increase the chances of the
wheels, particularly of a small diameter, being deflected to the wrong
side of the nose. On Indian Railways, the flattest diamond crossing
permitted for BG and MG routes is 1 in 8.5.
 Number and Angle of Crossing
A crossing is designed either by the angle of gauge
faces make with each other or, more commonly, by the
number of crossing, represented by N. There are three
methods of measuring the number of a crossing, and the
value of N also depends upon the method adopted.
1) Centre line method- This method is used in Britain and the
USA. In this method, N is measured along the centre line of the
crossing.
2) Right angle method- This method is used on Indian
Railways. In this method, N is measured along the base of a
right-angled triangle. This method is also called Coles method.
3) Isosceles triangle method- In this method, N is taken as one
of the equal sides of an isosceles triangle.
 Contd.
To determine the number of a crossing (N) on site, the
point where the offset gauge face of the turnout track is 1m
is marked. The distance of this point (in meters) from the
theoretical nose of crossing (TNC) gives N.
 Turnouts
There are two standard methods:-
i) Coles method
ii) IRS method
The important terms used in describing the design of turnouts are defined
as follows:
Curve lead (CL): This is the distance from the tangent point (T) to the
theoretical nose of crossing (TNC) measured along the length of the
main track.
Switch lead (SL): This is the distance from the tangent point (T) to the
heel of the switch (TL) measured along the length of the main track
Lead of crossing (L): The difference between the curve lead (CL) and
the switch lead (SL) measured along the length of the main track
Gauge (G): This is the gauge of the track
Heel of divergence (d) =LM: This is the distance between the main line
and the turnout side at the heel.
 Contd.
Angle of crossing (α): This is the angle between the
main line and the tangent of turnout line.
Radius of the outer rail of turnout (R): The radius of
turnout is equal to the radius of the centerline of the
turnout (R1) plus half the gauge width.
R= R1+0.5G
As the radius of a curve is quite large, for practical
purposes, R may be taken to be equal to equal to R1
Coles Method

1
 IRS Method
In this layout-
• The curve begins from the heel of the switch and ends at
TNC.
• The crossing is straight and no kink is experienced at this
point.
• The only kink occurs at the toe of the switch.
• This is the standard layout used on Indian Railways.
IRS Method:

1
CROSSOVER
 Scissors crossover
A scissors crossover is meant for transferring
a vehicle from one track to another track and vice
versa. It is provided where lack of space does not
permit the provision of two separate crossovers. It
consists of four pairs of switches, six acute
crossings, two obtuse crossing, check rails, etc.
In this arrangement, the acute crossing falls
outside the lead of the main crossing. Thus, the
acute crossing of the diamond is far away from
the crossing of the main line track.