Railway Engineering

M.Neeraja
Assistant Professor
GIT,GU
 Historical Development of Railways in
India
• The railways originated in England. The coaches were run
on the road with a speed of about 13 to 16kmph.

• In 17th century they tried with pulling the loads by a

wheeled vehicles, drawn by horses.

• In 1832 first railway line between madras & Bangalore

was planned but it didn’t work out.

• In 1844 first proposals for the construction of railways in

India were submitted to east India company by Mr.R.M
Stephenson.
 Cont…
• In 1853 the first railway line between bombay & thana (32kms
stretch) was opened. It had 14 coaches and was driven by 3
engines.
• In 1854 a train between howrah and hoogly was run over a
stretch of 39kms.
• In 1855-60 eight railway companies were established in india
under the following names
– Great India peninsula railway
– The east railway
– The madras railway
– The bombay baroda & central India Railway
– The scindia railway
– The eastern bengal railway
– The south india railway
– The calcutta and south eastern railway
 Five Year Plan
• First Five Year Plan(1951-56):
– Out of the total plan expenditure of Rs 2378 crores to
be incurred during the period of the first five year
plan.
– The railways were allotted only Rs 257crores.
– The rehabilitation of railway assets is the main
objective
– Chittranjan locomotive works & tata engineering and
locomotive boosted up their production during these
years
– Station and Railway facilities were improved.
 Cont…
• Second Five Year Plan(1956-61):
– The 2nd five year plan had a provision of Rs 896 crores
for the development of the Indian railways out of
total plan expenditure of Rs 4800 crores.
– Many new lines were opened and new locomotives
and passenger coaches were placed on line.
– Considerable progress was made in electrification of
railway during this period
– Railroad bridge at mokameh was opened to traffic
and the foundation for the brahmaputra bridge was
laid.
 Cont..
• Third five year plan(1961-66):
– The 3rd five year plan provided a sum of Rs 1470
crores to be spent on railways a rolling stock out of
total plan of Rs 7500 crores.
– The plan provided for the acquisition of 2070
locomotives, 157,133 wagons & 7879 coaching
vehicles
– It also provided for doubling of 3548 kms of track.
– Complete track renewals for 8000kms, rail renewals
for 4000kms and sleepers renewals for 3600km.
– It laid emphasis on electrification of railways.
– A length of 2400km of new lines was also constructed.
 Cont…
• Besides this construction of many bridges, staff quarters,
railway stations and other facilities was undertaken
• There was a gap of 3yrs between the 3rd five year
plan(1966-69) and fourth five year plan(1969-74) as the
government wanted to review the results of the
proceeding development plan and review the strategy.
• A sum of Rs 592 crores was allotted to the Indian
railways for increase of transport capacity.
 Cont…
• Fourth Five year Plan(1969-74):

– This plan was drawn with twin objectives

• Modernization of railways and
• Improving the operational efficiency of the system
by more intensive utilization of existing assets of
railways.

– A sum of Rs 1050 crores was allotted for development

of railways out of total plan expenditure of Rs 15900
crores.
 Cont…
• Fifth Five year Plan(1974-78):
– The main objective of fifth five year plan (1974-78)
was development of rapid transport system in
metropolitan cities.
– Improvement in financial viability through cost
reduction techniques, resources mobilization and
optimum utilization of assets and achievement of
national self sufficiency in railway equipments.
– A sum of rs 2200 crores was alloted to the railways
out of total plan of Rs 39300 crores
– There was a rolling plan introduced for 2yrs.
– Railways continued to follow the policy of fifth plan
(1978-80) period. A sum of Rs 185 crores was allotted
during this plan.
 Cont…
• The Sixth Five year plan(1980-85)
– Was drawn up considering various resource
constraints and heavy backlog of arrears of renewal of
assets like wagons and tracks.
– The main objective was that limited resources of
railways should be used for rehabilitation of assets,
– The stress was to use the existing resources in the best
possible manner for getting high operating efficiency.
– A sum of Rs5100 crores was allotted to the railways
out of total of Rs 97500 crores for all the public sectors
undertaking for the full plan period.
 Cont…
• Seventh Five year Plan(1985-90):
– Provide for an outlay of Rs 12334 crores.
– The main objectives of this plan considered expansion
of capacity for manufacture of passenger coaches,
electric multiple units and electric locomotives.
– Electrification of important routes, track renewal
works.
– Up gradation of communication network,
introduction of computer based fright operation
information system and computerization of passenger
reservation in certain metropolitan cities.
 Advantages of Railways
• Political Advantages:
– Railways have united the people of different castes,
religious customs and traditions.
– Railways have contributed towards development of a
national mentality in the minds of the people.
– The role of railways during emergencies in
mobilizing troops and war equipment has been very
significant
– Railways have helped in the mass migration of the
population.
 Cont…
• Social Advantages:
– The feeling of isolation has been removed from the
inhabitants of the Indian villages.
– By traveling together into the compartment without
any restriction of caste difference has disappeared
considerably.
– The social outlook of the masses has been broadened
through railway journeys
– Railway has made it easier to reach places of religious
importance.
– Railway provided a convenient and safe mode of
transport for the country
 Cont…
• Economic Advantages:
– Mobility of people has increase there by the
congested areas can be relieved of congestion and the
sparsely populated areas can be developed.
– Mobility of labor has contributed to industrial
development
– During famines railways have played the vital role in
transporting food and clothing to affected areas.
– Speedy distribution of finished product is achieved
through railways
– Railways provide employment to millions of people
and thus help in solving the unemployment problems
of the country
 Cont…
• Techno- Economic Advantages:
– Cost saving in transportation of long haul bulk traffic
– Energy-efficiency
– Environment Friendliness
– Higher safety
– Efficient land use and ease in capacity expansion.
 Classification of Indian Railways
• Trunk Routes
• Main Lines
• Branch Lines

• Gauge: Clear distance between two inner faces of two

track rails
– Broad Gauge – 1.676m
– Meter Gauge – 1.00m
– Narrow Gauge – 0.762 / 0.610
 Trunk Routes
• Line that is the main route in railways
• 6 routes of BG & 3 routes of MG have been classified as
trunk Routes
• On BG:
– Delhi-Mughalsarai- Howrah
– Delhi- Kota-Mumbai
– Delhi-Jhansi - Nagpur- Chennai
– Howrah- Bagpur- mumbai
– Mumbai- Guntakul- Chennai
– Howrah – Vijaywada- Chennai
 Cont…
• On MG:
– Lucknow- Gorakpur-Guwahati
– Delhi- jaipur- Ahmedabad
– Chennai-Madurai- Trivandrum
• Standards
Items BG MG

Maximum 120kmph 80kmph

Permissible Speed

Rail section 52kg/m or 37.2 kg/m

heavier
Ballast Cushion 25cm below 25 cm below
sleeper sleeper
Design Speed for 160 kmph 100kmph
new track
 Main Lines
• The Main line of a railway is a track that is used for through trains
or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines,
yards, sidings and spurs are connected.
• All these lines other than trunk routes carrying 10 gross million
tonnes (GMT) per annum or more for BG and 2.5 GMT or more
for MG or where maximum permissible speed allowed is
100kmph for BG & 75kmph for MG are classified as Main lines

Items BG MG
Maximum 100kmph 75kmph
Permissible
Speed
Rail section 52kg/m 37.2 kg/m
Track Relaying 20 yrs 30yrs
Period
Design Speed for 120 kmph 75kmph
new track
GMT/Annum ≥10 ≥2.5
 Branch Lines
• A railway line connected to a trunk line
• These are classified on the basis of following criteria
– All those BG lines which carry less than 10GMT per
annum and have maximum permissible speed of less
than 100kmph are classified as branch lines
– For MG tracks all those lines which carry less than 2.5
GMT per annum and have max permissible speeds
less than 75kmph are classified as branch lines.
 Classification of Indian railways based on speed
criteria
• Group ‘A’ Lines:- They consists of those trunk routes on
which they are meant for running the trains at a speed of
160kmph or more
– Eg: Delhi to howrah by rajdhani route
• Group ‘B’ Lines: they consist of those routes on which
the trains with a maximum sanctioned speed of
130kmph are running or intended to run.
– Eg: Allhabad to Bhusaval, kharagpur to vijayawada
• Group ‘C’ lines: They consists of all sub-urban routes of
mumbai, calcutta and chennai
• Group ‘D’ lines: All other routes in the country where
maximum permissible speed at present is 100kmph
• Group ‘E’ lines: The other routes and branch lines where
the permissible speed limits are less than 100 kmph
 Permanent way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6KcDwuI6NI
Permanent Way
 Permanent Way
• The Combination of rails fitted on sleepers and resting
on ballast and sub grade is called the railway track or
permanent way
• In a permanent way the rails are joined in series by fish
plates and bolts and then
• They fixed to sleepers by different types of fastenings.
• The sleepers properly spaced resting on ballast are
suitably packed and boxed with ballast.
• The layer of ballast rests on the prepared sub grade
called formation.
 Cont…
• The rails act as girders to transmit the wheel load to the
sleepers
• The sleepers hold the rails in proper position with
respect to the proper tilt, gauge and level and transmit
the load from rails to the ballast
• The ballast distributes the load over the formation and
holds the sleeper in position
• On curved tracks ,super elevation is maintained by
ballast and the formation is leveled.
• Min ballast cushion is maintained at the inner rail while
the outer rail gets kept more ballast cushion
 Requirement of an ideal permanent way
• Permanent Track is regarded to be semi-elastic
in nature
• Basic Requirements:
– The gauge should be correct and uniform
– The rails should be in proper level
– The alignment should be correct
– The gradient should be uniform and as gentle
as possible
– The track should have enough lateral strength
 Cont…
– Radii and super elevation on curves should be
properly designed and maintained
– Drainage system must be perfect for enhancing safety
and durability of track
– Joints including points and crossings which are
regarded to be weakest points of the railway track
should be properly designed and maintained
– The track structure should be strong low in initial cost
as well as maintenance cost
 Capacity of Railway track
• Def: It is the number of trains that can be run safely on a
track per hour.
• Measures to be taken to increase the track capacity:
– All the trains should be made to run at the same
speed for which uniformity of gauges and traction
should first be achieved in the country.
– All sections should be made of equal length.
– Multi-aspect signaling should be adopted to alert the
driver in advance of positions for various sections.
– The speed of the trains can be increased by adopting
diesel or electric traction
– The speed can also be increased by making suitable
improvements in the existing tracks and removing the
speed restrictions, if any.
 Cont…
• A reduction in the time of stoppages of trains.
• The length of crossing sections should be increased in
order to enable the longer goods train to pass.
• Provision of proper control and signaling arrangement
• The traffic control on BG and MG should be centralized.
• Various safety measures should be taken such as
telecommunication facilities for short and long distances,
operation of new wire lines,etc.
 Rails
• Rails are fixed with each other by means of
various rail fastenings.
• Functions of rails
– To bear the stresses developed due to heavy
vertical loads, lateral and breaking forces and
thermal stresses.
– To provide hard and smooth surface for the
passage of heavy moving loads.
– To transmit load to the sleepers and
consequently to reduce pressure on ballast
and formation
 TYPES OF RAILS
• Double headed rails
• Bull headed rails
• Flat footed rails
 Double headed rails
• This type of rail consists of three parts
– Upper table
– Web
– Lower table
• Both the upper and lower tables are identical.
• When the upper table is worn out the rails can be reversed and
the lower table can be brought into use.
• Because of long contact with the chairs made the surface of lower
table very rough and smooth running of trains was impossible.
• These rails are not in use now- a- days.
• The rails are made of wrought iron, length varying from 610 to
732 cm
•
 Bull headed rails
• These rails consists of head, web and foot.
• The head is larger than the foot.
• The foot is designed only to furnish the necessary
strength to the rail.
• These rails are extensively used in england and in
some parts of europe.
• The weight of standard rail of this type on main
lines is 47 kg/meter and it is 42kg/meter on branch
lines.
• Length of the rail is 18.29 meters.
 Flat footed rails
• In this type of rail the foot is spread to
form a base
• Also called as vignoles rails
• 90% of railway track in the world is laid
with this form of rails
• British railways have introduced 54kg/m
and 49kg/m flat footed rails, instead of 47
and 42kg/m bull headed rails.
• Advantages of Flat Footed rails
– Chairs: No chairs are required in the form of rails.
The foot of the rail is directly spiked to the sleepers.
– Stiffness: This form of rail is stiffer both vertically and
laterally. On curves lateral stiffness is very important.
– Kinks: This form of rail is less liable to form kinks and
it maintains regular top surface.
– Cost: Flat footed rails are cheaper than the bull footed
rails
– Load distribution:Rail distributed the train load over
a greater number of sleepers, which results in greater
track stability,longer life of rails and sleepers, reduce
maintenance cost, less rail failures etc.
 Steel for rails
• Medium carbon steel of the following
composition is used for rails in india.
– Carbon----------0.55 to 0.68
– Manganese--- 0.65 to 0.90
– Silicon----------- above 0.05
– Sulphur---------- below 0.05
– Phosphorous--- below 0.05
 Corrosion of Rails
• The phenomena of corrosion of rails is mainly due to the
presence of damp conditions
• Effects of corrosion of rails:
– The rail section is gradually reduced
– The fatigue strength of a strength is lowered
• To prevent corrosion
– Quality of rail: For the areas where corrosion is likely
to occur, the rails prepared from special steel or alloy
steels are used
– Surface Treatment: The rail surface is coated with
non-corrosive material.
 Welded joint
• To increase the rail length, rails will be
welded.
• Advantages:
– To increase the rail length by minimizing
number of joints
– Increase the life of rails
– Increase comfort
– Reduces creep
– Increases carrying capacity
– Increases stiffnes
– Construction and maintenance cost reduced.
 Welding of Rails
• Methods of Welding
– Electric arc welding
– Oxy-acetylene welding
– Chemical or thermit welding
– Flash butt welding
 Electric arc welding
• In this process an electric current is
passed through a thin rod known as
electrode on the other side.
• Electrode will have same metal
composition as rail
• Current produces sufficient heat to melt
electrode and a portion of rail.
• Metal from the electrode gets dissipated
on rail and mixed with it
 Oxy-Acetylene welding
• In this process the intense heat is
produced by means of Oxy-acetylene
flame.
• This method is used to cut rails
 Chemical or Thermit Welding
• In this process of welding a chemical process is adopted
• Aluminum and iron oxide are mixed in the powdered
form and then ignited.
• This produces heat which melts and mixes two
components.
• The mixture is poured in a gap between the rails by
means of a conical crucible.
• The rail ends have to be heated before.
• A mould should be provided to prevent the flow
• A chemical reaction takes place , iron is separated and
deposited between the rail ends.
• The mould is removed and the joint is made smooth.
 Flash-butt welding
• In this process of welding the rail ends are held
together and a powerful electric current is
passed through them.
• This operation is carried out until the rail ends
attain the required temperature.
• Then the rails ends are allowed to remain in
contact with each other with the current flowing
through them.
• This causes a flash.
• The current is then stopped and the rails are
pressed together under a pressure of 20 tonnes.
 Coning of Wheels
• The distance between the inside edges of wheel flanges
is generally kept less than the gauge of the track.
• There is a gap between the wheel flanges and running
edges of the rails, nearly equal to 1cm, on either side.
• Normally the tread of wheels is absolutely dead centre of
the head of the rail, as the wheel is coned to keep it in
this central position automatically.
• These wheels are coned at a slope of 1 in 20.
• The advantages of coning are
– To reduce the wear and tear of the wheel flanges and rails,
which is due to rubbing action of flanges with inside faces of the
rail head
– To provide a possibility of lateral movement of the axle with the
wheels
– To prevent the wheels from slipping to some extent.
 Wear of rails
• Moving of a number of wheels of the
vehicles causes what is know as wear of
rails.
• Depending upon its location wear of rails
are classified as
– Wear of rails on top or head of rail
– Wear of rails at ends of rails
– Wear of rails on the sides of the head of rail.
Wear of rails on top or head of rail
• The metal from the top of rail flows and forms
projections. These are known as burrs.
• Causes:
– Rails are worn out on top due to abrasion of the
rolling wheels over them.
– The heavy wheel loads are concentrated on very
small areas .This results into flow of metal from top.
– Impact of heavy loads causes top rail to wear.
– The grinding action of the sand particles between the
rails and wheels help wear of rail on top
– The metal of top burns during starting when the
wheels slip or when brakes are applied to the moving
trains.
 Wear of rails at ends of rails
• This wear of rails takes place at the ends of rails and is
found to be very much greater than the wear at the top.
• At the expansion gap the wheels of the vehicle have to
take a jump they impart a blow to the ends of the rails.
• This blow is the main cause of wear of rails at ends.
• The ends of the rails are battered due to successive
blows.
• Effects:
– Fish bolts and fish plates become loose
– The contact surfaces between rails and sleepers are
worn out.
– Sleepers at expansion joints are depressed due to
settlement of ballast at these points.
 Wear of rails on the sides of the head
of rail.
• This is the most destructive type of wear and occurs when
tracks are laid on curves.
• Causes:
– Due to curvature, pressure due to centrifugal force causes
grinding action of wheel flanges on the inner side of the
head of the outer rail.
– The vehicles do not bend to the shape of the curvature
while moving over a curve. This results into the biting of
the inner side of the head of outer rail by wheel flanges.
– Outer wheel has to cover longer distance than inner wheel
the two wheels are rigidly fixed & cover same distance
resulting in slipping of inner wheel over the rail, which
causes wear of inner side of head of inner rail.
 Remedial Measures
• Use of special alloy steel
• Good maintenance of track
• Reduction of expansion gap
• Exchange of inner and outer rails on curves
• Introducing check rails
–  A guard-rail; an extra rail on the inner side of the inner
rail of a railway curve, so laid as to leave sufficient
room for the flanges of the wheels to pass freely
between the heads of the two rails. As the train rounds
the curve, the inner wheels bear against this extra rail,
thus relieving the pressure of the wheels against the
outer rail and preventing the derailing of the train.
• Use of lubricating oil.
 Failure of Rails
• The important factors which influence the
number of rail failures are
– Axle load of locomotive
– Constant reversal of stresses
– Defects in manufacture
– Design of rail joints
– Fatigue caused by shearing stresses
– Maintenance of rail joints
– Speed of trains
 Crushed head
• The head of the rail gets crushed and the
metal flows on the head of the rail.
• The crushed heads are due to defect of
manufacture, slipping of wheels and weak
support at the rail end.
• The skidding of wheels and loose fish-
bolts result in the weak end support.
 Transverse fissure
• This is developed in the form of a fissure or a
hole in the head of rail.
• It is in the form of a cross wire crack which
starts from a point inside the head and
spreads gradually like the shape of contours.
• The broken surface exhibits a smooth oval or
round bright spot.
• The transverse fissure is due to defect of
manufacture or due to overstraining of metal
in service.
 Split head
• In this type of failure the head of rail is split
up into two parts.
• If the surface of crack appears smooth and
dark, when opened , the defective rail is
know as piped rail and this due to cavity
formed during manufacture or due to
shrinkage of metal being not closely
welded together.
 Horizontal fissure
• In this type of failure, a fissure is
developed in the section of the rail and it
gradually goes on increasing .
• This is the outcome of worn fish-plates or
insufficient ballast packing under the joint
sleepers.
 Square or angular breaks
• In this type of failure the rail breaks either
in a vertical plane or in an inclined plane.
 Coning of wheels
• The flanges of wheels are never made flat. But they are
in the shape of a cone with a slope of about 1 in 20.
• As the wheels are set on the axle, there is some chance
for lateral movement between the flanges of the wheels
and the rails.
• Hence without coning the flanges would cause slight but
sudden shock to the sides of the rails.
• Thus the coning of wheels is mainly done to maintain
the vehicle in the central position with respect to the
track.
• The flanges of wheels have equal circumference on
straight and level track.
 Cont…
• In case of curve track the outer rail has to cover a greater
distance than that of the inner rail .
• As the vehicle has a tendency to move sideways towards
the outer rail, the circumference of the flange of outer
wheel will be greater than that of the inner wheel and
this will help the outer wheel to cover a longer distance
than the inner wheel.
 Advantages of coning the wheels
• Coning the wheels reduces the depreciation of the
wheel rims and rails. Depreciation is caused because of
the friction action of rims with inner faces of the rail
top.
• Coning also gives an option of lateral drift of the hinge
with is wheels.
• Coning also prevents, to some extent, the slipping of
the wheels.
 Disadvantages of coning the wheels
• Smooth riding is produced by the coning of
wheels. But the pressure of the horizontal
component near the inner edge of the rail
has a tendency to wear the rail quickly.
• Horizontal component tends to turn the rail
outwardly and hence the gauge is sometimes
widened
• If no base-plates are provided sleepers under
the outer edge of the rail are damaged.
 Tilting of rails
• Rails are not laid flat but they are tilted inwards.
• Common method is to use inclined base plates. The
slope of the base plate is 1 in 20 which is also the slope
of the coned surface of the wheel.
• Advantages
– The tilting of rails maintains the gauge properly
– The wear of the head of the rail is uniform due to tilting of rails
– The tilting of rails increases the life of sleepers as well as rails.
 Creep
• The Longitudinal movement of rails in a track is termed as creep.
• Causes of creep:
– Brakes:
• Creep is developed due to forces that come into operation when the
train is starting or stopping by application of brakes.
– Wave motion of wheels:
• Creep is developed due to wave motion of wheels on rails.
• Due to movements of the wheel loads on the rails, the rail deflects
as a continuous beam and crests are formed near the support
• When the wheels of the vehicles strike against these crests, creep is
developed .
– Changes in temperature
• Creep may also be due to unequal expansion and contraction of
rails owing to changes in temperature.
• Creep is more rapid during hot weather.
 Cont…
• Percussion theory:
– The impact of rail wheel ahead of the joints
gives rise to the creep in the rails.
– The reaction R is normal to the surface of
contact.
– Its horizontal component H causes creep and
the vertical component V tends to bend the
rail vertically which results in battering of the
rail end.
– During the process of striking, the rail is
pushed forward and the creep is developed.
 Results of creep
• The sleepers move out of their positions and
hence the rail gauge is disturbed. Also the rail
level is disturbed.
• There will be widening of gaps at some places
and closing of the gaps at the other places, if
there is creep in any particular rail.
• Due to creep the position of the points and
crossings will be disturbed and it will be difficult
to maintain the correct gauge and alignment.
• The ballast section gets disturbed due to creep.
 Method of measuring the creep
• On the side of the bottom flange of the rail on either side
of the track. A mark is made, of chisel.
• Two post of the rail pieces are driven in the formation
such that their tips are in the level with the top of the
sleeper.
• The string is fastened on the posts such that it passes
through the marks made on the bottom of rails
• The distance between the string and the marks on the
bottom of rails will indicate the amount of creep in a
particular interval of time.
 Methods of correcting the creep
• Pulling back of rails method
• Use of creep anchors
• Use of steel sleepers
 Rail Joints
• Joining of two rail ends by leaving some
space between them for free expansion
and contraction.
• Requirements of ideal joint
– Should be strong as far as possible
– Should maintain both rails at same level.
– Should provide sufficient space for free
expansion and contraction
– Should have less construction and
maintenance cost.
 Types of rail joint
• Types according to position of joints:
– Square joints
– Staggered joints
• Square joint:
– When a joint in one rail is exactly opposite to
the joint in the parallel rail, it is known as a
square joint.
• Staggered joints:
– When a joint in one rail is exactly opposite to
the centre of the parallel rail length , it is know
as a staggered joint.
• Types according to position of sleepers:
– Suspended joints
– Supported joints
– Bridge joints
• Suspended joints:
– The rail joint when placed at the centre of two
consecutive sleepers is known as suspended joint.
• Supported joints:
– When the sleepers is placed exactly below the rail joint,
it is known as a supported joint.
• Bridge joints:
– This joint is just similar to the suspended joint. But in this case a
length of metal serving as a bridge is used to connect the ends of
two rails so that there is no bending stress in the rail.
 Sleepers
• Transverse members which transfers load
from rail to ballast.
• Different types of sleepers:
– Timber /Wooden sleepers
– Cast Iron Sleepers
– Steel Sleepers
– Concrete Sleepers
 Functions
• Transfers the load from rails to ballast
• Provides suitable alignment
• Maintains proper gauge
• It maintains the tracks/ rails at same level
for straight track and maintain the outer
rail higher elevation than inner rail of
curve.
• Provides stability of track.
Requirements of ideal sleepers
• It should be easily available
• Cost of construction/maintenance should be
cheap
• It has to carry heavy loads at higher speeds
• It should be durable
• It should provide better/more contact area
below the sleepers
• Should not be too heavy and at the same
time it should not be too height.
 Wooden Sleepers
• When pith is located at centre of sleeper it
is called pole/ekka sleeper
• When pith is located at one side of sleeper
then it is called slab sleeper.
• When pith is located at one corner then it
is called quarter sleeper.
 Cont..!
• Composite sleeper Index:
– CSI=(S+10H)/20
– S=Strength of the sleeper@12% moisture content
– Hardness Index of timber @ 12% moisture content
• C.S.I.: Measures the mechanical strength of timber
which is derived from its composite properties of strength
and hardness
• Its min value prescribed on indian railways
– Bridge sleeper-----1455
– Crossing Sleeper----1352
– Track Sleeper----------783
 Advantages of wooden Sleeper
• Cheap and easily available
• Easy to mould and handle
• Will not be corroded
• Suitable for track circuited operations
 Disadvantages
• Not durable because of white ants
• Can not take heavier loads at higher
speeds
• Easily Susceptible to fire
• Maintenance cost is high
• Difficult to maintain gauge.
 Steel Sleepers
• Due to scarcity of wood in India the
immediate requirement to suit requirement is
steel sleepers.
• The life of steel sleepers can be taken as 25
to 30 yrs.
• Advantages
– Durable than wooden sleepers
– Takes heavy load
– High in weight and easy to handle
– Scrap value is more
– Not effected by fire and white ants
• Disadvantages:
– Easily corroded
– Not suitable for track circuiting operations
– Cost is high compared to wooden sleepers
Steel Trough Sleeper
Steel Trough Sleepers with pressed
out lugs
 Cast Iron Sleepers
Types of Cast Iron Sleepers
Advantages and Disadvantages
 R.C.C Sleepers
• The sleepers which are manufactured by
using reinforced cement concrete, are
called R.C.C sleepers.
Advantages of RCC sleepers
Disadvantages
Advantages and Disadvantages of Concrete
sleepers
Cont…
Sleeper Density
 Cont..
The number of sleepers per rail length provided on railways
in different countries
Ballast
Functions
Requirements of Ballast
Types of Ballast
Ballast Size
Sub Ballast and Blanket
Dimensions of Ballast Layer
Minimum Depth of the Ballast

d
 Cont…!

+
S=w+2d
Minimum depth of ballast d=(S – w)/2
 Calculation of depth of the
ballast
• Determine the minimum depth of the
ballast layer from the following data of the
main B.G Track.
– Sleeper spacing : 65cm.
– Width of Sleepers: 25cm.
Functions of various portions of Ballast
Renewal of Ballast
 Screening of Ballast
• The process of separation of the crushed ballast from the
ballast is called screening of ballast.
• The process is:
– The surface ballast is generally clean and it is removed
– Frames about 150cm * 120 cm with expanded metal mesh
are put parallel to the track.
– These frames are kept in inclined position at a convenient
angle
– The dirty ballast is then thrown on these frames. The dust
and other small particles pass through the mesh and fall
on the other side of the frame
– The screened ballast is collected and required additional
quantity of ballast is added to it and the railway track is
packed with this ballast as before.
Fixtures and Fastenings for rails
Requirements of an ideal fastening
• It should be capable of absorbing shocks
and vibrations
• It should be capable of giving protection to
sleepers against the actions of vertical and
horizontal forces.
• It should be capable of resisting creep.
• It should be so designed that it is possible
to remove it only by special tools.
• It should have adequate strength to resist
lateral forces.
 Fastening Types
• Rail to rail joining-------fish plates, bolts
and nuts
• Rail to wooden sleeper fittings----Dog
spike, fang bolts, screw spikes, bearing
plates
• Rail to steel trough sleepers--- loose
jaws,keys and finers
• Rail to CI Sleeper---- Tie bars,cotters
Fish Plates
Bolts
Spikes
 Dog spike
• The shape of the spike has given the
name as dog-spike
• The section of the spike is square and the
lower end is either blunt pointed or chisel
shaped.
Dog Spike
 Round Spikes
• They are mainly used for fixing CI chairs of
BH rails to wooden sleepers and also in
switch fittings on wooden sleepers.
• They have a blunt end and the length
varies according to the gauge of the track.
 Screw Spikes
• A screw spike, rail screw  is a large (6" length, slightly under 1"
diameter) metal screw used to fix a tie plate or fasten rail.
• Screw spikes are fixed into a hole bored in the sleeper.
• The screw spike has a higher cost to manufacture than the rail spike
but has the advantage of greater fixing power
• The head is circular with a square projection . The sides are
tappered and provided with small threads.
 Elastic Spikes
• A steel spring and a specially shaped
head are provided in these spikes.
• These provisions give a better grip with
the foot of the rail and it reduced wear and
tear of rail, less noise and less creep.
 Fang Bolts
• Fang bolts have also been used for fixing rails or chairs to
sleepers;
• The fang bolt is a bolt inserted through a hole in the sleeper with a
fanged nut that bites into the lower surface of the sleeper.
• For fastening flat-bottomed rails an upper-lipped washer can be
used to grip the edge of the rail.
• They are more resistant to loosening by vibrations and movement of
the rail.
• They are thought more effective than spikes and screws and so are
used in positions such as switch (point) tie plates, and on sharp
curves.
Bearing Plates
Chairs
 Loose Jaws
• Spring steel loose jaws with keys
• No problem of damaging, cracking or
deforming
• Easily replaceable.
Keys
 Cont..
• The keys are required to keep the rail in
proper position may be of wood or metal
and they may be either straight or tapered.
• Stewart key is a steel plate bent in the
form of a letter E and a steel wedge is
introduced at the ends to keep the key
tight against the rail web and the outer jaw
of the chair.
Cotters
MCI Inserts
 Geometric Design of Railway
Tracks
• Elements of Geometric Design
– Gradients
– Horizontal and Vertical curves
– Superelevation
– Transition curves
– Widening on curves
 Gradients
• Gradient is the departure of a track from
level.
– Rising gradient
– Falling gradient
• Classified as
– Ruling Gradient
– Momentum Gradient
– Pusher or helper gradient
– Gradients at station yards
• Rulling Gradient:
– Rulling gradient is the maximum gradient
provided on a section of a railway track.
– Rulling gradient adopted by Indian Railways
• In plains: < 3.0%
• In hilly regions: ≥ 3.0%
– Gradient in any section of railway track should
not be steeper than rulling gradient.
• Momentum Gradient:
– It is the gradient which is greater than the rulling
gradient.
– While train moves in falling gradient it gains certain
momentum.
– This momentum gives additional kinetic energy to
moving trains
– The additional KE acquired enables engines to
negotiate a steeper gradient than the rulling gradient
for a certain length of track.This gradient is known as
momentum gradient
• Pusher or Helper graidient:
– In hilly terrian or undulated area restriction of gradient
means considerable cutting.
– In any section of a track,if gradient is steeper and is
concentrated only on a segment of the section, it
would be operationally easy and also economic to run
trains on the basis of load that engines can carry on
remaining segments of the track.
– Additional engines or additional power many be
arranged to negotiate steeper segments.
– These are known as pusher gradients
– Adopted : 1in 40 to 1in 20
• Station yard gradients: In station yards,
gradients are normally avoided
– More power is required to haul a train from staionary
position than when the train vehicle is in motion
– Strong wind may sway bogies or set them in motion.
• Minium grade provided in station yards for
purpose of drainage.
• Adopted: 1 in 1000 for effective drainage
• Max limit : 1 in 400
 Horizontal Curves
• Horizontal curves are provided whenever
there is a change in the direction of
alignment.
• Vertical curves are provided whenever
there is a change in gradient of alignment.
• Horizontal Curves have super elevation,
extra clearance and transition curves.
 Types of HC and VC
• Horizontal Curves:
– Simple
– Compound
– Reverse
– Deviation
• Vertical Curves:
– Summit curve
– Valley curve
 Radius or Degree of a curve
• Curves can be designated by radius in
meters, R or by its degree, D. The angle
subtended at centre by a chord of 30.5m is
the degree of the curve.

–D=1750/R
 Relation Between Radius and
versine of a curve
• R=12.5C2/V
– R: Radius in meters
– C: Chord length in meters
– V: Versine in centimeters
 Maximum Degree of curvature for
different gauges
• BG: 100
• MG: 160
• NG: 400
 Safe Speed on Curves
• Def: Safe speed is the speed which is not
prone for overtuning and derailment.
• Factors Influencing:
– Gauge of track
– Radius of Curvature
– Value of Super elevation
• Max safe speed for transitioned curves
– BG track:
V  0.27 R (Ca  Cd
• MG track:
– Centre to centre distance between rail heads is
1057mm
V  0.347 R (Ca  Cd
• NG
V  3.65 ( R  6)
•
V=Speed in Km/h
R=Radius in meters
Ca=Actual Cant in mm
Cd= Permissible cant deficiency in mm
• Emperical Formula:
– With Transition Curves:
• BG/MG

V  4.4 ( R  70)
• NG

V  3.65 ( R  6)
– Without transition curves: Reduce speed by 20%
subject to a max speed of 40km/hr for NG
– For High speeds:
V  4.58 R
 Curvature of track
• Objections to curvature of track
– The working of trains on curvature is seriously
affected and it results in restricted speed,
limiting length of train and prevention of use of
the heaviest types of locomotives
– The maintenance cost of track increases due
to curvature of the track. This is mainly due to
increase in the tractive force ,increase in the
wear and tear of parts of track.
– The danger of collision, derailment or other
form of accident is increased on curvature.
 Designation of curve
• A simple curve is designated either by its
degree or by its radius.
• The degree of the curve is the angle
subtended at the centre by chord of 30m
length.
 Points and Crossings
• The Wheels are provided with flanges
inside , so the direction of movement and
the diversion of the vehicles to another
track are automatically controlled by the
wheel flanges rather than the drivers.
• The problem of diversion of the trains from
one track to another is solved by special
arrangements known as Points and
Crossings
Points and Crossing
 Turnouts
• Turnout is a simplest combination of points and
crossings
• Important terms used in points and Crossings
– Facing Direction: If one stands at toe of switch and
looks towards crossing, then the direction is called as
facing direction
– Trailing direction: If someone stands at the crossing
and looks towards the switches.
– Facing points of turnouts: Those where trains pass
over the crossings
– Trailing points of turnouts: Those on the opposite side
of facing points in which the trains pass over the
crossing first and then over the switches.
 Cont…
• Right hand turnouts: If a train from main track
is diverted to the right of the main route in the
facing direction then this diversion is known
as right hand turnout.
• Left hand turnouts: If a train from main track
is diverted to the left of the main route in the
facing direction then this diversion is known
as left hand turnout.
• Right hand & left hand switches: Depending
upon left or right when seen from the facing
direction ie standing at the points and look
towards crossings.
Cont…
Cont…
• Sleepers laid for points and Crossings:
– Two methods of laying the sleepers below the
points and crossings:
• Through Sleepers
• Interlaced Sleepers
•
• Through Sleepers: The through sleepers
are generally laid for points and crossings.
• they are provided in the overall length of
-points and crossings.
• The through sleepers maintain several
rails at the same level and it is possible to
fix the alignment of the curved track in
relation to the straight track.
• Interlaced Sleepers: Where there is
shortage of long sleepers the interlacing of
sleepers is done between the switched
and the crossings.
 Switches
• Two types of switches:
– Stub switch
– Split Switch
• Stub Switch:
– No separate tongue rails are provided in stub switch. But some
portion of the main tracks is moved from side to side.
• Split switch:
– A split switch essentially consists of two parts:
• A stock rail and a tongue rail
– Two types:
• Loose heel type or articulated type switch
• Fixed heel type or spring switch or flexible switch
Stub switch
 Cont….
• Loose-heel type or articulated type switch:
– In this type of switch ,fish plates join lead rails
to tongue rail of the switch.
– The two front bolts are kept loose to allow for
the throw of the switch
• Fixed –heel type:
– In this type of switch the tongue rail is held in
position with stock rail at the virtual heel by
means of a heel or distance block and bolts
 Shapes of switches
• Undercut switches:
– The tongue rail at the toe of the switch is
planed to a very fine edge at the top and cut
so that the toe is accommodated under the
head of the stock rail.
– The foot of the stock rail should be properly
cut away to accommodate the foot of the
tongue rail.
 Cont..
• Straight cut switches:
– The tongue rail is kept straight in line with the
stock rail.
– The thickness of the toe of tongue rail
becomes thick and thereby its strength is
increased.
– This design of switch is useful for BH rails.
 Cont…
• Over-riding switches or composite
switches:
– Separate rail sections are adopted for stock
rail and tongue rail.
– The stock rail is of heavy section while tongue
rail is of light section.
– The tongue rail rides over the foot of stock
rail.
• Heel divergence or clearance:
– The distance at the heel between the gauge
lines of the switch and the stock rail is known
as heel divergence.
– The usual values of heel divergence in
USA,britain and india are 159mm,114mm ,
137mm to 133mm for BG. 121mm to 117mm
for MG and 98mm for NG.
• Switch angle:
– The angle formed between the guage lines of
the stock rail and tongue rail is known as
switch angle or angle of switch divergence.
Cont…
Cont…
• Acute angle crossing:
– This type of crossing is widely used
– This crossing is obtained when a left-hand rail
of one track crosses a right hand rail of
another track or vice versa
– If the angle of intersection of the approaching
rails is acute angle it is termed as acute angle
crossing.
• Obtuse angle crossing:
– When left hand rail of one track crosses right hand rail of another track
or vice versa at an obtuse angle.
– In obtuse angle crossing the long wing rails do not carry the wheels as
in case of acute angle crossing but act as a check rail.
• Square crossing:
– When two straight tracks cross each other at right angles they give rise
to square crossing.
• Spring or movable crossing:
– One wing rail is movable and is held against the vee of the crossing
with a strong helical spring.
– It makes the main track continuous and this crossing becomes useful
when there is high speed traffic on main tracks and light speed traffic
on the branch line or turnout.
Track Junctions
 Track Junctions
Combinations of points and crossings
• Nine Combinations
– Cross-overs
– Scissors cross-overs
– Slips
– Fixed point
– Three throws
– Tandems or double turnouts
– Gathering lines or ladder tracks
– Gauntlet tracks
– Double junctions