How often do Rail Pads require maintenance?
Railway rubber pad, also called elastic cushion, is used on concrete sleepers rather than on timber. It is used to reduce the fatigue cracking of the concrete ties. It can buffer the impact loads and insulate the rails from sleepers. Rail rubber pad, plastic sleeper bearing plate, cork rubber pad and wooden plate are common cushions, while rail rubber pad is superior in general performance.GNEE RAIL can supply rubber pads made from natural rubber, SBR, chloroprene rubber, HDPE and EVA.
GNEE RAIL is a professional railway fasteners manufacturer from China. We can provide different standards rail pad, steel rail, rail clips, railroad spike, screw spike, tie plate, rail bolt and nuts, railway fish plates and etc. based on rich experience and advanced technology.
Our EVA/HDPE/rubber rail pads are with high elasticity, applying to types for rails such as rail UIC54, UIC60, BS80lbs,BS100lbs, and sizes as ordered. The pads can be customized with or without grooves, in various possible designs, depending on customers' requirements.
| Rubber Rail Pad | ||
| Technical Parameter | Unit | Value |
| Stiffness | KN | 90-130 |
| Hardness Shore A | ℃ | 72-80 degree |
| Electronic Resistance | Ω | ≥ 106 |
| Tensile Strength before Aging | Mpa | ≥12.5 |
| Elongation before Aging | % | ≥250 |
| HDPE Rail Pad | |||
| Technical Parameter | Unit | Technical Requirement | Value |
| Density | g/cm3 | 0.95-0.98 | 0.95 |
| Tensile Strength | Mpa | ≥19 | 19 |
| Elongation | % | >80 | 150 |
| Melting Point | ℃ | 170-190 | 190 |
| Insulation Resistance | Ω | ≥1×1010 | 3.5 ×1010 |
| Hardness | A | ≥98 | 98(A) |
| EVA: Polyethylene 80%, Vinyl Acetate 20%. | |||
| Technical Parameter | Unit | Technical Requirement | Value |
| Density | g/cm3 | 0.95-0.98 | 0.95 |
| Tensile Strength | Mpa | ≥15 | 16 |
| Elongation | % | >500 | 550 |
| Melting Point | ℃ | 170-190 | 170 |
| Insulation Resistance | Ω | ≥1×1010 | 5.0 ×1010 |
| Hardness | A | ≥90 | 92(A) |
Rail pads need maintenance and inspection regularly (often twice yearly or quarterly, especially on high-speed lines), but replacement cycles vary widely, from 5-10 years in tough conditions to 15-20+ years, depending on traffic, environment, and pad material, with signs like cracking, significant compression (over 20-50%), or increased vibration indicating immediate replacement.
Maintenance & Inspection Frequency
High-Speed Lines: Comprehensive inspection every 3 months is recommended.
Conventional Lines: Inspection every 6 months is common.
Heavy Use/Tough Conditions: Inspections might be needed more often than twice a year to catch wear early.
Qualified rail rubber pads should have smooth surface and trim. Unsmoothed surface may weaken the properties of the pads. Rail pads we manufactured have passed strict tests on stiffness, tensile strength, elongation, aging, insulation and static rigidity etc.
GNEE RAIL can supply rail pads of different sizes according to the dimensions of the load and rail base. As a leading railway material supplier, GNEE RAIL pays great efforts to the quality of products. The inspection report of products is necessary, and we have an overall test on the products before putting them into the market. The QC test is selected at random in the products. Our QC tests check the products randomly and the unqualified ones will be rejected. While the inspection will examine every single piece of the products. Besides the strict ISO9001-2008 quality control system and internal management, we have equipped with full range of inspection tools to ensure every piece of our products meets the requirements of the customers.