Rail track is an essential component of rail track, and its function is to guide the train wheels moving forward by withstanding the enormous pressure pushed by the wheels. Steel rail shall provide smooth, stable and continuous rolling surface for the passing train wheels. In electrical railway or automatic block section, railway track can also be used as track circuit.
What are the different types of rails?
Rail types vary by profile (like Bull Headed, Double Headed, Flat Bottomed) for track structure, material (Carbon Steel, Alloy, Head-Hardened), and application (Standard Gauge, Narrow Gauge, Crane Rails, Tram/Grooved Rails), with modern mainlines favoring cost-effective Flat Bottom rails, while specialized uses need specific shapes for stability or function.
By Material/Treatment
- Carbon Steel Rails: Standard material, often high-carbon for durability.
- Alloy Steel Rails: Contain manganese, chromium, or other elements for enhanced strength or wear resistance.
- Head-Hardened Rails: Undergo special heat treatment to harden the running surface, significantly increasing life, especially on curves.
The chemical composition of train track steel
| No. | Element | Function |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | Improve the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of the rail. The carbon content of domestic rails is 0.65% to 0.82%. When the carbon content is relatively high, the steel becomes brittle, and its plasticity index will be significantly reduced. At the same time, it will increase the chance of white spots in the steel. |
| 2 | Si | It is easy to combine with oxidation and can play the role of removing bubbles in the metal. The steel contains an appropriate amount of silicon, which can improve the hardness and wear resistance of the steel. The content of domestic rail steel is generally 0159-0.9%, but too much content will make the steel hard and brittle, and it is easy to produce pores in the weld. |
| 3 | Mn | It is a beneficial element that can improve the strength and wear resistance of steel and increase the toughness of steel. It can remove harmful iron oxide and sulfide inclusions in the steel. The manganese content is generally controlled between 0.6% and 1.54%. Steel with a manganese content of more than 1.2% is called medium manganese steel, and its wear resistance is very high. |
| 4 | Cu | It is a beneficial element. Steel contains a small number of copper compounds, which can improve the fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance of steel. The copper content of domestic steel rails is generally between 0.10% and 0.40%. If the rolling process of the copper-containing rail is not good, fish-like cracks will occur on the surface of the rail |
| 5 | P | It is a harmful element. The biggest hazard of phosphide is to reduce the plasticity and toughness of the steel. Especially at low temperatures, the cold brittleness of the steel increases, which easily leads to broken rails, and its content is controlled at no more than 0.04% |
| 6 | S | The sulfur is a harmful element. It is often left in the steel in the form of granules. When the rail is rolled, it is rolled together with the steel into sheets, which causes delamination or longitudinal cracks in the rail. The amount of sulfur is controlled at no more than 0.05% |
GNEE RAIL are available to produce steel rails of various standards used in coal mining, main railway lines, factories, cranes, etc. There are light steel rails, heavy steel rails, crane steel rails, and over heavy steel rail.
| Classification | Height(mm) | Head (mm) | Bottom (mm) | Thick(mm) | Weight (kg/m) | |
| Light Rail | 8 KG/M | 65 | 25 | 54 | 7 | 8.42 |
| 9 KG/M | 63.5 | 32.1 | 63.5 | 5.9 | 8.94 | |
| 12 KG/M | 69.85 | 38.1 | 69.85 | 7.54 | 12.2 | |
| 15 KG/M | 79.37 | 42.86 | 79.37 | 8.33 | 15.2 | |
| 18 KG/M | 80 | 40 | 80 | 10 | 18.06 | |
| Classification | Height(mm) | Head (mm) | Bottom (mm) | Thick(mm) | Weight (kg/m) | |
| Heavy Rail | 38 KG/M | 134 | 68 | 114 | 13 | 38.733 |
| 43 KG/M | 140 | 70 | 114 | 14.5 | 44.653 | |
| 45 KG/M | 145 | 67 | 126 | 14.5 | 45.546 | |
| 50 KG/M | 152 | 70 | 132 | 15.5 | 51.514 | |
| 60 KG/M | 176 | 73 | 150 | 16.5 | 60.64 | |
| Classification | SIZE(mm) | theoretical weight | |||||||||
| height | bottom width | head width | waist depth | ||||||||
| Crane rail | QU70 | 120 | 120 | 70 | 28 | 52.8 | |||||
| QU80 | 130 | 130 | 80 | 32 | 63.69 | ||||||
| QU100 | 150 | 150 | 100 | 38 | 88.96 | ||||||
| QU120 | 170 | 170 | 120 | 44 | 118.1 | ||||||
Since 2008, GNEE RAIL has been supplying steel rails of different grades for more than 18 years, steel rails from GNEE is highly recommened in China and abroad.Wtih cutting edge equipment, GNEE produces high quality steel rails that meet with requirements of most countries. Standard rail, head hardened rail, heavy rail,light rail,crane rail and other types are all available here, as one of the China main rail supplier, GNEE RAIL has been working on supplying economical green railway products all over the world.