What are the different types of rails? - Knowledge

What are the different types of rails?

Rail types vary by design for specific uses, with the main categories being Bull Headed, Double Headed, and the most common Flat-Footed (Vignole) rails for traditional tracks; plus specialized Grooved (trams), Crane, Check, Conductor, and even Monorail rails, each offering unique profiles for stability, wear, or functionality in diverse railway systems.

Traditional Railway Rails (Track)

Flat-Footed (Vignole) Rails: Most common today, with a wide, flat base for direct fixing to sleepers, offering cost-efficiency and ease of installation.

Bull Headed Rails: Have a thick head and foot, with a web, used with chairs on sleepers for stability, common in points/crossings (UK).

Double Headed Rails: Symmetrical top and bottom (head/foot), designed to be flipped for extended life, but now rare due to maintenance issues.

Typical railroad rail section specification

Railroad rails nowadays are mainly made of steel through a series of manufacturing processes. It can undertake much more loads than ordinary metal products due to its extremely high strength. Thus, trains can get a stable and smooth surface to roll upon.

heavy 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

track rail

Item	Unit	CHN 75kg Rail	CHN 60kg Rail	CHN 50kg Rail	CHN 45kg Rail
Weight per meter	kg	74.414	60.64	51.514	44.653
Rail height	mm	192	176	152	140
Width of base	mm	150	150	132	111
Height of head	mm	55.3	48.5	42	42
Width of head	mm	75	73	70	70
Thickness of web	mm	20	16.5	15.5	14.5
Sectional area	cm²	95.073	77.45	65.8	57
the distance between the center of gravity and the rail base	mm	88	81	71	69
moment of inertia on the horizontal axis	cm⁴	4490	3217	2037	1489
moment of inertia on the vertical axis	cm⁴	665	524	377	260
Lower section coefficient	cm³	509	396	287	217
Upper section coefficient	cm³	432	339	251	208
Bottom transverse flexibility section coefficient	cm³	89	70	57	46

Rail section size of Chinese GB standard rails

Typical chemical composition of railroad rail (%)

Rail Grade	C	Si	Mn	P	S	Al	V	Tensile Strength (Mpa)	Elongation (%)
U71Mn	0.65~0.76	0.15~0.35	1.10~1.40	≤0.025	≤0.04	-	0.03	883	8
U71MnSi	0.65~0.75	0.85~1.15	1.10~1.15	≤0.04	≤0.04	≤	≤	883	8
U75V	0.71~0.78	0.50~0.70	0.75~1.05	≤0.025	0.008~0.025	0.004	0.04~0.08	900
UIC 900A	0.60~0.80	0.10~0.50	0.80~1.30	≤0.040	≤0.040	-	-	880~1030	10
TGV	0.60~0.80	0.10~0.50	0.80~1.30	≤0.035	≤0.030	≤0.004	-
EN	0.60~0.82	0.13~0.60	0.65~1.25	≤0.030	≤0.030	≤0.004	-
JIS 1101	0.63~0.75	0.15~0.30	0.70~1.10	≤0.030	≤0.025	-	-

Note：EN-European Standard; JIE1101-Japanese Industry Standard 1101-1993

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.

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