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 three types of tracks?
Heavy rail, light rail, and crane rail are the three primary types of steel rails, categorized mainly by weight, application, and load capacity: heavy rail for mainlines, light rail for mining/industry/trams, and crane rail for industrial cranes, each with distinct specifications for different demands.
- Heavy Rail: Used for main railway lines (passenger & freight), characterized by higher weight (e.g., >30kg/m or >60kg/m depending on standard) and high strength for heavy loads and high speeds.
| 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 | |
- Light Rail: Lighter rails (e.g., 9kg/m to 30kg/m) for mining, factories, or temporary tracks, designed for lighter loads and slower speeds.
| 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 | |
- Crane Rail: Specialized for supporting overhead or gantry cranes, featuring specific profiles (like QU series) for precision and durability under heavy, intermittent industrial movement.
| 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 | ||||||
What is railroad metal made of?
The railroad metal, commonly known as train track steel, is special steel in metallurgical products mainly used for railroad tracks. The rail bears the weight and dynamic load of the train. Its surface wears, and the head is impacted. The rail is subject to large bending stress, too. The complicated press and long-term service bring out damages to the rails.
Railroad metal, primarily the rails, is made from high-quality carbon steel, with added elements like manganese, silicon, chromium, vanadium, or titanium to increase strength, hardness, and wear resistance, with newer tracks using specialized alloy steels or heat treatments for extreme performance. These tracks must withstand immense weight and fatigue, so the composition is carefully controlled.
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.