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 Types Of Steel Rails?
I. Rail models according to Chinese National Standards (GB)
Railways in China mainly classify rails by weight per meter, with the following common models:
1. Rails for ordinary lines (used in main railways, freight railways, etc.)
- 38kg/m: Commonly used in early railways, now gradually phased out, only retained in some branch lines, special lines or old lines.
- 43kg/m: Once widely used in medium and low-speed railways, now mostly used in local railways, factory and mine special lines, etc.
- 50kg/m: One of the main models for current main lines of ordinary speed railways, suitable for mixed passenger and freight lines, with good strength and durability.
- 60kg/m: The main model for heavy-haul railways and high-speed ordinary railways (such as lines with a speed of 160-200km/h), with stronger bearing capacity and better wear resistance.
- 75kg/m: Used in heavy-haul railways (such as Daqin Railway) and freight dedicated lines, suitable for trains with large axle loads (axle load ≥25t), with excellent strength and fatigue resistance.
| 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 | |
2. Special rails for high-speed railways
- 60kg/m (high-speed rail): China's high-speed railways (with a speed of 250-350km/h) mainly use 60kg/m rails. The materials are mostly U71MnG, U75V, etc., which require higher flatness, wear resistance and welding performance, usually as seamless lines (long rail strips).
Some special sections (such as heavy-haul high-speed railway test lines) may use rails with higher strength of 75kg/m, but their application is less.
3. Light rails (urban rail transit, light railways)
15kg/m, 22kg/m, 30kg/m: Mainly used in urban light rails, factory railways, mine branch lines, etc., with low bearing capacity, suitable for low-speed and light-load scenarios.
| 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 | |
| 22 KG/M | 93.66 | 50.8 | 93.66 | 10.72 | 22.3 | |
| 24 KG/M | 107 | 51 | 90 | 10.9 | 24.46 | |
| 30 KG/M | 107.95 | 60.33 | 107.95 | 12.3 | 30.1 | |
4. Crane rails (special rails)
Models start with "QU", divided by head width, such as QU70, QU80, QU100, QU120 (unit: mm). They are mainly used for tracks of cranes, gantry cranes and other large equipment, with high strength and wear resistance.
| Classification | Height(mm) | Head (mm) | Bottom (mm) | Thick(mm) | Weight (kg/m) | |
| Crane Rail | QU 70 | 120 | 70 | 120 | 28 | 52.8 |
| QU 80 | 130 | 80 | 130 | 32 | 63.69 | |
| QU 100 | 150 | 100 | 150 | 38 | 88.96 | |
| QU 120 | 170 | 120 | 170 | 44 | 118.1 | |
II. Common international rail models
- Europe (UIC standards): Such as 49E1, 54E1, 60E1, 68E1, etc. (the number after "E" indicates rail height, in mm), corresponding to approximately 49kg, 54kg, 60kg, 68kg per meter.
| Standard: UIC860 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Dimension(mm) | Weight (kg/m) |
Length(m) | |||
| Head | Height | Bottom | Thickness | |||
| UIC50 | 70 | 152 | 125 | 15 | 50.46 | 12-25 |
| UIC54 | 70 | 159 | 140 | 16 | 54.43 | |
| UIC60 | 74.3 | 172 | 150 | 16.5 | 60.21 | |
- United States (AREMA standards): Expressed in yard-pound system, such as 115RE, 132RE, 141RE, etc. ("RE" is the standard rail, the number indicates the weight per yard in pounds, 115RE is approximately 67.7kg/m).
| ASTM standard, AREMA standard | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Dimension(mm) | Weight (kg/m) |
Length(m) | |||
| Head | Height | Foot | Thickness | |||
| ASCE 25 | 38.1 | 69.85 | 69.85 | 7.54 | 12.4 | 6-12 |
| ASCE 30 | 42.86 | 79.38 | 79.38 | 8.33 | 14.88 | |
| ASCE 40 | 47.62 | 88.9 | 88.9 | 9.92 | 19.84 | |
| ASCE 60 | 60.32 | 107.95 | 107.95 | 12.3 | 29.76 | |
| ASCE 75 | 62.71 | 122.24 | 122.24 | 13.49 | 37.2 | 12-25 |
| ASCE 85 | 65.09 | 131.76 | 131.76 | 14.29 | 42.17 | |
| ASCE 90 | 69.09 | 130.18 | 142.88 | 14.29 | 44.65 | |
| ASCE 115 | 69.06 | 139.7 | 168.28 | 15.88 | 56.9 | |
| ASCE 136 | 74.61 | 152.4 | 185.74 | 17.46 | 67.41 | |
| ASCE 175 | 109.86 | 152.4 | 152.4 | 38.1 | 86.8 | |
- Japan (JIS standards): Such as 50N, 60N, 75N, etc. ("N" is the new rail type, corresponding to 50kg, 60kg, 75kg per meter).
| Standard: JIS E 1103/1101 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Dimension(mm) | Weight (kg/m) |
Length(m) | |||
| Head | Height | Bottom | Thickness | |||
| JIS 15KG | 42.86 | 79.37 | 79.37 | 8.33 | 15.2 | 9-10 |
| JIS 22KG | 50.8 | 93.66 | 93.66 | 10.72 | 22.3 | 9-10 |
| JIS 30A | 60.33 | 107.95 | 107.95 | 12.3 | 30.1 | 9-10 |
| JIS 37A | 62.71 | 122.24 | 122.24 | 13.49 | 37.2 | 10-25 |
| JIS 50N | 65 | 153 | 127 | 15 | 50.4 | 10-25 |
| CR 73 | 100 | 135 | 140 | 32 | 73.3 | 10-12 |
| CR 100 | 120 | 150 | 155 | 39 | 100.2 | 10-12 |
III. Core basis for model selection
- Bearing requirements: The larger the axle load and the higher the train density, the heavier the rails need to be (such as 75kg/m for heavy-haul railways).
- Operating speed: High-speed trains have higher requirements for rail smoothness and strength, mostly using models of 60kg/m and above.
- Application scenarios: Ordinary railways, subways, factory special lines, etc., select corresponding models according to load and speed (such as 50kg/m or 60kg/m commonly used in subways).
Steel Rail Role in Railtrack System
Steel rail is the most important part in rail track system, it is a steel profile with shape of inverted T. Variety of steel rails are developed with different weight and dimensions. All types of Steel Rail has hardend head and flat bottom. This special shape is designed with a group of rail fastening parts that fix steel rail on rail sleepers: Rail Spike, Screw Spike, Elastic Rail Clip, Rail Clamp, etc.
Steel Rail Sections looks like similar to steel profiles used for steel structure in buildings, their main functions in rail track are as follows:
- Rails provide a continuous and level surface for the movement of trains.
- Rails provide a pathway which is smooth and has very little friction. The friction between the steel wheel and the steel rail is about one-fifth of the friction between the pneumatic tyre and a metalled road.
- Rails serve as a lateral guide for the wheels.
- Rails bear the stresses developed due to vertical loads transmitted to them through axles and wheels of rolling stock as well as due to braking and thermal forces.
- Rails carry out the function of transmitting the load to a large area of the formation through sleepers and the ballast.
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.