What is a railroad track composed of?

Composition of railroad track

Railroad track components is composed of ballast bed, railway sleeper, steel rail, railway connection parts, railway fasteners, turnout and other parts of a railway track.

Steel rail

In the early, steel rail is cast iron rail, and then it later expended into I-shaped rail. In the 1980s, the standard gauge for most railways in the world was 1435 mm (4 ft 8 (1/2 in.)). Based on this standard, the narrower one is called narrow gauge railway, the wider one is known as broad-gauge railway. Today, steel rail can be applied into railway track construction in different countries. According to the different national standards, steel rails are classified into various standards, such as GB, BS, AMERA, JIS, DIN and etc.

Ballast bed

Ballast bed (track bed) is an important part of the track, and it is the basis of the track frame. Track bed usually refers to the ballast (ballast) cushion below railway sleeper that are laid on the surface of the roadbed. Track bed use gravel, pebbles, slag and other materials.

Railway sleeper

Railway sleeper, also named railroad tie, it is one of railway components. Railway sleeper not only support the steel rail, but also maintain the position of the rail. Normally, railway sleeper is buried in the track bed and laid laterally. Railroad tie is usually made of wood, concrete or steel.

Rail connection parts

Rail connection parts are used to connect two steel rails or rail and railroad sleeper. Rail connection parts include rail clip, railroad spike, railway fish plate, rail bolt and tie plate, etc.

Rail Clip

The rail elastic clip is used for fastening the rails and the tie plate on concrete sleeper. Using the material of forged spring steel, our rail clips are produced by hot forging process. GNEE RAIL can develop and produce various kinds of rail clips such as E-type(E1609, E1809, E1817, E2007, E2009, E2055, etc), SKL tension clips (SKL1, SKL3, SKL12, SKL14, SKL75, etc), PR series, Nabla clips, D type rail clip, Fast clip, gauge lock clip, Deenik clip as well as other standard and non-standard clips can be customized by drawings or samples.

Rail Joints

Rail joint is a kind of railroad fasteners and plays important role in connecting the steel rail together with the help of fish bolt. There are many types and different standard rail joints according to various uses. GNEE RAIL can provide you with different rail joints such as GB, AREMA, BS, UIC, AS, African standard, South American standard, and different types such as common rail joint, compromise rail joint, bulge rail joint, insulated rail joint and glued insulated rail joint, etc.

Rail Pad

A rail pad, also named rail rubber plate, is usually used between tie plates and sleepers or between rails and tie plate. The rail pad is made of elastic polyurethane mat and usually used on concrete sleepers. The rail pad can protect the concrete sleeper from abrasion and impaction, and it can also decrease the vibration from the passing train. It is believed that rail pad functions in two ways: diminish shock and distribute load. The thickness of our rail pads ranges from 5mm to 25mm,but usually the height should not to be so high in case the movement relative to the rails.

Rubber Rail Pad:

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.

In addition to steel rails, GNEE RAIL also offers a wide range of rail components. We take quality and safety as our core in all products, rigorously testing every component to meet the highest industry standards. Contact us today to discuss your specific requirements.