The definition of heavy rail, also known as heavy-duty track, is not solely based on the weight of the track itself, but is closely related to the weight of the operating vehicles. Due to the need to carry heavy vehicles during operation, heavy rails need to withstand significant pressure, resulting in thicker and heavier rails with higher requirements for track specifications.
In terms of rail weight, rails with a nominal weight greater than 60 kilograms per meter belong to the category of heavy rails. Heavy rails are mainly divided into two types: general rails and crane rails. General steel rails are mainly used for laying railway mainlines, dedicated lines, bends, and tunnels. The common lengths of standard rails are 25 meters and 50 meters, while in high-speed rail lines, a continuous welding method of 500 meters is often used. When laying curved tracks, the length may be slightly shorter due to actual needs, such as 24.96 meters, 50.92 meters, etc. The common specifications for steel rails are 60, 75, and 100 (kg/m). Compared to light rail, heavy rail has a larger cross-section and can withstand greater forces. In the early days of mainline railways, 78 kg steel rails were used, but now 60 kg and 75 kg steel rails are more common.
The application scope of heavy rail is wide, including national standard intercity railways (including high-speed railways and heavy-duty railways), intercity railways, urban railways, and subways in urban rail transit, all of which belong to the category of heavy rail railways. From the perspective of the track system, vehicles are classified into light rail and heavy rail, and the track width is divided into wide gauge, standard gauge, and narrow gauge (including meter gauge and inch gauge). Different types of tracks play their respective roles in different scenarios, and heavy rails occupy an important position in the field of railway transportation due to their strong load-bearing capacity.
