A rail pad is inserted in between the rail and baseplate or sleeper. Rail pad is introduced to the railway fastening system because of its resilience or viscoelasticity which can be implemented in the intervention of fatigue cracking of sleepers. The dynamic stress from the wheel or rail impact from both regular and irregular movements is attenuated.
What is the hardness of a railway pad?
Railway pad hardness varies by application but typically falls in the 60 to 85 Shore A range, with softer pads (around 60-70A) for urban transit needing more damping and harder pads (75-85A) for heavy-haul lines to handle high axle loads, balancing vibration isolation with support and preventing excessive deflection. The specific hardness, measured in Shore A or sometimes IRHD, depends on material (rubber, polyurethane, EVA) and required stiffness for different track types like high-speed, heavy-haul, or metro.
| Raw Material | Rubber, EVA, TPEE, HDPE |
| Standard | UIC, AREMA, TB/T2626-95 |
| Application | 43kg/m, 50kg/m, 60kg/m, 75kg/m,115RE, UIC54, UIC60, S49 |
| Model number | 43-7-7, 43-10-7, 50-7-9, 50-10-9, 60-10-17, 60-12-17 |
| Operating temperature | -50~70 degrees |
| Certificate | MSDS, ROHS, REACH |
| Notes | They should be stored in a clean, ventilated place. Don't be in direct sunlight, and keep away from the heat source and chemical reagent. Don't touch the oil, organic solvent, and other chemicals. Banned exposure. |
How to choose an elastic rail pad of the appropriate thickness?
Choosing an elastic rail pad thickness involves balancing vibration damping, load distribution, and clearance needs, depending on rail type, train speed/weight (heavy cargo needs thicker pads for load spread, light metro needs thinner for noise), fastening system, and desired track stiffness; generally, thicker pads offer more cushioning/noise reduction but can raise track height, while thinner pads provide lower profile but potentially stiffer, noisier tracks.
What are the effects of different materials on the thickness of railroad pads?
Different materials significantly affect rail pad thickness by altering stiffness, load distribution, and vibration dampening; softer materials like EPDM allow for more deformation (requiring careful thickness control), while stiffer ones like HDPE or Polyurethane handle heavier loads and need specific thicknesses (e.g., 15-20mm for heavy haul) to prevent sinking, with composite pads balancing properties, ultimately determining pad thickness based on train type, load, and desired vibration/maintenance balance.
| Raw Material | Rubber, EVA, TPEE, HDPE |
| Standard | UIC, AREMA, TB/T2626-95 |
| Application | 43kg/m, 50kg/m, 60kg/m, 75kg/m,115RE, UIC54, UIC60, S49 |
| Model number | 43-7-7, 43-10-7, 50-7-9, 50-10-9, 60-10-17, 60-12-17 |
| Operating temperature | -50~70 degrees |
| Certificate | MSDS, ROHS, REACH |
| Notes | They should be stored in a clean, ventilated place. Don't be in direct sunlight, and keep away from the heat source and chemical reagent. Don't touch the oil, organic solvent, and other chemicals. Banned exposure. |
Comparion of EPDE+PP-X / TPE/TPR / TPU
| Performance | EPDM+PP-X | TPE/TPR | TPU | ||
| TPV | TPO | SBS | SEBS | ||
| Tensile Strength | Δ | Ο | Ο | Ο | ◎ |
| Compression permanent deformation(100℃,168H) | ◎ | Ο | Δ | Δ | Δ |
| Operating temperature(℃) | -60~135 | -40~125 | -20~80 | -30~110 | -30~120 |
| Hot Air Aging | ◎ | Ο | X | Δ | X |
| (100℃,720H) | |||||
| Oil Resistance,3#oil | ◎ | Δ | X | Δ | Δ |
| (125℃,70H,3#oil) | |||||
| Acid and alkali resistance | ◎ | Δ | X | Δ | Δ |
| Processing technology | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ | X |
| ◎:Excellent Ο:Good Δ: Ordinary Χ:Poor | |||||
As a professional rail fastener manufacturer, GNEE RAIL can produce various types of rubber rail pads with different materials, such as natural rubber, EVA, HDPE and so on. In railway fastening system, rubber rail pads are often installed between the rail tracks and the concrete railway sleepers.