A rail pad, also called rail rubber plate, is designed between the rail tie plate and foot of the rail, made by an elastic polyurethane mat, which is interposed between steel rails and tie sleepers to protect the sleeper top from wearing and impacting.
Why is the rail pad designed with grooves?
Rail pads are grooved to create a specific stiffness profile, allowing them to absorb shocks and vibrations (low initial stiffness) while preventing excessive movement (high stiffness under load) for safety, reducing noise, improving grip for stability, and allowing water/air to escape for better contact and longevity. These grooves manage the complex load-deflection characteristics needed for track durability and passenger comfort, especially with heavy, high-speed trains.
Key Functions of Grooves:
- Load Management: Grooves allow the pad to deform significantly under light loads (initial flexibility), then become much stiffer under heavy wheel loads, preventing the rail clip from loosening and ensuring stable contact.
- Vibration & Noise Damping: They absorb vibrations and dampen the clatter, reducing impact on concrete sleepers and minimizing noise for passengers and nearby residents.
- Improved Contact & Traction: Grooves help maintain continuous contact with the rail, even with minor track movements, while allowing water, air, and debris to escape, improving grip.
- Extended Track Life: By reducing shock and vibration, grooves protect concrete sleepers and ballast from fatigue and damage, lowering maintenance costs.
- Enhanced Resilience: The design, combined with specific rubber compounds, provides high resilience and fast elastic recovery after deformation.
Grooved Rubber Sole Plate are available in a variety of sizes and specifications and can be used in channel sleepers for bridges, railway expansion joints, etc. With excellent electrical and creep resistance, it can also be used in turnouts and running railway tracks. Today, with our grooved rubber pad series, we have been meeting the needs of China Railway and even customers from various overseas markets. When placed in the rail's wooden sleepers and rails, these spacers extend the life of the rail and rail fasteners by cushioning various shocks and impacts.
Specifications of GRSP Rail Rubber Pad
| Drg No | 6mm GRSP-RDSO-RT-3073,RT-3711,RT-4107,RT-4218 60kg Rials 1 in to 12,RT-4865 60kg Rials 1 in 8.5,RT- 198-6203 and RT-6204 etc.. |
| Standard | RDSO |
| Shape | rectangular |
| Application | Industrial |
| Hardness | 75~85 shores A |
| Material | Rubber |
| Minimum Order Quantity | 2500 Piece |
As a professional rubber rail pad manufacturer GNEE RAIL can produce various standards of rubber rail pads and other rail fasteners. If you want to build a railway line, do not hesitate to contact us, we can supply all types of rubber rail pads with different materials. If necessary, we can make customized rubber rail pad production.