Heavy Haul Rail Fasteners in South Africa
South Africa is one of the world's five largest mineral countries. It is with very rich mineral resources. Rail transportation plays the key role, so heavy haul rail is an important rail choice. Due to the increase of heavy haul train speed increase and volume, accordingly significantly increases the impact of the line, axle load, the operating conditions of the high density, on the track structure produce damaging effects of accelerated development, rail fasteners must choose the appropriate rail accessories. For example, on the Sisen-Saldanha Iron Ore Line and Richards Bay Coal Line, E-clip (e2000) fastening system and FIST fastening system are widely used. Clamping Force of clip e2000 is over 21KN. The fist rail fastening system is firstly developed in Sweden. This rail fastening system is widely used in the railroad in South Africa. At the first rail pad is the standard model, it is made of 12 mm thick high density polyethylene (HDPE). Now most of the railway sections are equipped with the Hytrel pad with excellent durability, which belongs to micro bubble plate. The performance of the rail pad has improved to get instant results, including Improving force displacement, improving the recovery ability, enhancing the durability of the sleepers and stone slag, reducing service interruption. The stability of the track system means a stronger long-term transport capacity.
