CWR TURNOUTS - A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

By
Veer Narayan, IRSE-87,
Formerly Chief Engineer/N. Rly, Presently Associate Director, Systra India

1.0 Introduction:

Provision of LWR/CWR in the Railway Track has brought a revolutionary change in the
maintenance and riding quality of the Railway as they save rail joints and reduce Wheel-rail
dynamic interactions considerably. Its major advantages are:

• Removal of rail joints

• Significantly decreased impact load from the wheel
• Greater integration and evenness of the rail surface
• Significantly lower maintenance cost of Track as well as Rolling stock

Further it has provided the technical possibility and base for high speed and heavy haul revenue.
Hence, it has been widely accepted as a standard for modern railway tracks.

However, in Indian Railways, presently CWRs are not permitted through turnouts which results
in the bad riding quality over the turnouts as well as increased maintenance of these structures.
However, these are now being planned in Dedicated freight corridors although these are already
in use in Metro tracks.

In this article, the design features and the principle behind CWR turnouts are detailed. The basic
philosophy behind the design and the force transmission structure has been discussed.

2.0 Brief Concept of LWR/CWR:

Before going further let us refresh the basic concepts of LWR/CWR. Following is the brief Sketch
of LWR.

Figure1- Components of a LWR

Followings are the basic definitions:
a. Long Welded Rail (LWR) is a welded rail, the central part of which does not undergo any
longitudinal movement due to temperature variations. In Indian Railways, a length greater
than 250 metre on Broad Gauge (BG) and 500 metre on Metre Gauge (MG) will normally
function as LWR. The maximum length of LWR under Indian conditions shall normally be
restricted to one block section.
 b. Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) is a LWR which would continue through station yards
including points and crossings.
c. Breathing Length is the length at each end of LWR/CWR, which is subjected to
expansion/contraction on account of temperature variations.
d. Switch Expansion Joint (SEJ) is an expansion joint installed at each end of LWR/CWR to permit
expansion/contraction of the adjoining breathing lengths due to temperature variations.
e. Destressing is the operation undertaken with or without rail tensor to secure stress-free
conditions in the LWR/CWR at the desired/specified rail temperature.
f. Installation Temperature (ti) is the average rail temperature during the process of fastening
the rails to the sleepers at the time of installation of the LWR/CWR.
g. Stress-free Temperature (to) is the rail temperature at which the rail is free of thermal stress.
When tensors are utilised for the destressing operation the work has to be carried out at tp,
which shall be lower than stress-free temperature.
h. Destressing Temperature (td) is the average rail temperature during the period of fastening
the rails to the sleepers after destressing LWR without the use of rail tensor. If rail tensor is
used, td for all practical purposes is equal to to as defined in para above.

Clause 4.53 of Indian Railways LWR manual states as below:

LWR/CWR shall not normally be taken through points and crossings. Three normal rail lengths
shall be provided between stock rail joint (SRJ) and SEJ as well as between the crossing and
SEJ. These normal rail lengths shall be provided with elastic rail clips/anchors to arrest creep.
However, where concrete sleeper turnouts are laid, instead of three normal rail lengths, one
three rail panel shall be provided between SEJ and SRJ as well as between heel of crossing and
SEJ.
LWR/CWR shall not be taken through points & crossings. For any exceptions in this regard,
special arrangements shall have the prior approval of RDSO,

3.0 Basic Features of CWR turnouts:

A CWR turnout is the turnout in which all rail joints are Welded or glued and the rails at the two
ends of the turnouts are welded with CWR tracks in both Straight and divergent directions. It
minimizes rail joints and the impact of transitional and breathing areas. It withstands the same
temperature forces in the CWR track as the main line withstands.

Following diagram shows the comparison showing joints provided in the normal turnout which
are eliminated in CWR turnout.

Figure 2- Joints in a Normal turnouts

 In a CWR turnout all the joints are eliminated leading to better riding quality and longer life of
turnout.

4.0 Basic Requirements of a CWR turnout:

A CWR turnout withstands the same thermal forces as the main rails of CWR. The inner rails of a
CWR turnout may be under different stresses at two ends and thus the thermal forces in a turnout
are unbalanced. This unbalanced force makes the rail stresses and deformation displacement
unstable. So, the main concern of design of CWR turnout is to address this instability. The CWR
turnout has to have a basic sound structure to resist such instability.

Following prerequisites must be met before installing CWR turnout to minimise the effects of
thermal forces:

i. Rails at both the ends of the turnout must be weldable, so as to be welded with long
rail strings of CWR track.
ii. Rail fastenings for the turnout must have proper elasticity; displacement resistance
must be greater than the longitudinal resistance of the turnout bed. The
closure/inner rails of the turnout should be locked from creeping, preferably with
elastic clips and/or anti-creep devices. The fastening bolts shall be tightened as per
required torque.
iii. Fillers, retainers, or the like should be arranged at the heel of the switch rail and point
rail to transmit the longitudinal force between two rails. High-strength bolts must be
used to couple these force transmission components and increase the frictional
resistance and shear strength. The bolts will be tightened as per required torque.
iv. The sleepers of the CWR turnout must have proper lateral bending stiffness.
v. The bed of a ballast turnout should be well filled and compacted, especially in the
sleeper area. The shoulder ballast should be widened as specified for a CWR track.
vi. Conversion, locking, and closure detection devices etc. must be compatible with the
expansion displacement of the switch rail/point rail. No rail expansion-induced
conversion failure is allowed.
vii. The effect of rail expansion must be considered in designing turnout components
(including position of bolt holes), so as to avoid misplacement of bolt holes, parts
jamming, or other defects.

5.0 Structural Features of CWR turnout:

In the case of LWR, the thermal expansion of the rail takes place at the rail ends because of
temperature variations and the inability of the resisting force offered by the rail and the ballast to
overcome the same. An LWR continues to expand/contract until adequate resisting force is
developed towards the centre. The stage is finally reached when the resistance offered by the
track structure becomes equal to the thermal forces created as a result of temperature variations.
There is no expansion/or contraction in the rail beyond this length called breathing length.

However, when the turnout rails are welded with section rails, the unbalanced longitudinal
temperature force at turnout toe and heel will cause longitudinal displacement of rails in the
turnout. The outer stock rails of a turnout are part of the through CWR track, which can be
regarded as the fixed area in the line. In case the two outer lead rails move longitudinally, there
will be no additional temperature force in displacement variation area except for redistribution of
longitudinal force. With the connection of force transmission components, the inner rails of a
turnout become two long rails under temperature force. However, the movable switch rail can
not be constrained by a locking device and expand freely. So, the inner rails of the turnout can be
regarded as the breathing length of the CWR track. In the absence of restrictions, the longitudinal
movement of long rails will impact the inner geometry of the turnout. If the expansion
displacement leads to compromises in track gauge, the locking device will be choked by the switch
rail/point rail with variable top width, thus causing blockage. Therefore, the displacement of inner
rails must be restricted by distributing partial temperature force to outer stock rails via force
transmission components.

Hence, the structural design of the thermal force transfer devices comprising of heel blocks and
anti-creep devices plays a very important role in ensuring the stability of the turnouts located in
the CWR track. The main force transmission structures in a CWR turnout are composed of the heel
of crossing, heel of switch, fastening and ties/sleepers.

The force goes through the crossing and is transferred longitudinally along the lead/closure rails,
then goes to the stock rails of the switch via the connection devices at the heel of the switch (for
concrete bearer turnouts the device is the anti-creep device). In addition, with the thermal force
going through the closure rails between the crossing and switch, the rail may creep in the
longitudinal direction together with the bearers. During the above procedure, part of the thermal
force can be transferred to the stock rails via the heel blocks or anti-creep devices which are
located at the end of switch rails.

Figure 3 represents the transmission path of temperature force in a CWR turnout after the turnout
rails have been continuously welded in both straight and diverging directions. The direction and
route of thermal force is transferred from the heel of crossing to the toe of switch. From the
figure, the temperature force at turnout heel will be transferred to the wing rail and lead/closure
rail (the rail connecting the curved or straight switch rail) via the structure at the heel of the
crossing, and then to the stock rail via the structure at the heel of the switch. The force in the lead
rail will tend to result in longitudinal displacement of sleepers and there will be distribution of
partial temperature force to the stock rail. The proper design of the force transmission structure
is critical to manage stress and limit deformation of a CWR turnout.

Figure 3- Thermal force transmission in a CWR turnout

Figures 4 and 5 show the designs of anti-creep devices fitted between switch rail and stock rail
near the heel end of the switch rail. The anti-creep device and the fastening systems hold the
stock rail and the switch in the correct position. This is intended to prevent differential
longitudinal movement of the switch-rails relative to their stock-rails caused through rail creep.
 Figure 4- The anti-creep device of Vossloh Cogifer turnout

Figure 5- The VAE turnout’s double anti-creep device

6.0 Maintenance issues of CWR turnouts:

The fact that CWR turnouts withstand the non-uniform longitudinal thermal forces points out to
the importance of the proper maintenance of CWR turnouts. Following are important guidelines
to the maintenance of CWR turnouts:
a. Proper Alignment
b. Proper planning of Turnouts
c. Adequate compacted ballast with shoulder ballast
d. Proper fastenings providing the requisite toe load
e. Proper functioning of Anti-creep devices
f. Complete fittings and their maintenance

There are many issues related with the lack of maintenance of CWR turnouts. These are briefly
listed below:

i. Poor alignment
 ii. Sleepers out of square
iii. Splice rail and point rail separated (for the Built-up crossing)
iv. Crossing bolt bent or broken(for the Built-up crossing)
v. Crossing filler blocks in the wrong position(for the Built-up crossing)
vi. Anti-creep device in the wrong position
vii. Creep in Stock rail
viii. Lead rail bent, misaligned etc.

It can be seen many problems related with Built-up crossings are eliminated with the use of
Weldable CMS crossings.
Some of these maintenance issues are briefly shown in the figures below.

Figure-6 Misalignment behind the crossing of turnout

Figure-7 Relative creep (gap) between splice rail and point rail at the crossing area
 Figure-8 Left and right chocks unevenly creep at the toe of point rail

Figure 9- Rail chair broken and creep in the longitudinal direction (Evidence of rail creep)
 Figure 10- The anti-creep device in the wrong position

7.0 Conclusion:

Introduction of CWR turnouts is going to be a great step in improving the maintenance of turnouts,
rolling stock and improving the riding quality. However, it is imperative to understand the
philosophy of transmission structure and the behaviour of the CWR turnout so as to have the
improved maintenance of these turnouts. It is also very important to understand the behaviour of
these turnouts to deal with the problems related in maintenance.
Its hoped that this article has provided the requisite input in this regard.

Bibliography:
1. Design of High Speed Turnouts: Theory and Applications – By Wang Ping
2. A Better Understanding of Stability of Turnouts in Continuous Welded Rail Track - A
presentation by Ralph Zhang
3. Indian Railways LWR Manual