Ballast

• Ballast is an important constituent of the

conventional track system.

• Its importance has grown with increasing

axle loads and train speeds.

• Ballast is a layer of crushed stone or other

material, which is placed between/under
the sleepers and the formation for holding
a track to line and surface.
1
Ballast
• Ballast has a strong influence on the
relative smoothness of riding.
• Experience has shown that the railways
constructed with the track laid directly on
the earth surface, indicated that some
selective materials should be placed
between sleepers and formation for
economical maintenance.
• If the ballast is not provided the weight of
the traffic pushes the track into the yielding
soil.
2
Functions of Ballast

• It distributes the load over wider area of

formation
• It protects the top surface of the formation
from erosion.
• It facilitates drainage.
• It impedes the growth of vegetation
• It acts as an elastic bed to absorb the load
and shock of the moving train.
3
Functions of Ballast

• It provides a suitable foundation to the

sleepers.
• It holds the sleepers in their correct
position.
• It provides an easy mean such that
sleepers may be corrected to true grade
line. (level of track)
• It provides longitudinal and lateral stability
to track.
4
Requirements of a good Ballast

• It should be hard, strong and durable.

• It should be angular.
• It should have good drainage properties.
• It should be non porous.
• It should be stable under traffic loads.
• It should provide high frictional resistance to the
movement of sleepers.
• It should be suitable for packing.
• It should be economical in cost.

5
Size of Ballast
• The size of the ballast used varies from ¾” to
2-1/2”.
• Stones of larger sizes are not desirable and 2”
as the maximum size is preferred as
interlocking of stones of this size is better than
the other.
• The best proportion is that varies from ¾” to
2” with reasonable proportion of intermediate
sizes.

6
Size of Ballast
• For BG Track with wooden sleepers = 2”

• For BG Track with cast iron sleepers = 1-1/2”

• Ballast under switches and crossing = 1”

7
Factors Influencing Selection of
Ballast
• Wheel loads
• Traffic density
• Speed of train
• Durability under impact with least
possible disintegration both from
exposure to weather and mechanical wear
of packing tool
• Stability of material

8
Width of Ballast
• The width of the ballast layer is also important, as
the lateral strength of the track depends partly on
the quantity of ballast at the ends of sleepers.

• The lateral strength increases with increase in the

width of ballast layer but there is a limit beyond
which the ballast layer does not serve any useful
purpose.

9
Width of Ballast
• The limit is from 15” to 17” from the end of the
sleeper.

• The distance from shoulder to shoulder is

BG ----- 11’-0”, MG ----- 7’-6”, NG ----- 6’-0”

• Experiments have shown that lateral strength of

track chiefly depends upon the sleeper spacing and
the value of grip they have in the ballast.

10
Depth of Ballast
• The depth of the ballast under the sleepers is an
important factor in the load bearing capacity of
the track.

• The thickness of the ballast under the sleeper

bottom depends upon the traffic density, quality
of ballast and the formation soil.

• On new tracks ballast is usually laid in two

layers.
– Bottom ballast or sub-ballast
– Top ballast
11
 •Experiments have shown that the load carrying
capacity of the track with 9” depth of ballast
under the sleeper is 30% more than a track with
6” depth.
• In Pakistan, the minimum depth of ballast
required below sleeper is
For Main Line 12”-13”, Branch Line 8”-10”

12
Quantity of Ballast
• Quantity of Ballast required for every foot
length of BG track is 12 cu.ft

• Quantity of Ballast required for every foot

length of MG track is 8.25 cu.ft

13
Packing of Ballast
• Ballast is not packed throughout the length of the
sleeper because load is concentrated under the rails.
• The sleeper is packed from each rail seat to the end of
the sleeper and an equal distance in the inter-rail
space.
• The packing under the rail seats should be done first
and care should be taken not to strike the sleeper with
the beater, while packing.
• The sleepers should be sufficiently far apart so that
the sweep of beater is not hindered by the adjoining
sleeper.
• On curves, the inner or lower rail should be leveled
first and then the outer rail should be given the
correct superelevation. 14
Mechanical Packing of Ballast
15
Mechanical Packing of Ballast
16
Packing of Ballast (cont’d)
• The ballast round the sleepers is pulled aside with
ballast forks or shovels; ballast is then removed to a
depth little below the bottom of sleeper. Ballast is
then packed under the sleepers with picked axes,
having one heavy blunt end and known as Beater
until the level of the rail is raised to the required
height.
• One man can pack a sleeper but when this is done, the
sleeper is likely to have an uneven bearing. A better
method is to position two men, back to back on the
same sleeper, one man in the inter rail space and the
other on the shoulder, and to make them pack
diagonally under the rail seat. This is sometimes
known as Scissors Packing. 17
Boxing of Ballast
• Process of filling the ballast between the two
rails and forming the shoulders at each end of
the sleeper is called boxing of the ballast.
• On completion of packing, the ballast which is
scattered during packing, is gathered and put
back in order to restore the profile of the
ballast layer.
• It is done by means of ballast forks not with
shovels which results in earth and weeds from
the formation being pulled up with the ballast
and fouling the ballast.
18
Centre Bound Sleepers
• Under the rolling load, the ballast is pressed down under
the rail seats more than at the centre of the sleepers due to
the loads being greater under the rail seats.
• If slight lifts are not given under the rail seat periodically
to make up for the depressions, the sleeper instead of
being supported firmly at the rail seats are found to be
supported at the centre.
• This causes rocking of the train and the sleeper is said to
be centre bound.
• Centre binding can be easily removed by loosening the
consolidated ballast at the centre of the sleeper. Centre
binding does not occur where a shallow central
depression is left in the ballast section.
19
20
Renewal of Ballast
• The frequency of ballasting depend mainly on
the condition of the ballast but other factors
such as the riding quality of the track, traffic
density, prevailing train speed, sleeper and rail
renewal, and the condition of subgrade also
influence the selection of operation to be
followed. The quantity of the ballast gets
decreased due to
– By crushing of ballast due to abrasion action of the
moving loads
– By sinking of the ballast in the formation
21
Renewal of Ballast
• Fresh ballast has therefore to be added periodically so
that the layer of ballast retains the correct depth and
width.
Renewal of ballast follows the following procedure:
• Take out ballast from the track using the ballast fork
• Screening of the existing ballast
• Estimate the additional amount of ballast to be added
• Additional ballast is brought to the site through the
material trains
• Addition of the new ballast
• Packing and Boxing of ballast again
22
Physical properties of Ballast
Ballast material should satisfy the following
physical properties
• Aggregate Abrasion value 30% max. for BG
and MG and 35% max. for NG.
• Aggregate impact value 20% max. for BG and
MG and 30% max. for NG.
• The water absorption should not be more than
5%.

23
Size and Gradation of Ballast
Ballast should conform to following size and
gradation.
• Retained on 65 mm sq. mesh sieve -------- NIL
• Retained on 40 mm sq. mesh sieve --- 40-60%
• Retained on 20 mm sq. mesh sieve --- Not less
than 98% for machine crushed and not less
than 95% for hand broken.
• Oversized and undersized ballast should only
be used after careful study of all the
characteristics of the quality of ballast.
24
Tests for Ballast
• Los Angles Abrasion Test
• Impact Test
• Angularity Test
• Flakiness and Elongation Index test

25
Blanket/Sub-Ballast
It is a layer of specified coarse-grained
material interposed between the ballast and the
formation. It serves the following objectives:

– To distribute the load on formation reducing the

subgrade stresses within the subgrade strength.

– To eliminate mud pumping

– To control the seasonal moisture content variation

in the subgrade.
26
Cost of Ballast
Cost of ballast depends upon the following
factors:

• Initial cost (i.e., at source)

• Distance from the source of supply to place
where it is to be used.
• Method of handling.

27
Types of Ballast
Mud Ballast
• No ballast except the natural soil.

• Some times, the natural soil is sandy and

gravelly and it makes fairly good ballast .

• It is used for temporary track where cost

consideration necessitates its use.

28
Types of Ballast
Mud Ballast

• It is used in initial stages of a new line till

the settling of the formation due to heavy
loads is stabilized.
• Stone ballast is subsequently placed over
consolidated and hardened earth.

29
MUD BALLAST

30
Cinder/ Coal Ash
• It is the residue of the burnt coal.
• It is available in large quantities where
coal is used in the locomotives.
• It has good drainage properties as it is
very porous.
• Due to its low cost, it is largely used in
yards.
• It cannot be used for main lines as it is
very soft, gets easily reduced to
powder by packing and vibration.
31
Cinder/ Coal Ash
• It is excellent for yards where it is used as
ballast under the track and it forms excellent
path between tracks for shunting staff
particularly in the rainy weather as it does
not retain water and is not slippery.

• It is also used for blanketing the formation

for improving poor soil conditions.

32
Cinder/ Coal Ash
• It also provides valuable help in repairing
formation or as ballast for packing track in
an emergency such as caused by heavy
floods.

• Its greatest disadvantage is its corrosive

quality and it must not be used with steel
sleepers.

33
Sand
• It is reasonably good material for the ballast.

• It is good material from the point of view of

drainage provided it is free of earth and
vegetation.

• It is also comparatively cheap. Coarse sand

should be preferred instead of fine sand.

34
Sand
• It is suitable for Cast Iron pot sleepers or
where intensity of traffic is low. It is used on
branch lines.

• Sand ballast is sometimes covered with

stones to prevent its blowing. The best sand
for ballast is that which contains a quantity
of fine gravel varying in size from 1/8”
upwards.

35
Sand
• A covering of sand ballast is
sometimes given on the tracks in yards
as it soaks up water and makes walking
for men working in the yards easier.

36
Sand
The major disadvantages of using sand
as ballast are
• It can be easily blown or washed away.

• It is easily disturbed by vibration

making the maintenance rather difficult.

• It causes heavy wear in vehicles as the

sand gets into the moving parts and
causes friction.
37
Gravel
• It can be easily handled, provides almost
perfect drainage and is available from
rivers beds.

• Its disadvantage is the smoothness of gravel.

So it rolls down easily due to vibration and
the packing under the sleeper gets loose.

38
Gravel
• If the gravel contains very fine stones, it
must be screened to ensure proper drainage
of track.

• Larger pieces are broken to smaller sizes.

• To increase interlocking of stones rounded

pieces are broken. On soft formation gravel
ballast give better results.

39
Brick Ballast
When no stone or substitute is available for
use as ballast, over-burnt bricks are broken
to small pieces and used as ballast.

• It powders easily and produces a dusty

track.
• It is very porous and has good drainage.
• It is economical in cost.

40
Stone Ballast
• This is the best type of ballast available and is
almost provided in all the important tracks.

• The best stone for ballast is a non-porous, hard,

angular stone, which does not flake when
broken.

• It is easily shoveled with forks with the

advantage that fine chips and dirt are screened
out and provides excellent drainage.

41
Stone Ballast
• It can withstand vibrations well and holds the
sleepers more firmly.

• Igneous rock such as quartz and granite make

excellent ballast. Sandstone and limestone,
which are soft, but make fairly good ballast.

42
Stone Ballast

43
Blast Furnace Ballast
• Blast furnace slag is the by-product of the
steel industry. It can be used as a ballast
material if available easily.

44
Sleepers
• Rails in a railway track need support.
Greater is the support, lower are the
stresses induced in the rail.
• Sleepers are responsible for keeping the
two rails forming a track at an exact
distance apart.

45
46
47
Functions of Sleepers
• Distribute the load over wider area of the ballast.
• Keep the two rails of the railway track to correct
gauge.
• Sleepers act as a support to the rails.
• Act as an elastic medium between the ballast
and the rails to absorb the blows and vibrations
of the train.
• To help in the stability of the track as a whole.

48
Requirements for Sleepers
• It should last as long as possible in the
ground.
• Have sufficient compressive strength to
resist rail pressure.
• Have sufficient transverse strength to
resist breakage by centre binding.
• Have hardness to resist rail abrasion.

49
Requirement for Sleepers

• Have the spikes holding property to resist

the tendency of the spikes to loosen owing
to vibrations. (wooden sleepers)
• Resist attack by white ants or vermin.
(wooden sleepers)
• Sleepers should be cheap.

50
Types of Sleepers
• Longitudinal Sleeper
• Cross Sleeper / Transverse Sleepers
Longitudinal Sleepers
• Sleepers originally consisted of slabs of
stone or pieces of timber laid under the
rails longitudinally.
• The cross pieces were provided at
intervals to maintain correct gauge of the
track. 51
52
Why Longitudinal Sleepers are
discarded ?
• Running is rough.
• Noise produced by the track is great.
• Uneconomical i.e., large section is
required to be placed under the rail to
support, so cost increases.
• Secondly, as additional timber is
required to hold the two longitudinal
timber to correct gauge.
53
Transverse Sleepers / Cross
Sleepers
• Cross sleepers are placed at right angles
to the rails.
• Cross sleepers were first introduced in
1835.
• Now are being used all over the world.
• Problems associated with longitudinal
sleepers are not present in such sleepers.

54
Types of Transverse Sleepers /
Cross Sleepers

Depending upon the construction material:

• Wooden Sleeper
• Steel Sleeper
• Cast Iron Sleeper
• Concrete Sleeper
• Composite Sleepers

55
Wooden Sleepers
• Timber is an ideal material, which fulfills all
requirements of making sleepers.
• Soft wood sleepers have less life as
compared to hard wood sleepers.

56
Wooden Sleepers

• In case using soft wood for sleepers, give

treatment to it.
• Soft wood sleepers become unserviceable
earlier than hard wood, as the foot of flat
footed rail cuts into the soft wood easily.
• This defect is reduced, by using a steel or
cast iron bearing plate between the rail
and the sleeper.
57
58
Laying of Wooden Sleepers
• As far as possible, only treated sleepers should
be used in the track.
• For treated sleepers, sap wood absorbs more
creosote and is therefore more resistant to
vermin and fungus attack and is therefore
placed downward and the heart wood side is
kept upwards.
• For untreated sleepers, they should be laid with
the sap wood laid upwards and heart wood
downwards side as it is more resistant to the
attack of fungus.
59
 Seasoning of wooden sleepers
• A living tree contains juices known as sap,
and after the tree is cut the sap has to be
dried before using the timber. This is
known as seasoning. Unless sap is
removed, the sleeper tends to twist, bend,
warp and decay. Seasoning of timber is
done by
• Natural seasoning
• Artificial or kiln Seasoning
60
 Care of Wooden Sleepers
• Splitting of sleeper at the ends can be avoided if
the sleepers are bolted, clamped or tied with
wire.

• Wooden sleepers should be stacked on a well

drained plot of ground which should be clear of
all the vegetation for at least one foot all around
the stack and in such a manner that a free
circulation of air is there all around. The top of
the stack should be covered with a thin layer of
soil which is put at the top to protect the sleeper
from direct rays of sun on the sleeper.

61
62
63
 Care of Wooden Sleepers
• Care is to be exercised in driving spikes
for holding the rails to the sleeper.
• The spike must be held and driven
vertically, otherwise the gauge will be
affected.
• The spikes are driven into the bored holes.
• The boring of the holes should also be
done accurately otherwise spike will not be
in correct position.
64
 Care of Wooden Sleepers
• The rail gradually cuts into the sleeper,
particularly where heavy axle loads are
used and the sleeper becomes
unserviceable through such wear.
• Bearing plates if used between rail and
sleepers, distribute the load from the rails
to the sleeper and prevent the crushing of
sleeper.
• Bearing plates extend the life of the
sleeper by as much as 30%.
65
 Mechanical Preparation

• In order to obtain the cant of 1 in 20 for the rails,

wooden sleepers are adzed.

• Accurate adzing is essential otherwise the track

will ride rough due to cant varying from sleeper
to sleeper.

• Where canted bearing plates are used, sleepers

do not have to be adzed.

66
Standard Size of Wooden Sleepers

• For Broad Gauge 9’ x 10” x 5”

• For Meter Gauge 6’ x 8” x 4.5”

• For Narrow Gauge 5’ x 7” x 4.5”

67
Life of Wooden Sleeper

Factors that affect the service life of the

sleepers are:
• Type of wood used
• Seasoning
• Treatment
• Climatic condition
• Axle loads
• Handling Conditions
• Location of sleeper on track

68
Merits and Demerits of Wooden
Sleepers

• Connection of foot of the rail with the

sleeper is simple.
• Easy to handle.
• Can be obtained in any size
• Wooden sleepers have good vibration
absorbing capacity.
• In case of derailment the damage to
wooden sleeper is less.
69
Merits and Demerits of Wooden
Sleepers

• Scrap value is negligible.

• They are easily liable to attack by weather

and vermin, hence their life is less.

• Susceptible to fire.

70
 Steel Sleepers
• Steel sleepers are in the form of
shallow inverted trough/channel with
special fittings to hold the foot of the
rail with sleepers.
• The ends of the sleepers are bent
down to prevent / stop the ballast
from running out.
• Pressed up lugs/jaws are provided to
hold the rail in position. 71
72
STEEL TROUGH SLEEPERS 73
STEEL SLEEPERS WITH LOOSE
JAWS

74
 STEEL SLEEPERS WITH
PRESSED UP LUGS & KEYS

75
 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Steel Sleepers
• Connection of the foot of the rail with the sleeper
is more stronger.
• Steel sleeper keep better alignment of the track.
• Maintenance is less.
• It gives better lateral rigidity.
• Life is longer. Service life is about 50 years.
• It gets easily corroded so it should not be used
in moist climates.

76
 Cast Iron Sleepers

• Cast iron sleepers are in the form of pots / plates

connected by means of tie bars.
• The pots or bowls and the plates are fixed, one
under each rail and they are held together with
the tie bar.
• The pots are either circular or oval shaped, the
larger diameter being 2’ and smaller diameter
being 1’-8”.
• The oval shape is better than the round shape
particularly at rail joints where closer spacing is
required.

77
CAST IRON POT SLEEPERS

78
 Cast Iron Sleepers
• Tie bars either extend to the outer edges of the
pots or plates or end a little beyond the rail seat.

• Long tie bars are preferable as they counteract

the tendency of the pot to tilt inward under load.

• Tie bars are fixed to the pots with various

fittings.

• Plate sleepers consist of rectangular plates with

projecting ribs under the plates for lateral
stability.
• The plates are held in position with tie bars. 79
Cast Iron Plate Type

Tie Bars
80
Advantages and Disadvantages

• Cast Iron sleepers possess considerable

scrap value.
• Cast Iron sleeper requires a number of
fitting than any other type of sleeper and
these are liable to break if not handled
carefully.
• Since Cast Iron is brittle material, damage
is substantial in case of derailment.
81
 Concrete Sleeper

• Through Reinforced Concrete Sleeper

• Composite Block and Tie Sleeper
• Prestressed Concrete Sleeper

82
Concrete Sleeper

83
 Advantages of Concrete Sleepers

• They have longer life, useful life is 40-50 years

• Weight about 3 times heavier than wooden
sleeper.
• Concrete sleepers provide more stability to
track.
• No corrosion and no decay.
• Concrete sleepers are better for the alignment of
track.
• Maintenance is less and easy to manufacture. 84
SLEEPER DENSITY
• Sleeper density is a number indicating
number of sleepers per rail length on a
track.
It is expressed as
• m + x (Metric system)
m = length of rail in meter
x = number of sleepers more than ‘m’
• n + x (FPS system)
n = No. of yards per rail length
x = number of sleepers more than ‘n’ 85
Sleeper Density (Cont’d)
• Let a rail is ‘n’ yards long and sleepers are
provided after every yard, then
Sleeper Density = n/1 = n
• If the sleepers are spaced closer than one
yard, then
Sleeper Density = n + x
where n = No. of yard in one rail length
x = No. of sleepers more than ‘n’
86
 Sleeper Density (Cont’d)
• Maximum length of one rail = 42 ft. (12.8 m)
• Suppose there are 17 sleepers in a 42 ft. rail
length. It means
Sleeper Density = (42/3) + 3 = 14 + 3 = n + 3
• If length of the rail is 36 ft. and 17 sleepers
are provided. It means
Sleeper Density = (36/3) + 5 = 12 + 5 = n + 5

87
 Sleeper Density (Cont’d)
• Maximum length of one rail = 13 m
• Suppose there are 17 sleepers in a 13 m rail
length. It means
Sleeper Density = 13 + 4 = m + 4
• If length of the rail is 11m and 17 sleepers
are provided. It means
Sleeper Density = 11 + 6 = m + 6

88
 Sleeper Density (Cont’d)
• First two or three sleepers close to the joint will
have to be placed at closer spacing because high
stresses are induced at the joint and they are
equally spaced afterwards.
• The stiffness of a track is increased by using
heavy rails or by increasing the number of
sleepers. Adoption of one or other of the methods
depends on the comparative costs of rails and
sleepers.
• In Pakistan, sleeper density varies from ‘n + 3’ to
‘n + 6’ 89
Sleeper Density (Cont’d)
• Depends upon
– Axle load
– Speed
– Lateral thrust of locomotives
– Type of rail section
– Nature of ballast
– Type and length of sleepers
– Nature of formation

90
Spacing between Sleepers

91
92
 Depth of Ballast Section
• For sake of simplicity the load dispersal
may be assumed as 45° to the vertical.
• The depth of the ballast should be such
that the dispersion line do not over lap.
• For even distribution the following formula
is used.

Sleeper spacing = width of sleeper +

2 x depth of ballast
93
 SLEEPER SPACING

25 cm 40 cm 25 cm

13 cm
DEPTH OF
20 cm = BALLAST
SECTION

Sleeper spacing = width of sleeper +

2 x depth of ballast
94