TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING-I :

(CE-341)
Lecture: 04

Permanent Way (COMPONENT),

ALIGNMENT

Prof. Dr. Mahmood Omar Imam

Department of Civil Engineering, CUET
[email protected]
Permanent Way (COMPONENT)
Permanent way = The finished or completed track of a
railway line/track
Typical components
– Rails
– Sleepers (or ties)
– Fasteners
– Ballast (or slab track) A typical twin track
– Subgrade Rails
Sleepers
Fasteners
Ballast

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Permanent Way (COMPONENT)
Rails: Provide a continuous and level surface for train
movement, provide lateral guidance to the train wheels, bear
the wheel load
Sleepers (ties): Hold rails in correct alignment and spacing
(Gauge length), provide firm and even support to rails and
transfer load to a wider area of the ballast
Fasteners: Fix rails to sleepers
Ballast: Transfer and distribute loads to the subgrade, help
drainage
Improved Subgrade: Transfers and distributes loads to soil
(stabilized) layer
Rails are fixed with each other by means of various rail fastening and they
rest on sleepers. The sleepers in turn rest on ballast which is spread over the
formation ground prepared for the railway track.
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Permanent Way (COMPONENT)

Source: http://www.railway Technical.com/track.shtml

High speed rail, Japan: Mats have been High Speed Rail, China: Ballastless tracks
Added to stabilize the ballast

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Rails
 Similar to steel girders
 Functions
– Provide a smooth surface for movement of train
– Provides lateral guidance to wheels
– Bear stresses developed due to
Vertical & Lateral load
Acceleration and deceleration actions
Braking and thermal forces
 Transmit wheel loads to wider area of sleeper & Consequently to reduce
pressure on ballast and formation

Head
Web
Base (Foot)
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Requirements of an Ideal Rail
Most economic section consistent with strength, stiffness and durability
– Balanced distribution of materials
Center of gravity should be close to mid-height
• – Maximum tensile and compressive stresses are equal
Double headed (DH) H-68.66x46, W-16.27x66 & F-64x33
– Symmetric 1)Equal thickness of web and base
2)Reversible
Bull headed (BH) H-70x44, W-19x64 & F-70x44
– Thicker head 1)Better withstand the higher wear and tear at top
2)Sits on “chairs”
Flat footed/ Vignole rail (FF) H-66.68x43.66, W-13.89x78.58 & F-136.53x2.64
– Wider base 1)Increases lateral stability and spreads load to wider area
of sleeper
2)Connected with “spikes”

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

BH Rail & FF Rail
Bull Head Rail-Disadvantages
– Because of chairs, requires more maintenance
and inspection than flat-footed
 BH rail is held in chairs by a wedge/key.
The wedge is hammered into position so
that any movement of the rail will force
the wedge in tighter. The chair is bolted to the sleeper.
Flat Footed Rail-Advantages
– No chairs required and connected to sleepers
directly with spikes. Requires less maintenance
and inspection than BH
– Higher lateral and vertical stiffness
 Less liable to develop kinks
– Distributes load to a wider area
 Increased stability, longer life of rail and sleepers

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Methods to Reduce Wear & Check Rails
 Better maintenance of track
 Reduction of number of joints
 Use of heavier rails and special steel alloys
 Lubricating the gauge face of the outer rail in curves
 Providing check rails in sharp curves
 Interchanging inner and outer rails
 Coning of wheels and tilting of rails

Check Rails
i) Outer wheel covers longer distance (pq>rs)
ii) Wheels are connected with rigid connections (pr=qs)
iii) Inner wheel tends to slip over inner rail causing
wear of head of inner side of inner rail

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Check Rails
 Rails parallel to the inner rail on sharp
curves to prevent the wheel flange from
mounting the outer rail
 Functions
– Prevents derailment Check Rail
– Reduces lateral wear on the outer rail and
 Generally worn out rails used as check rails
Coning of Wheels
• If the wheels have flat flanges they
will easily slide
• – The flanges of wheels are therefore
never made flat
• They are made in the shape of a cone
with a slope of about 1 in 20
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Coning & Tilting of Rail
Advantages
– Helps in negotiation of curves
2𝜋𝜃
• Displacement/slip = 𝐺, 𝜃 = angle at center of curve in degree
360
G= gauge of rail
– Provides a smoother ride
– Reduces wear and tear
Disadvantage
– Causes stress concentration at contact point between wheel and rail
Tilting of Rail

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Causes of Rail Failure & Rail Flaw Detection
• Inherent defects
• Defects due to fault of rolling stock and abnormal traffic
• Excessive corrosion
• Badly maintained joints
• Defects in welded joints
• Improper maintenance
• Derailments
Rail Flaw Detection
Visual examination
– Joint opened
– Cleaned using kerosene
– Examined with magnifying glass and white chalk
Ultrasonic detectors
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Length of Rail & Welding of Rails
The main advantage of a longer rail is that it eliminates joints which are the
weakest part of the track.
o Length of rail which can be manufactured at a reasonable cost is adopted
o Rail may be carried in the largest wagon available
o Facilities available for lifting or handling the rail
o Theoretical expansion (0.000012/0C) is not possible because fittings which
hold the rails to the sleepers prevent large movement
Welding of Rails
Purposes
o To join two rails and thus increase the length of rails
o To repair the worn out or damaged rail and thus increase life
o To buildup the damaged components of points & crossing
Method of welding
1) Electric arc welding 2) Oxy-acetylene welding (Cutting) 3) Chemical or thermal
welding 4) Flash-butt welding ( applied 37t pressure in fusion temp.)
[Aluminium + iron-oxide with ignited Fe2O3 + 2Al = AL2O3 + 2Fe + 848 calories
of heat/gram of iron-oxide]

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Gauge of Railway
 Gauge = Clear distance between inner faces of two track rails
o Measured at a certain vertical distance
below the rail table (upper surface)
− e.g. Europe: 14mm below, Japan 16mm below.
Types of Gauges
 Broad gauge: 1.524m- 1.676m (5’ 0’’ -5’ 6”)
 Standard gauge: 1.435m-1.451m (4’ 8.5’’ -4’ 9.125”)
 Meter gauge: 1m- 1.067m (3’ 3.375’’ -3’ 6”)
 Narrow gauge: 0.610m-0.762m (2’ 0’’ -2’ 6”)
Gauges in Bangladesh
 Total 2,855 route kilometres (2004-2005)
– East Zone: 1,277 route km of MG track only
– West Zone: 553 route km of MG ,
660 route km of BG
365 route km of DG track (Dual Gauge)
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Choice of Gauge
 Cost considerations
– Proportional increase in cost of land acquisition, earthwork,
sleepers, ballast for a wider gauge
– Marginal increase in construction cost of bridge, culvert,
tunnels etc. for a wider gauge
– No change in cost of rolling stock (for carrying same volume
of traffic), stations, platforms, etc.
 Traffic considerations
– Wider gauge ->Larger wagons->More traffic
– Wider gauge ->Larger wheels-> Higher speed ->More traffic
 Geographical considerations
– Mountainous terrain -> Sharper curves-> Narrow gauge
 Uniformity
– Consistency with existing track
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Reason for non-uniformity
 In most countries tracks were initially laid with only local development in
mind
– Budget limitations very often led to meter/narrow gauge
– Inconsistency and non-uniformity when tracks were connected
Problems associated with non-uniformity
o Difficulties to passengers
o Difficulties of freight shipment
o Inefficient use of rolling stock
o Additional facilities at stations and yards
– Yard= Facilities for maintenance of trains
o Ineffectiveness in emergency situation
Dual-gauge Tracks
 A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains
of different gauges to use the same track. Generally dual-gauge railway
consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer
rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail
give a narrower gauge. Thus one of the three rails is common to all traffic.

Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam

Factors Affecting Selection of an Alignment
 1. Gauge of railway
– Dictates permissible curvature
 2. Obligatory or control points
– Important cities and towns (intercity), important growth centers (urban)
– Major bridges
– Existing passes or saddles
– Avoid: monuments, religious buildings
 3. Topography
– Plane
– Valley
– Mountain
Zigzag
Switch back
Spiral
 4. Geometric standards
– Gradients and curves
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam
Factors Affecting Selection of an Alignment
 5. Geological considerations
– Stable soil
 6. Flood and climate
– Sandy/snowy: Away from wind direction
 7. Roads and crossings
– Right angle
 8. Labor and material
 9. Station and yards
 10.Political
– Away from borders
 11. Economic
– Construction, Operation, Maintenance
– Maximize annual return= (R-E)/I
R= revenue, E=expenses, I =Investment
Prof. Mahmood Omar Imam