construction of a railway track and

railway station
 RAILWAY TRACK
Track is the base upon which the railway runs. To
give a train a good ride, the track alignment must
be set to within a millimeter of the design. Track
design and construction is part of a complex and
multi-disciplinary engineering science involving
earthworks, steelwork, timber and suspension
systems the infrastructure of the railway.
 Modern Track forms

• There are now a range of modern track forms using a concrete

base. They are generally used in special locations such as
tunnels or bridges where a rigid base is required to ensure track
stability in relation to the surrounding structures. This type of
track, usually called "slab track" or "non-ballasted" track
 Ballasted vs Non-Ballasted Track

• The basic argument for different track designs will be based on the
bottom line cost; cost of installation and cost of maintenance. There
are however, other issues such as environment noise, dust and
vibration or engineering issues such as space, location, climate and the
type of service intended for the track.
• There are a wide variety of track forms and systems incorporating
some form of concrete base or support which doesn't need
ballast. Almost all of these require less depth of construction than
ballasted track. However, the accuracy of installation must be higher
than that needed for ballasted track. Slab track will not be adjusted
after installation but ballast can be packed to align track as required.
 Elements of railway track

Railway track consists of the following elements:

(1) Sub-structure
Track is the most obvious part of a railway rout but there is a
sub-structure supporting the track which is equally as important
in ensuring a safe and comfortable ride for the train and its
passengers. This part of the road consists of two main elements,
Formation
Ballast
 Elements of railway track

Formation:
The formation is the ground upon which the track will be
laid. It can be the natural ground level or "grade" or it can
be an embankment or cutting. It is important that the
formation is made of the right materials and is properly
compacted to carry the loads of passing trains. It provides
a smooth and uniform bed on which the track is laid.
 Elements of railway track

Ballast:
The track itself is supported on "ballast", made up of stones
usually granite, basalt below which is a layer of sand, which
separates it from the formation. Ballast is provided to give
support, load transfer and drainage to the track and there by
keep water away from the rails and sleepers. Ballast must
support the weight of the track and the considerable cyclic
loading of passing trains. Ballast is made up of stones of
granite. Ballast will be laid to a depth of 9 to 12 inches .
 Elements of railway track

2- Sleepers:
Traditionally, sleepers (known as ties in the US) are
wooden are used transverse support for a railway to give
stiffness to it. They can be softwood or hardwood. Most in
the UK are softwood, although London Underground uses
a hardwood called Jarrah wood
Elements of railway track
 Types of sleepers

Depending upon the material used for their manufacture, the

sleepers can be divided into the following categories

• Wooden sleepers
• Steel sleepers
• Cast iron sleepers
• Concrete sleepers
 Types of sleepers

 wooden sleepers:
Advantages:
 Wooden sleepers are the ideal type of sleeper. Hence they
are universally used.They can be softwood or hardwood.
They are easy to cut and drill and used to be cheap and
plentiful. They absorb shocks and vibrations better than
other types of sleepers.
 Wooden sleepers

Disadvantages:
They are easily liable to attack by vermin and
weather. Hence their life is lesser than other type of
sleepers and also susceptible to fire.
Their maintenance cost is highest in comparison to other
type of sleepers.Their useful life is short about 12 to 15
years.
 Concrete sleepers

• Concrete is the most popular of the new types . Concrete

sleepers are much heavier than wooden ones, so they resist
movement better. They work well under most conditions
but there are some railways which have found that they do
not perform well under the loads of heavy haul freight
trains. They offer less flexibility and are alleged to crack
more easily under heavy loads with stiff ballast. They also
have the disadvantage that they cannot be cut to size for
turnouts and special trackwork.
 Steel sleepers

Steel sleepers are also now used on more lightly used

roads, but they are regarded as suitable only where speeds
are 100 mi/h or less.it is more durable than other types of
sleepers and its life peried about 35-40 years. It is not
susceptible to vermin attack and fire and also easily
manufectureable.But there are also demarits,such as It is
liable to corrosion and Fittings required are greater in
number.
What is Ballast

Railway Ballast is the foundation of railway track and

provide just below the sleepers. The loads from the
wheels of trains ultimately come on the ballast through
rails and sleepers.
Some of the important functions of railway ballast
are:

To provide firm and level bed for the sleepers to rest

on

To allow for maintaining correct track level without

disturbing the rail road bed

To drain off the water quickly and to keep the

sleepers in dry conditions

To discourage the growth of vegetation

To protect the surface of formation and to form an
elastic bed
To hold the sleepers in position during the
passage of trains.
To transmit and distribute the loads from the
sleepers to the formation.
To provide lateral stability to the track as a
whole
Requirements for Ideal Ballast
The ideal material for ballast should fulfill the foll
requirements
1.It should be possible to maintain the required d
of the material in order to distribute the load of
passing train on the formation ground
2.The material to be used for ballast should not b
rigid but it should be elastic in nature
3.The material for ballast should be of such natur
it grips the sleepers in position and prevent their
horizontal movement during passage of train
4.It should not allow the rain water to accumulate
should be able to drain off the water immediately
without percolating
5.It should be strong enough a resistance to abra
Requirements for Ideal Ballast
The ideal material for ballast should fulfill the foll
requirements
1.It should be possible to maintain the required d
of the material in order to distribute the load of
passing train on the formation ground
2.The material to be used for ballast should not b
rigid but it should be elastic in nature
3.The material for ballast should be of such natur
it grips the sleepers in position and prevent their
horizontal movement during passage of train
4.It should not allow the rain water to accumulate
should be able to drain off the water immediately
without percolating
5.It should be strong enough a resistance to abra
Materials for Ballast

The following materials are used for

ballast on the railway track.
1.Broken Stone
2.Gravel
3.Cinders / Ashes
4.Sand
5.Kankar
6.Moorum
7.Brick Ballast
8.Selected Earth
Soil Stabilization and Railway Track
Sometimes it becomes unavoidable to lay tracks on a very
poor (or undesirable) soil. In such cases it becomes necessary
to improve and strengthen the nature of soil by some suitable
methods. Under such circumstances, the following methods
are used.

1.Layer of Moorum
2.Cement Grouting
3.Sand Piles
4.Use of Chemicals
1. Layer of Moorum

This method is widely used and is adopted if a

poor quality soil comes across a track such as
black cotton soil which is a fine black loomy soil.
This soil has the tendency of expanding (or
swelling) when moist and of caking and cracking
heavily when dry.
Tracks laid on formation of maintain. In rainy
season, the soil fills up ballast interest less, the
track in the worst places gets sodden and
spongy track is reduced. In hot weather, the
cracks are formed and the ballast is lost in filling
up these cracks.
1. Layer of Moorum

Thus, the alignment as well as level is disturbed

and with mud filling the interstices, the track
loses. Its resiliency, therefore, for these very
reasons, a layer of moorum varying in thickness
from 12" to 24" is laid under the ballast. This
layer distributes the pressure of the load and
prevents the ballast from being lost in the cracks
of the soil.
Instead of moorum, other materials such as
ashes, concrete, slabs, rubber, unserviceable
sleepers etc are also used and are found quite
satisfactorily.
2. Cement Grouting

In this method, steel tubes of 1 1/4 " in

diameter and 5ft long are driven into the
formation at every alternate sleeper and near
their ends as shown in figure. The tubes are
driven into the foundation at an angle such
that the end of tube is nearly under the rail.
The cement grout is forced under a pressure of
100 psi through these tubes. The proportion of
cement grout depends on the type and
condition of formation. The concert grout
spreads through the poor soil and consolidates
it. The steel tubes are then gradually taken
3. Sand Piles

This method of strengthening the track laid

on poor is most widely used in development
countries like America. In this method, a
vertical bore about 12" diameter is made in
the ground by driving a wooden pile. The
wooden pile is then withdrawn and the space
is filled with sand and is well rammed. The
sand piles are driven in the pattern as shown.
It is also arranged that cross sectional area of
the sand piles is about 20% of the formation
area. Thus, the top section of the formation is
covered with sand which makes the track
stable on poor soil.
4.Use of Chemicals

In this method, chemicals are used in place of

cement grout to consolidate the soil. For
example, silicate of soda followed by calcium
chloride is effective for sandy soils containing
less than 25% of silt and clay.