M.

GRDAMAND MOHAMMED
grdamand_etc@yahoo.co.uk

Lecture 7
Summery of Lecture 6
 WHEEL / RAIL CONTACT
1. Rails
2. Contacts Stresses
3. Heat generated by braking

 RAIL FRACTURE
1. Fracture mechanics
2. Cracking Mechanism in Rails
3. Crack Detection
 FASTENING SYSTEMS
 SLEEPERS
2
Lecture Contents

 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

 ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS

3
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry

• Switches and crossings inevitably mean a more severe

geometry than on ‘plain line’.

• However, they vary greatly and are designed to be used with a

variety of different speed limits.

• Each has to be separately designed for its own particular

location, i.e. combination of horizontal and vertical geometry.

• For example, a switch may have to cope with the fact that the
through line is on a cant.

4
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Cross-over; straight track
This is about as simple as it gets usually just 2 circular arcs
Switch
Crossing

Switches
For slow speed turn-outs, the curves can be circular arcs without any
transition; for higher speed, they would have to include a transition.

A crossing is simply where one track crosses another without the opportunity
to join it. 5
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Double turn-out from straight track

Turn-out

Diamond Crossing

Turn-out

• Another very common arrangement

• Notice the diamond crossing

6
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Switch details

Crossing
Stock rails

Switch rails

7
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Switch details

Switch gear

8
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Switch details

Stretcher
bars
Low friction
supports
Switch gear

9
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Switch details

Switch Stock
Gear rail

Switch
Switch blades
point Heels
(or tongues)

Stretcher bars

10
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Crossing details

Wing rails
Nose
Simple
design; low
speed

11
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Crossing details

High
manganese
steel ‘frog’
Check rails

Suitable for higher

speeds and
tonnages

12
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Crossing details

Welded
connections can be
a little tricky

13
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

1. General Geometry
Crossing details
Check rail, preventing any
danger of derailment

There is often an area of

raised steel here, giving
support to the wheel flange Nose

14
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

2. Installation
Time on site and also ensures a better alignment. Once in
position, the rails are welded or jointed to the adjacent track,
the track is ballasted, accurately levelled and is then ready for
use.

Put it all
together in
the yard

15
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

2. Installation

Transport to
site in sections

Weld it all up
quickly when
you get to site
– time is
money

16
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

2. Installation

Double cross-over

Notice the
continuous
check rail due
to the tight
radius

17
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS
3. Special Considerations
Because rail alignments have to intersect at a switch or
crossing, and because the flange of the wheel has to be
able to pass adjacent to one rail but through the line of
another, there are gaps at certain locations.

Diamond Crossing

Check Rails

18
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS
3. Special Considerations
Gaps mean impact forces from the wheel as it crosses. Impact
forces can be many times higher than normal. The result is
rapid deformation of the steel in the rail head.

Solutions:
a. Use rather expensive hardened steel (high manganese steel)
b. Design detailed shape very carefully to minimise forces
c. Allows flange running
d. Use swing nose crossing

19
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

Swing-nosed crossings

Swing Nose

+ Can be used for high-speed turn-outs

+ Gives continuous wheel support
- A bit expensive + gives maintenance problems

20
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS
Swing-nosed crossings

Gaps also means a break in Continuous Weld Rail

Solution: Maintain rigidity of switch or crossing by using additional steel

beneath rail level. The whole assembly can then be tensioned (if
required). 21
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS
4. S & C Combinations
Almost anything is possible – at a price.

22
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS
4. S & C Combinations

Near
Station

23
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

5. Geometric Design
• Geometry depends on the speed of anticipated use.

• For instance a gradual turn-out on a high speed line may be

designed with a transition curve in the same way as a piece
of main line track, with a limit on rate of change of
acceleration.

• More usually, on lower speed applications, circular arcs are

used with a typical limit placed on lateral acceleration of 0.8
m/s², which equates to a limiting cant deficiency of about
90mm. The radius of the arc then depends on the speed.

24
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

5. Geometric Design ~ Geometric Example

Usually keep lateral acceleration to 0.8ms-2

e.g. at 50 miles per hour ( = 22.35 m/sec):

acceleration = v2 / r  r ≥ v2 / 0.8
Radius (r) ≥ 22.352 / 0.8 = 624m

e.g. Intersecting chord theorem:

2L = 2  (2  1246)
2m L
L = 99.8m
L 2m

25
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

6. Maintenance

How do you tamp this?

How do you clean the

ballast?

• Specially designed switch and crossing tamping machines

are used.
• They have to have variable width arms to the sides in
order for the operator to be able to insert the tamping
tines in just the right place. 26
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

6. Maintenance
• Some Ballast cleaners are adjustable to enable the cutting
chain to be fed under a widened piece of track, i.e. a
switch/crossing site, but this is not common.

• More usually, life expired ballast has to be excavated after

removal of the rails and sleepers, which is a long and
therefore costly process.

• Vacuum extraction of ballast is technically possible whilst

leaving the track in place, but is not yet widely used.

27
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

6. Maintenance
• However, it is very difficult to maintain track quality at
the same level as on plain line because of the physical
difficulty of ensuring that all rails are lifted to their
correct alignment.
• It is also common to find that ballast doesn’t get cleaned
or replaced at switch/crossing locations, which inevitably
means that trackbed stiffness deteriorates, placing ever
greater stress on all track components.

28
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

6. Maintenance
S & C tamper
You can also get
S & C grinders
…… and S & C
ballast cleaners
But it is slow,
expensive and
difficult to do
well
Basically, switches and crossings are an expensive nuisance but
absolutely vital to the operation of a railway. There are particular
problems in relation to rigid trackbed (next section) – it all gets
very complicated indeed! 29
SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

Maintenance
Liquid polymer
XiTrack Poured into the
ballast
Sets to form a
reinforcing net
Prevents ballast
deformation.
Very expensive
The ballast must
have enough voids
30
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

New Ideas

XiTrack

There are also

ballast glues that can
be spayed on, and
foaming polymer
products that react
with water and the
set.

31
 SWITCHES & CROSSINGS

Maintenance

XiTrack

32
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS

33
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
1. General Issues
The problem:

Traditional ballasted track has certain advantages:

It is cheap (relatively)
It is quick to install
It is easy to repair when necessary

But it also has disadvantages:

It needs repairing often
Access is required to the track (down time)
The ride quality becomes uneven over time

34
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
1. General Issues
For a lightly trafficked low speed line, the traditional structure
is the obvious choice.

Access for maintenance is not a problem; the loads are not

excessive so damage is not excessively fast; ride quality
problems do not feel too bad at low speed.
Problems arise when:
High speeds are reached, needing high ride quality
Traffic frequency is high, less maintenance time
Loads are high

Many countries have therefore tried out different track forms.

35
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:

Ballast
surround

Reinforced
concrete beam

Connecting
ties
• This sort of track form has been trialled in Japan. The
concrete beams are typically precast and prestressed, with
joints. 36
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:
Say P = 10T/wheel

e.g. Rail: E1 = 210GPa; I1 = 3000cm4

Concrete beams: E2 = 30GPa; I2 = 80000cm4
Pads: kp = 50kN/mm; spacing = 0.6m

Modulus of subgrade reaction: ks = 60MN/m/m

(per beam)
37
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:
P = 98.1kN/wheel

-1.7 -0.4 7.5 25.0 39.7 25.0 7.5 -0.4 -1.7 kN

Stage 1: Single rail = beam; Pads = elastic foundation

 k = 50kN/mm / 0.6m = 83.3MN/m/m
y = (P  / 2 k) e -x [sin x + cos x]
where:  = (k / 4EI) 0.25
Therefore:  = 1.348m-1 P  / 2 k = 0.794mm
38
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:
P = 98.1kN/wheel

-1.7 -0.4 7.5 25.0 39.7 25.0 7.5 -0.4 -1.7 kN

0.06 0.18 0.37 0.56 0.64 0.56 0.37 0.18 0.06 mm
38.4kN/m
Stage 2: Concrete = beam; Ground = elastic foundation
y = (P  / 2 k) e -x [sin x + cos x]
where:  = (k / 4EI) 0.25

Therefore:  = 0.889m-1 P  / 2 k = 7.41 10-3mm/kN

Add up the effects from each pad
39
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:

• Since maximum deflection is

proportional to λ, the ladder
track deflects a little less.
• Therefore the reaction force
per metre of track is a little
less.
The bearing areas are about the
same in the two cases,
therefore the stress under the
ladder track is a little less than
under the sleepers.
40
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
2. Ladder track:

Plus the settlement is constrained to occur in a more uniform

manner.
Result: much less frequent maintenance.
Problem: maintenance is still needed; therefore need adapted
stone blower/tamper.

41
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper: (The Rheda 2000 system)
This is a fairly simple concept. Sleepers are positioned accurately
to line and level and a concrete slab is then poured around them.

Result: very strong track; low stresses to

support; very small settlements; negligible
differential settlement.

Problem: expensive (a lot of concrete); if

repair needed it is not easy.
42
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper:

Concrete slab
Twin-block sleepers
surround
+ reinforcement

Cement bound base

Sub-base

The Rheda 2000 system

43
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper:

Place the
sleepers
approximately

Slip-form the
cement bound
base
The Rheda 2000 system
44
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper:
Fix the rails

Raise the assembly above

the base slab to a precise
line and level
45
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper:

Fix the
reinforcement
steel

Pour the concrete slab

around everything

46
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
3. Cast-in Sleeper:

The Rheda 2000 system

Carry out final

fine adjustments
to the fixings
Tolerance is
typically ± 1mm

47
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
i. Booted Sleeper:

Sleepers located into

top of concrete slab

Reinforced
concrete
slab

Rubber/
Cement bound base polymer ‘boot’
on base of
sleeper48
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
i. Booted Sleeper:

The rubber pads are designed to give

just the right amount of resilience to
the system. They play a key role in
noise reduction.
Result:a smooth ride, not excessively
noisy, very little settlement or
differential settlement.
Problem: the sleeper can work loose,
especially if water gets in.

49
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
i. Booted Sleeper:

An alternative form

50
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS

ii. Baseplate directly on

the slab:

The Alstom system

The sleeper is replaced

by a baseplate
embedded directly into
the wet concrete – ideal
for tram systems
51
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
ii. Baseplate directly on the slab:
a. It demands a very high level of accuracy in forming the base
slab.
b. If the rail seats can be positioned accurately enough during
the forming of the slab.
c. Then this cuts down on the number of construction
processes required.
d. This cannot be achieved by conventional slip-form paving.
e. Therefore it is necessary either to insert the rail baseplates
into the wet concrete immediately
f. Afterwards using a high precision technique or to grind the
concrete down to exactly the right level before grouting in
the baseplate fixings.
52
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
ii. Baseplate directly on the slab:

Grind concrete
to a precise
level and then
grout in
Slip-formed concrete slab baseplate

No pictures; too many difficulties  too expensive

Trialled in Germany, so it could work

53
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
iii. Embedded Rail:

Edilon System, Netherlands

Corkelast is the magic ingredient

Slip-formed concrete slab

54
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
iii. Embedded Rail:
• This system has been piloted by the Dutch although many
light rapid transit systems make use of the same sort of
thing.
• The rail is set into a recess in the base slab and usually
surrounded by a tough durable resilient but pourable
material such as a resin.
• This leaves the rail at the same level as the concrete and the
system is therefore ideal for use in situations where road
traffic has to cross the track.

55
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS

iv. Embedded Rail:

Balfour Beatty System, UK

Completely different rail shape

56
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
Result: Excellent rail support, therefore rail depth can be
reduced; minimum overall thickness of track structure.
Problems: Most problems come from the rail surround material.
The rail can work loose or the degree of resilience can be slightly
incorrect.
Slip-formed slab

Heavy reinforcement
57
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
v. Floating Slab:

Rails
Precast panel
Fixings

Base slab Cement/asphalt mortar

Japanese Shinkansen system

Resilience comes from

whatever is between the
precast slab and its support
58
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
v. Floating Slab:
• Precast slabs, 5m long, 180mm thick, support the rails.
• These are laid on a thin asphalt layer (providing resilience),
over a thicker concrete base slab.
• Circular upstands ensure that the precast slabs remain in
position.

Result: A thick expensive railway which lasts a long time

(proven experience)

Problems: Most problems have been in the asphalt layer,

which has to be formed by pouring it through holes in
the precast slabs.
59
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
v. Floating Slab:

Japanese Shinkansen system

60
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
v. Floating Slab:

Other precast systems:

61
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
vi. Asphalt Base:

Basically just build a

road and stick a
railway on it:

62
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
vi. Asphalt Base:
It is quite possible to construct an asphalt base railway in the
same way as a road, but to install sleepers into accurately
milled grooves in the surface of the asphalt. This sort of system
is in use on several lines in Germany.

Result: A railway which needs only conventional technology

to construct and which will only deteriorate slowly.

Problems: Asphalt can deform. It therefore tends not to hold

the sleeper well. However, it can also be repaired
more easily than concrete.

63
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
vi. Asphalt Base:

Shape formed
by special
paver screed
to key sleepers
into place

64
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
vii. Summery
The key issues are all related to
whole life cost.
Basically, the more you pay, the
less maintenance you will have to
do and the better the ride quality is
likely to be.
Both of these factors will improve
the revenue of the railway as well
as saving on direct maintenance
costs.
The question is ‘is the investment
worth it?’
65
ALTERNATIVE TRACK FORMS
Also, on an existing railway, how can any of these designs be
constructed? This is a big issue in the world. One possibility is
to use precast concrete units which can be laid over short
sections in short time periods (illustrated conceptually above).

66