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 Till the introduction of Railways in 19th century, India was a

country extremely poor communication and without a well
developed system of transport.
 First railway line introduced between Chennai and Bangalore.
 But it did not materialize.
 Later in 1853, first railway line was introduced between
Bombay and Thane.
 Indian Railways play a major role in promoting economic and
industrial activities.

RAILWAY PLANNING

 Importance of Indian railway in National Development can be

classified under following heads
 Political

 Social

 Economic

 Techno- Economic

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 Land values have increased due to industrial development

which ultimately result in the increase of national wealth.
 United the people of different castes, religious
customs and traditions.  Price stabilization of commodities could be possible due to
easy mobility of products.
 Adequate network of railways have made the
central administration easy and effective.  Commercial farming is very much helpful throughout the
country.
 During emergencies significant role in
mobilizing troops and war equipment.
 Helpful in mass migration of population.

 Feeling of isolation has been removed from inhabitants of

 Cost saving in transportation of long haul bulk traffic.
Indian Villages.
 Energy efficiency (Railways consume one-seventh of fuel
 Traveling together in compartment without any restriction of
used by road sector)
caste and feeling of caste difference has disappeared
considerably.  Environment friendliness.
 Social outlook of masses has been broadened through railway  Higher safety (fatal accidents one-tenth of road sector in
journeys. India).
 Easier to reach places of religious importance.  Efficient land use and ease in capacity expansion.
 Provide a convenient and safe mode of transport for the
country.

 Mobility of people has increased and congestion has been

reduced in many congested areas. ALIGNMENT
 Mobility of labor has contributed to industrial development. It is defined as the layout of centre line of
 During famines, railways have played the vital role in the railway track. It may be horizontal or vertical.
transporting food and clothing to the affected areas.
 Transportation of raw materials enhanced the growth of REQUIREMENTS OF IDEAL ALIGNMENT
industries.  Economic
 Speedy distribution of finished products.  Short and Safe
 Provides employment to millions of people and helps in  Easy for construction, operation and
maintenance
solving unemployment.

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b) Shortest width and permanent path of rivers:

- Cross drainage construction is cost effective.
FACTORS CONTROLLING ALIGNMENT
- So bridges across water bodies should be made
a) Obligatory points
minimum.
b) Traffic Potential
- Also bridges should be constructed where a river has
c) Geometric design standards
shortest width and permanent path.
d) Topography
- Also location should have suitable soil for foundation.
e) Economic Viability
- Skew bridges should be avoided.
f) Techno- Economic Characteristics

g) Other Considerations.
c) Hill pass or saddle:
- Necessary to cross hill ranges and hill ridges.
- Cut tunnel across or go around the hills.

OBLIGATORY POINTS
- Control points which govern the alignment of railway
tracks. Obligatory points alignment should not pass:
- The obligatory points which alignment has to - Conservation elements such as parks, forests, tanks and
necessarily pass through are heritage sites.
a) Important towns and cities. - Religious places.
b) Shortest width and permanent path of river - Marshy land and water logged areas.
c) Hill passes

a)Important towns and Cities:

- The principal objective of a new railway line is to
cater to travel demands of passengers and goods. Note: Diagrams of obligatory points
refer book

- Vehicles in any corridor should carry as much volume

of passengers and goods as possible to make it
economically viable.
- Towns and cities are generating and attracting points of
traffic.
- So alignment should pass through them even they are
not in straight or short path.

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Traffic Potential:
- Capacity of catchment areas to generate or attract b)Cross country alignment:
traffic. - Alignment which passes through ups and downs
- To ensure adequate demand. necessitating sag and summit curves in succession.
- Origin – Destination survey. - Uniform grade is not possible because rail levels
- 15-25 km on either side of route. are so high.
c)Mountain alignment:
- Traffic growth should also be considered.
- Gradients more than 3% or 1in 33 are termed as
mountain railways.
Geometric Design Standards: - Narrow gauge is adopted for hill railways.
- Deals with the layout of visible features of railway - To keep gradient within permissible limits, length
tracks. of track between two extreme ends of elevation is
- Geometric design elements such as radius of curvature, increased.
vertical gradient, transition curve etc..,

Topography: ECONOMIC VIABILITY:

- Character of place with reference to geometric design, - Economic consideration finally decides a particular alignment
against the other.
slope and height.
- Economic elements are capital cost, operational cost and
- Unfavorable topography result in high gradients. maintenance cost.
- Classified in to three categories - Intangible costs such as social and environmental cost may also
a) Valley alignment
be included.
b) Cross country alignment
TECHNO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS:
c) Mountain alignment - Pre investment decision investigation.
a)Valley alignment: - To make effective and efficient investment decisions.
- If two control points lie in a same valley, a straight - These are related to new lines, gauge conversion schemes etc..,
alignment is chosen between terminal points with a - Traffic growth trend is collected and traffic projections are
uniform rate of gradient. made.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
- Geological formations such as dip of strata, faults, slips
etc..,
- Proximity to source of construction materials such as
quarries and water resources.
- Political and social issues.

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ENGINEERING SURVEY FOR ALIGNMENT

 The surveys conducted to fix a best possible

alignment are
a) Traffic survey
b) Reconnaissance survey
c) Preliminary survey or Initial location
survey
d) Detailed survey or Final location survey.

 Available maps for the survey areas should be studied before

starting survey.
 Desk study helps in drawing various suitable alignment for
easy reconnaissance.
 Survey maps of India or Aerial maps are used.
 These maps show contours, topographical features and
physical land utilization like buildings, cultivation etc..,
 Tentative alignment can be draw for conducting survey in a
systematic manner.
 This process is known as map study or paper location.

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The following important maps are prepared for study
a)Topographical map:
Shows all physical features (i.e.) land, buildings,
rivers, bridges, tunnels, contours etc..,
b)Agricultural map:
Shows land, fertility value and agricultural
products.
c)Industrial map:
Shows location of industries, their nature and
further development plans.
 Data collected during different stage of survey are same.
 But degree of accuracy and depth varies.
 It is very rough in case of reconnaissance survey and
precious and in depth in case of detailed survey.
 The different data collected are
 Topographical features
 Soil characteristics.
 Geological formation- soil strata, rocky structures
and slips.
 Hydrological data-high flood and low flood levels,
rainfall etc..,
 Cross drainage structures-bridges, culverts etc..,
 Proximity to construction materials.
 To determine the potential of available traffic.
 To determine the viability of new line or branch line, to
ensure reasonable return on the investment.
 Present and future traffic potential should be considered.
 The following factors should be considered for traffic
survey
- Population census with reference to prosperity of the
people and the locality, density and distribution.
- Agricultural and industrial production along the line
should be studied. Origin and destination of such
commodities should be surveyed and analyzed.
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 Land use and character of people communities should be
studied. Natural resource and fertility of land should be
considered.
 A single prominent feature which can attract traffic such
as flourishing industries, new mines or fields should be
collected.
 Information on fairs, recreation centres, religious traffic
should be collected.
 Traffic of existing road and rail facilities available and
traffic they likely to attract should be studied.
 Position of new line and its nature and potential should
be finally estimated.
 Nature and volume of exports and imports and their
origin and destination should be studied.
 Future possibilities of development of trade centres,
industries and agriculture should be investigated.
 Station facilities should be properly located with track
alignment to get more business.
 Change in pricing of product and fright rates affects
traffic movements since purchasers may change in
habits and routing.
 Relocation of industries and population may change the
volume of traffic moving over certain track routes.
 Rough and Rapid inspection by visual and instrumental means
of various physical characteristics of the area to determine the
suitability of different alignments marked during map study.
 Two or three alignments are selected for further preliminary
survey.
The objective of reconnaissance survey are
 To acquire the knowledge of physical features such as
rivers, valleys, cultivated lands, hills etc.., for selecting
proper position of alignment.
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 To collect geological information such as nature of soil,

ground formation, dip of existing rock and hill slopes.
 To collect information regarding availability of
construction materials in the vicinity.
 To have idea of possible alternative assignments.
 To have idea about rivers if any crossing the alignment
for determining suitable bridge sites.
 To locate various control or obligatory points.
 To decide maximum gradient and curvature.
 To prepare rough estimates for different proposed
alignment.
 The objective of this survey is to determine the details
and economies of different alternative routes obtained
from reconnaissance survey.
 This should be conducted with great precision as the
final aligment is based on this survey.
 Work done in Preliminary survey :
a) A traverse survey in a belt of about 100 to 150 m
width on either side of centre line with a transit
instrument is done.

b)Tachometer – Plotting main features

Factors to be considered in reconnaissance survey are,
Chain, prismatic compass, leveling instrument – Fixing
 Survey should be done for whole influencing area of the
details
railway project.
c)Final drawings for each alignment are prepared with respect
 All possible alignments marked on the map should be
to
examined and necessary improvements can be made if
 Length of alternative routes.
necessary.
 Various possible gradients along the route.
 Intermediate points should be carefully fixed to attract
maximum traffic and more revenue. The following points  Quantity of earth work.

should be considered  Max. heights and lengths of embankments and cuttings.

 Rivers should be crossed at right angles and  River characteristics such as H.F.L, L.F.L, flow
approaches should be sound and banks are not high. direction etc..,
 Mountain passes should be able to reached without  Geological information like soil type, rocks and slips.
steep gradients or without cuttings.

 Details of existing structures like bridges, tunnels or culverts.

A tunnel may be proposed if economical.
 Details of canal crossing.
Station site location should be within 2km from
 Incase of level crossing with road, angle of crossing,
existing town or village.
longitudinal sections of road for 300m on either side of
INSTRUMENTS:
crossing and traffic intensity on road.
i. Prismatic compass- To obtain magnetic bearings
 Availability of materials, labor, drinking water facilities etc..,
ii. An Abney level – To determine the gradient or slope
 Details of various affected properties with details of owners
angles of the ground.
to help in acquisition of land.
iii. A Barometer and thermometer – To determine the
 Climatic condition of route traversed.
altitude and temperature.
d)After through study of various merits and demerits, the most
iv. Binoculars or Telescope – To inspect the distant
economical and ideal alignment is selected and plotted on the
physical features.
map.
v. Pedometer – To have rough idea of distance.

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INSTRUMENTS:
 Theodolite - Traversing
 Tachometer – Plotting main features
 Dumpy level – Drawing longitudinal section and
cross sections
 Plane table – Plotting interior details
 Prismatic compass – Magnetic bearing of routes
and main points
 The objective of final location survey is to transfer the final location
alignment from paper to the ground to carryout ground survey in
detail.
 All required data for construction of track such as levels, bench
marks, reference pillars, physical features etc.., are obtained
 The workdone in final location survey are
 The centre line of the alignment is marked by means of fixing
pegs (15 cm long @ 30 m interval and 60 cm @ every 300 m
chainages).
- All points such as change in direction, tangent point of curve and
intersection points are distinctly marked on ground.
- A number of benchmarks are established at chainage
less than 800 metres for easy checking of levels and
provide gradient.
 The centerline of waterways of culverts, starting and
ending points of bridges, the centre line of tunnel and
position of station buildings, station yards, signal cabins
etc should be clearly marked.
 The demarcating line of alignment according to land
width, station site, yards etc.., should be marked.
 Leveling is done along the alignment with the precise
levels @ 30m, cross section @ 90 m and at closer
intervals in case of steep slopes. Longitudinal and cross
leveling is done to ascertain the final gradients of
alignment.
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The following data are collected for detailed survey
a)On major bridge, cross-sections are taken at bridge
sites and at 0.8 km to 1.6 km upstream and downstream
of bridge site. In case of minor bridges, cross-sections
are taken at bridge site and at 90-150m upstream and
downstream of bridge site.
b)H.F.L and L.W.L are shown on the longitudinal
sections taken
c)Current velocities and depth of scour of river should
be measured.
d) Flood history data should be collected and drawing
for river banks with the contours is prepared.
e)The discharge of river should be determined with the
help of velocity of flow and catchment area for that
locality
f)Sub soil boring is carried out along the alignment. The
number of bore holes depend upon the length of the
bridge.
g)The properties of materials at bed and banks of river
should be recorded to assess their erosion
characteristics.
 INSTRUMENTS:
- Theodolite
- Precise or dumpy level
- Steel tape
Total survey station is being used now a days.
ENGINEERING SURVEYS THROUGH MODERN
METHODS:
- Railway planning needs precious and cost effective
methods of surveying.
- Innovative techniques like remote sensing and
advancement in hardware and software technologies
should be used.
- Modern surveying equipments such as Electronic
Distance Meter (EDM), Total Station, Global Positioning
System (GPS) and Geological Information System (GIS)
have become handy and made the work easier and
effective.
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 The modern method of surveying has two components

a) Preparation of an updated base map
b) Application of modern equipments to conduct
different surveys.
a)Preparation of an updated base map:
The conventional maps are
i. Survey of India Map
ii. Village Maps

iii. Ward/Block Maps

- Base maps village or maps are normally outdated

- Satellite Imagery or Aerial photographs will be very

helpful in such updating.

 PAN, black and white images have greater clarity of

features because of high spatial resolution.
 LISS III and multi spectral imagery facilitate better
identification of features because of high spectral
solution.
b)Application of Modern Equipments:
i)Global Positioning System(GPS):
- This instrument measures coordinates of any point
anywhere on the globe.
- This system uses set of satellites (24 nos) at 10,000km
above the earth.
- Inter-visibility between ends of survey lines is not
required to measure distances.
iii)Total Station:
- Same principle as EDM.
- Distance and angles are measured with great accuracy.
- Angle measured with least count of one second.
- Simultaneously measures both horizontal and vertical
measurements.
- Provided with software for automatic recording and
printing of measurements.
- Map can be prepared and updated in the field itself.

- All weather, day and night surveying is possible with iv)Geographical Information System (GIS):
this instrument.
- System of software and hardware.
- It is capable of measuring distances even up thousands
- Capable of storing, updating, retrieving, analyzing,
of kilometer.
manipulating and displaying data.
ii) Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM):
- Alignments are identified through technique of GIS.
- It works on the principle of time taken for
electromagnetic waves to travel between the given
origin and destination. v)Remote sensing:
- The distance is calculated by multiplying the time The data products from remote sensing are
taken by waves to travel between origin and destination  Aerial Photos.
with the velocity of waves.  Satellite imageries.
- Distance up to 5-10km with an accuracy of 1-2cm can  High resolution satellite imageries.
be measured.

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MERITS:
- Rapid process of surveying.
- Precise definition of objects at feasibility stage itself.
- Optimum resource planning.
- Acceleration construction programming.
- Consequently time and cost over kept at minimum
level.
- A comprehensive and updated map of the study area
give a synoptic view of present ground condition. This
eliminates the possibility of manual errors in recording
ground data.
- Updation of maps is simple and no fieldwork is
required.
 The combination of rails, fitted on the sleepers and resting on
ballast and subgrade is called the railway track or permanent
way.
 It is rail road on which the train runs.
 It primarily consists of two rails running parallel at specified
distance depending upon the gauge of the track.
 The name permanent way is to given to distinguish the final
layout of track from temporary track which is laid for
construction purpose.

DEMERITS:
- Interpretation of remote sensing data requires skill and
training.
- Ground profile and subsoil characteristics cant be
assessed with optical satellite and micro waves will only
produce idea of soil moisture to limited depth.
- Exact boundaries cant be demarcated on satellite
imageries.
- Procurement of such instruments are cost effective.

Permanent Way

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FUNCTIONS:
 Provide smooth surface for passage of heavy moving loads
with a minimum friction between rails and wheels.
 Bear the stresses developed due to heavy vertical loads, lateral
 Rails
and braking forces and thermal stresses.
 Sleepers
 Ballast  Rail material should give minimum wear to avoid replacement

 Formation charges and failures of rails due to wear.

 Rails transmit the loads to sleepers and consequently reduce
pressure on ballast and formation below.

REQUIREMENTS:
1. The rail section should be economical

2. Centre of gravity must lie at mid height approximately so

that max. tensile and compressive stresses are equal.

3. Balanced distribution of metal in head, wheels and foot of

rails.

4. Foot should be wide so that rails are stable against

overturning on curves

 Rails on the track are 4. The rail should provide adequate lateral and vertical
unsymmetrical I-section
steel girders for the stiffness.
purpose of carrying the
5. Tensile strength should not be <72 kg/m2 .
axle loads.
 Made of high carbon 6. The shape of the rail should be capable of providing
steel to withstand wear
and tear. resistance to wear and easy to fix fish-plates.
 Flat-footed rails are
mostly used.

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TYPES OF RAIL SECTIONS: - But it was observed that heavy train loads causes the
foot of the rail to sink in to wooden sleeper, making the
a)Double headed rails (D.H)
spikes work loose.
b)Bull headed rails (B.H)
- To resolve this, steel bearing were introduced between
c)Flat footed rails (F.F) sleeper and the rail.
- In India, flat footed rails are most commonly used.

ADVANTAGES OF F.F RAIL:

- Initial Cost

- Higher strength, stiffness and

rigidity
- No Chairs required

- Arrangements at points and

crossings
- Liability to form kinks

- Load distribution.

SELECTION OF RAIL:
A rail is designated by its weight per unit length.

- Double headed (D.H) rails of dumb-bell sections were used - Speed of train
at early periods. The rails having their head and foot of - Gauge of the track
same dimensions are known as double headed rail (D.H.).
- It is so because when the head was worn out in course of - Axle load and nature of traffic
time, the rail can be inverted and reused. - Type of rails
- But the indentations formed in lower table makes smooth
- Spacing of sleepers
running over the top surface impossible.
- Max. permissible wear on top of rail (5% by wt. of rail
is allowed)

 Heavier the rail, bigger would be the section and

- The next evolution was bull headed rails (B.H) in which head higher would be its load carrying capacity.
was made little thicker and stronger than the lower part so Weight of Rail in tones = 1
that it can withstand stresses. The rails sections having their Locomotive axle load 510
head of more dimension then that of their foot are known as
In tones
bull headed rails (B.H.).
 For a locomotive of axle load of 22.86 tones, the
- Along with B.H rails, flat footed rails or vignole’s rail was
weight of rail required will be
also developed. The rail section having their foot rolled to a
flat are known as flat footed rails. = 22.86*1000
- Initially it was thought the flat footed rails could be fixed 510
directly to sleepers eliminating the need for chains and keys = 44.8 kg
as in B.H.

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 Heavier rails are preferred than light rails because

a)More powerful locomotives with electric and diesel traction
are increasingly used by Indian Railways.
Rail fastenings are used to keep rail in proper position and
b)Easy for maintenance. to set points and crossings properly. The important fittings used
in permanent way are,
c)The cost of a rail varies with its depth but modulus of section,
a) Fish Plates
which is a measure of strength, varies as the square of depth and b) Spikes
stiffness varies as 1.5 power of depth. c) Bolts
d) Chairs
Research experiments shows that rail sections of 60kg/cm
e) Blocks
and 52kg/cm are more economical, durable and suitable than a f) Keys
45kg/cm rail section on B.G track. g) Plates

LENGTH OF RAILS:
- Rails of larger length gives more strength and economical
for a railway track.
-Weakest point of track is the joint between two rails.
- If lesser the no. of joints, lesser would be the no. of fish
plates and this would leads to lesser maintenance cost,
smooth running of train and more comfort to the passengers.
Length of rail is governed by following factors
a)Manufacturing cost should be reasonable.
b)It depends upon the transportation facilities available.
c)Limited by facilities of lifting and handling, during loading
and unloading from wagons.
d)More the length of rail, more will be the gap required for
expansion of rail due to temperature.

 On Indian Railways, the standard length are
B.G= 12.80m
M.G= 11.89m
 In U.S.A and U.K, length of 30 m is commonly used.
 To increase the length of rails, welding of rails can be done at
site to eliminate the difficulty of transportation, handling and
lifting.
 Developments of technologies and welding process, it has been
possible to introduce
 Short weld rail(SWR), Long weld rail(LWR) for length
up to 200-300m
 Continuous weld rails(CWR) up to length of 3-4 km.
FISH PLATE : Fish plates are rail fastener used to
maintain the continuity of rails and to allow expansion or
contraction of the rail.
- To maintain correct alignment of line both horizontally
and vertically.
Requirements:
- Support the underside of the rail and top of the foot.
- Free movement of rails for expansion and contraction.
So it should not touch the web of rail.
- Bear the stresses due to lateral and vertical bending
moments without getting distorted and must absorb the
shock caused by jumping of wheel over expansion gap.

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BOLTS:
- Should hold ends of rail both laterally in line and
- Used for fixing various
vertically in level. track components in
- Should be provided against the wear of fish plates due position.
to impact, expansion and contraction. Types:
Failure: a) Dog or hook bolt
- Abrasion on top of fish plate along centre half-length. b) Fish bolt

- Reversal of stresses due to large length of fish plates c) Rag bolt

resulting in to cracking along the section. d) Fang nut and bolt

- Cracking develops along the section and this may even

extend up to top or bottom of fish plate.

SPIKES:
-Holding the rails to wooden sleepers.
-Can be used with or without bearing plates.
Requirements:
-Should be strong to hold rail in position and
enough resistance against motion to retain its
original position so that it does not lead to
creep.
-As deep as possible for better holding
power.
-Easily fixed and removed.
-Cheap Types:
-Capable of maintaining the gauge. a) Dog spikes
b) Screw spikes
c) Round spikes

d) Standard spikes
e) Elastic spikes

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CHAIRS: A chair screw is a large metal screw used to fix a chair (for
bullhead rail), baseplate (for flat bottom rail) or to directly fasten a
rail. Disadvantages:
a)C.I Chairs: - Plates rattle when loose.
- For holding D.H and B.H rails. - If any hole for a spike is damaged, all the
- Fixed to sleepers by round spikes. spikes in bearing plate have to be pulled out for
b)Slide Chairs: making new hole which spoils the good hold of
-Plates of special shape on which the stock and tongue rail rest.
spikes.
- If bearing plates are loose, they admit moisture
BLOCKS:
and result in increase of mechanical wear of
- When two rails run very close as in case of check rails
sleepers.
etc.., small blocks are inserted in between the two rails and
bolted to maintain the required distance or spacing.
KEYS:
-Keys are small tapered pieces of timber or steel to fix rails
to chairs on metal sleepers.

Gauge is the clear horizontal distance between inner

faces of two rails at their top.
Standard or Broad Gauge = 1.676m
Metre gauge = 1.00m
Narrow gauge = 0.610m
= 0.762m
Selection of different gauge depends on,
 Cost of construction of track
 Traffic volume
 Type of terrain
 Speed of train

BEARING PLATES:
-Rectangular plates of mild steel or cast iron used below F.F
rails to distribute load on a large area of timber sleepers
particularly of soften variety.
Advantages:
- Distribute the load coming on rails to sleepers and thus
prevents sinking of rail in wooden sleepers.
- Prevent destruction of sleeper due to rubbing action of rail,
thus increasing the life of sleeper.
- No adzing of sleepers is required when bearing plates are
used because bearing surfaces are canted at 1 in 20.  Speed of train is a function of diameter of
- Help in firm and perfect holding of spikes to sleepers. wheel.
- Better maintenance of gauge.  Diameter of wheel is limited by gauge.
 Diameter of wheel is about 0.75 times the
gauge.
 Speed of train is proportional to gauge.

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ADVANTAGES:
 To reduce the wear and tear of the wheel flanges and
 Wheels are shaped like a cone or made as a conical segment. rails.
 This provides an outward slope of 1 in 20 to treads of wheel.  Reduces slipping and skidding of wheels.

 This sloping is known as coning of wheels.  Gives smooth riding.

 Possibility of lateral movement of axle with wheels.

CONING OF WHEELS IN CURVES:

 Coning of wheels is not of much use as the leading axle
move towards the outer rail due to centrifugal force whereas
the rear axle will move towards the inner rail and full
advantage of coning cannot be availed.
 No free lateral movement of wheels and has following
disadvantages
 Pressure on outer rails is more than inner rail leading
to wear of outer rail.
 Due to centrifugal force, the horizontal component
tend to turn the rail out and gauge has widening
tendency.
 If no base plate is used, the sleepers under the edge of
rail are damaged.

TILTING OF RAILS:
 To eliminate the above mentioned disadvantages,
“tilting of rails” is done.
 The base plates are inclined at a slope of 1 in 20
inwards.
 This is called as canting of rails.

 This helps to maintain the gauge properly and

minimize the eccentric loading at inner edge.

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 Due to coning of wheels, pressure from wheels is always
towards inner edge of rails.
 This accelerates the wearing of rails.
 To reduce the wearing, foot of the rail also tilted to a
slope of 1 in 20.
 Wooden sleepers are cut at top under rail seats.
 Cutting of wooden sleepers at a slope of 1 in 20 to
provide tilting of rails is known as adzing of sleepers.
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 Creep is defined as longitudinal movement of rails with
respect to sleepers in a track.
 Creep is common to all railway tracks. Its magnitude widely
varies from several centimeters to negligible length in a
month.
 Rails have tendency to move gradually in the direction of
dominant traffic.
 As per Indian Railway practice,
 Creeps should be measured frequently at an interval of
about 3 months.
 Creep in excess of 150mm should not be permitted on
standard track.
No creep should be permitted on approaches of

points and crossings.
CAUSES:
-Ironing out effect of moving wheels on waves formed
in rails.
-Tendency of wheels to push rails forward and
backward during braking, acceleration, deceleration
and running.
-Impact when wheels run on ends of rail.
-Expansion or contraction of rails due to temperature.
-Unbalance traffic.
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EFFECTS:
-Sleepers get out of square and consequently MEASURES:
gauge and alignment get distorted.
-Proper packing at joints.
-Rail joints get opened out, resulting in failure
-Correcting alignment at joints and at curved locations.
of fishplates and bolts.
-Proper maintenance of track periodically in respect of
-Joints are continuously jammed.
gauge, alignment, welding of worn out portions etc..,
-Points and crossings fails.
ADJUSTMENTS:
-Pulling back rails.
-Provision of anchors or anti creepers.
-Use of steel sleepers.
-Efficient and proper maintenance.

Sleepers are members which provide traverse ties on which

rails are supported and fixed, to traverse the load from rails to
the ballast and subgrade below.
FUNCTIONS:
-Hold the rails to required gauge.
-Hold the rails in proper level or transverse tilt (i.e.) level in
turnouts, crossovers etc and at 1 in 20 tilt in straight tracks.
-Act as an elastic medium in between the ballast and rails and
absorb the blows and vibrations of moving load.
-Sleepers also add to the longitudinal and lateral stability.

REQUIREMENTS:
a)Should be economical.
b)Fittings should be easily adjusted during maintenance
Ends of adjoining rails move slightly out of position is known as operations such as easy lifting, packing, removal and
kinks. placement.
CAUSES:
c)Weight should be moderate (i.e.) not too heavy or
-Loose packing at joints. excessively light.
-Defect in gauge and alignment
d)Design should be such that gauge, alignment of track
-Uneven wear of rail head.
and levels of rails can be easily adjusted and maintained.
EFFECTS:
e)Bearing area of the sleepers below the rail seat and over
-Unpleasant jerks when vehicles pass over them. the ballast should be enough to resist the crushing due to
-A series of kinks at curve may cause defect in gauge, alignment and rail seat and crushing of the ballast underneath the
camber resulting in serious risk in turning operation of train.
sleeper.

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Advantages:
i)Easily available
ii)Fittings are few and simple in Disadvantages
design
f)Easy removal and replacement of ballast. i)Subject to wear, decay, end
iii)Resist shocks and vibrations
g)Capable of resisting shocks and vibrations due to splitting, cracking etc..,
due to heavy wheels loads
passage of heavy loads of high speed trains. effectively and gives less ii)Difficult to maintain gauge.
h)Should not be damaged during packing process. noise. iii)Track easily disturbed i.e
iv)Easy to lay, lift, pack and alignment maintaining is
i)Insulation of rails should be possible for track
maintain. difficult.
circuiting if required through sleepers.
v)Suitable for all types of iv)Minimum service life (12 to
j)Should have anti-sabotage and anti-theft qualities.
ballast. 15 years).
vi)Best for track-circuiting v)Maintenance cost is very high.
operations.
vii)More economical

CLASSIFICATION:
 Growing scarcity of wooden sleepers, their high cost and short
1)Wooden sleepers
life leads to the use of metal sleepers in India.
2)Metal sleepers  Metal sleepers are either cast iron or steel.
a)Cast iron sleepers Advantages:
b)Steel sleepers i)Uniform in strength and durability.
3)Concrete sleepers ii)Performance of fittings is better and creep is less.
a)Reinforced concrete sleepers iii)Economical, long life and easy maintenance.
b)Prestressed concrete sleepers. iv)Gauge can be easily adjusted and maintained.
v)Frequent renewal is not required.
vi)Good scrap value, easy manufacturing and fire resistance.

Disadvantages:
i)More ballast is required.
ii)Fittings required are greater in number, difficult to
 Wooden sleepers are regarded maintain and inspection.
to be best as they fulfill almost iii)Liable to corrosion.
all the requirements of an ideal iv)Track circuiting is risky.
sleepers.
v)Suitable for stone ballast only.
 The life of a timber sleepers
depend on their ability to resist
-wear
-decay
-attack by white ants
-quality of timber

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SPACING OF SLEEPER AND SLEEPER DENSITY:

 Due to chronic shortage of good wooden sleepers and need for
better design and economy of sleepers, concrete sleepers are
preferred.
 Two types are
a)Reinforced concrete sleepers.
b)Pre stressed concrete sleepers.
 Concrete is an ideal material for sleepers because
i)Made of strong homogeneous material, impervious to moisture
and unaffected by chemical attack of atmospheric gases or sub-soil
salts.
ii)Moulded easily to required size to withstand stresses produced by
fast and heavy traffic.
- Spacing between two adjacent sleepers determine the
effective span of the rail over the sleepers.
-Spacing of sleepers depend on the axle load which the
track is expected to carry and lateral thurst of
locomotives to which it is subjected.
-No. of sleepers in a track is indicated by the number per
rail length.
-In India, minimum distance for manual packing of
ballast is kept 30.5cm to 35.5cm.
-No. of sleepers per rail varies in India from M+4 to
M+7 for main tracks.
where M=length of rail in metres.

-Sleeper density is the number of sleepers per rail length

Advantages: and specified as “M+x” or “N+x”.
i)Free from natural decay and attacks by insects. where
ii)Maximum service life (40 to 60 years). M=length of rail in metres.
iii)Not affected by moisture, chemical action of ballast and x= Fixed by railway board for various axle
sub-soil salt. loads.
iv)No difficulty in track circuiting. Factors governing sleeper density are
v)High weight helps in greater stability and better i)Axle load and speed
resistance against temperature variation.
ii)Type and section of rails.
vi)High elastic modulus and hence withstand the stresses
iii)Type of ballast and ballast cushion
induced by fast and heavy traffic.
iv)Type and strength of sleepers
v)Nature of foundation

PROBLEM:
Using a sleeper density of M+5, find no. of sleepers
 Disadvantages:
required for constructing a railway track of 640m long
i)Heavy weight (2.5 times of wooden sleepers) and (B.G Track).
hence require mechanical appliances for handling. SOLUTION:
ii)No scrap value. Length of each rail on B.G Track = 12.8m
iii)Requires pads and plugs for spikes. Total no. of rails required = 640/12.8
Since, sleeper density = M+5
iv)Bottom edge gets damaged during packing.
No. of sleepers under each rail = 12.8+5
v)Damages to concrete sleepers is very heavy incase = 17.8=18
of derailment. Total no. of sleepers = 18*50
=900 sleepers.

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 Ballast is the granular material usually broken stone or

brick,shingle or kankar, gravel or sand placed or packed below
and around the sleepers to translate the load from sleepers to
formation and at the same time allowing drainage of the track.
Function:
i)Holds sleepers in position and prevent lateral and longitudinal
movement.
ii)Transfer and distribute load from sleepers to large area of
formation.
iii)Imparts elasticity and resilience to track for proper riding
comfort.

iv)Provides effective drainage to track.

v)Act as a medium of super elevation in curves of railway
track.
Requirements:
i) Enough strength to resist crushing under heavy dynamic
wheel load.
ii)Durability to resist abrasion and weathering action.
iii)Rough in shape to improve locking of stones and
thereby resist movement better.

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 Ballastless tracks are the tracks constructed without ballasts

using continuous slab of concrete with rails supported
TYPES: directly on its upper surface.
 Ballastless tracks are usually considered for high speed trains
i)Broken stone
with speed over 250km/hr.
ii)Gravel or River pebbles or Shingle
ADVANTAGES:
iii)Ashes or cinders.
-Long life cycle
iv)Sand -High speed
v)Moorum -Excellent ride comfort
vi)Kankar -Great load carrying capacity
vii)Brick ballast -Maintenance free
viii)Blast furnace slag DISADVANTAGES:
ix)Selected earth -High initial cost
-Closure of existing route for a long time.

SIZE AND MINIMUM DEPTH OF BALLAST:

- The size of the ballast used varies from 1.9cm to
5.1cm.
-The exact size of the ballast depends upon the type of
sleeper used and location of the track.
a)Ballast for wooden sleepers=5.1cm
b)Ballast for steel sleeper = 3.8cm
c)Ballast under switches and
crossings = 2.54cm
Sleeper spacing (S)=Width of sleeper(w)+2*depth
of slab(Db)
S=w+2Db
Db=S-w/2

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 Super elevation or Cant can be defined as the differnce in height Momentum gradient:
between the outer and inner rail of curve. It is provided in field by
lifting outer rail while keeping inner in tis original position.  Greater than the ruling gradient.
 A minimum cant of 185 mm may be assumed for B.G track.  Do not impose any limitations for hauling power of engines.
 Cant gradient 1 in 1200
 While train moves in a falling gradient it gains momentum. This
Functions:
1. To minimize the wear and tear of the rails and rolling stock mommentum gives additional kinetic energy to moving trains.
2. To attain better load distribution on rails  This additional energy acquired enables engines to negotiate a
3. To modify the effect of lateral forces steeper gradient. This gradient which is steeper than the ruling
4. To provide a comfortable journey to the passengers
gradient is known as momentum gradient.

 Gradient is the change in level of railway track. Two types of gradient are: Pusher or helper gradient:
1. Rising gradient 2. Falling gradient  In hilly areas topography is very steep.
 Rising gradient: It is one where track rises in the direction of movement.
 While reducing the total length of the railway, sometimes gradients are
 Falling gradient: It is one where track falls in the direction of movement. steeper than the ruling gradient so as to reduce the overall cost.
 Gradients can be generally classified as:
 In this case, the pull exerted by one locomotive may not be sufficient
1. Ruling gradient and one more locomotive to push or pul the train to be used.
2. Momentum gradient
 The gradient gets the name beacuse of the use of additional locomotive
3. Pusher or helper gradient
for help to push.
4. Gradient at station yards

Ruling gradient: Gradient at Station Yards:

It is the maximum gradient provided on a section of railway track.
The value of these gradient adopted by Indian Railways are,
In plains, <3%, In hilly regions, >= 3%
It imposes a limitation of hauling power of an engine.
Gradient in any section of railway track should not be steeper than
 To prevent stationary vehicles from movement from station
yard due to gravity and strong wind.
 To provide more power to start a locomotive, particularly
on a steep gradient.
 Station yards are not completely flat but a certatin gradient
is given for the drainage purpose.
 Maximum gradient is 1 in 400 by Indian Railways.

 Gradient recommended in station yard is still flatter

ruling gradient
gradient of 1 in 1000.

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