Railroad rail, railroad track, or train track rail, is a key component of railroad systems. Most of the railroads are constructed by two parallel rails laying on railroad ties. Railroad rails nowadays are mainly made of steel through a series of manufacturing processes. It can undertake much more loads than ordinary metal products due to the extremely high strength. Thus, trains can get a stable and smooth surface to roll upon.
Rail section size
Modern railroad rails have an “I-beam” shape cross-section. The main parameters of the rail section include the rail height, the width of the head, the width of the base, the thickness of the web. Different types of rails can be recognized according to the rail section and rail weight.
50kg/m rail
60kg/m rail
75kg/m rail
Typical railroad rail section specification
Item
Unit
CHN 75kg Rail
CHN 60kg Rail
CHN 50kg Rail
CHN 45kg Rail
Weight per meter
kg
74.414
60.64
51.514
44.653
Rail height
mm
192
176
152
140
Width of base
mm
150
150
132
111
Height of head
mm
55.3
48.5
42
42
Width of head
mm
75
73
70
70
Thickness of web
mm
20
16.5
15.5
14.5
Sectional area
cm2
95.073
77.45
65.8
57
the distance between the center of gravity and rail base
mm
88
81
71
69
moment of inertia on horizontal axis
cm 4
4490
3217
2037
1489
moment of inertia on vertical axis
cm 4
665
524
377
260
Lower section coefficient
cm3
509
396
287
217
Upper section coefficient
cm3
432
339
251
208
Bottom transverse flexibility section coefficient
cm3
89
70
57
46
Rail section size of Chinese GB standard rails
Typical chemical composition of railroad rail (%)
Rail Grade
C
Si
Mn
P
S
Al
V
Tensile Strength (Mpa)
Elongation (%)
U71Mn
0.65~0.76
0.15~0.35
1.10~1.40
≤0.025
≤0.04
—
0.03
883
8
U71MnSi
0.65~0.75
0.85~1.15
1.10~1.15
≤0.04
≤0.04
≤
≤
883
8
U75V
0.71~0.78
0.50~0.70
0.75~1.05
≤0.025
0.008~0.025
0.004
0.04~0.08
900
UIC 900A
0.60~0.80
0.10~0.50
0.80~1.30
≤0.040
≤0.040
—
—
880~1030
10
TGV
0.60~0.80
0.10~0.50
0.80~1.30
≤0.035
≤0.030
≤0.004
—
EN
0.60~0.82
0.13~0.60
0.65~1.25
≤0.030
≤0.030
≤0.004
—
JIS 1101
0.63~0.75
0.15~0.30
0.70~1.10
≤0.030
≤0.025
—
—
Note：EN-European Standard; JIE1101-Japanese Industry Standard 1101-1993
Rail size tolerance and flatness requirements
The size tolerance and flatness of the rail section are also an important indicator of rail quality. If the cross-sectional size deviation is too large and the straightness is poor, it is difficult to lay high-quality railroad tracks. To ensure the stability of the train operation, the geometry and position of the track are required to be stable. To achieve this, high-precision dimensions and high straightness of the rail road tracks are essential.
Table 3-1 below lists the technical conditions of Beijing & Shanghai high-speed railway, foreign high-speed railway UIC860, JISEI011 (Japanese Industrial Standard 1101-1993), TGV, EN (European Standards Association), Chinese GB2585 and TBT2344 standards stipulate the allowable deviation of the rail size.
Table 3-2 lists the requirements of the above standards for rail straightness.
Size tolerance of typical high-speed rail road tracks in the world （mm）
Item
BJ & SH
UIC860
JISE1011
TGV
EN(A)
EN(B)
GB2585
TB/T2344
Rail height
±0.5
±0.6
±1.0
±0.5
±0.5
±0.6
＋0.8， －0.5
±0.5
Width of head
±0.5
±0.5
±0.8，－0.5
±0.5
±0.5
±0.5
0.5
—
Thickness of web
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
Width of base
±1.0
－0.5~＋1.0
±0.8
±0.8
±1.0
±1.0
＋1.0，－2.0
＋1.0，－2.0
The flatness of rail bottom
Sunken≤0.3
—
Uneven≤0.4
—
Sunken≤0.3
Sunken≤0.3
Sunken≤0.5
Sunken≤0.5
Asymmetry
Head≤0.5， base≤1.0
±1.5
Head to base offset ≤0.5
±1.5
±1.2
±1.2
Head≤0.5， base≤1.0
Head≤0.5， base≤1.0
End face verticality
≤0.6
≤0.6
≤0.5
≤0.6
≤0.6
≤0.6
≤1.0
≤1.0
3-1 Note：BJ & SH standards for the technical standards in Beijing & Shanghai；GB-Chinese Standard； TB-China Railway Standard
The flatness of typical high-speed train track rails in the world （mm）
Part
Item
Beijing & Shanghai
UIC860
JISE1101
TGV
EN（A）
EN（B）
GB2585
TB/T2344
Rail end
Vertical flatness (up)
0.4/2, 0.3/1
0.7/1.5
1.7/1.5
0.4/2, 0.3/1
0.5/1.5
0.5/1.5
0.8/1
0.5/1
Vertical flatness (down)
0.2/2
0
0
0.2/2
0.2/2
0.2/1.5
0.2/1
0.2/1
Horizontal flatness
0.5/2, 0.4/1
0.7/1.5
0.5/1.5
0.5/2, 0.4/1
0.6/2, 0.4/1
0.7/1.5
0.8/1
0.5/1
Rail body
Vertical Flatness
0.3/3, 0.2/1
—
—
0.3/3， 0.2/1
0.3/3， 0.2/1
0.4/3， 0.3/1
—
—
Horizontal flatness
0.45/1.5
—
—
0.45/1.5
0.6/1.5
0.6/1.5
—
—
Overlapping area
Vertical Flatness
0.3/2
—
—
—
0.3/2
0.4/1.5
—
—
Horizontal flatness
0.6/2
—
—
—
0.6/2
0.6/1.5
—
—
Full length
Upper and lower bend
≤5mm
—
10/10
≤5mm
≤5mm
≤5mm
0.5%
0.5%
Side bend
R＞1500m
—
10/10
R＞1500m
R＞1500m
R＞1500m
0.5%
0.5%
Edge
distortion
0.455/1
0.4/1
—
—
0.455/1
0.455/1
—
—
Full length
distortion
2.5m
—
1.0m
—
2.5m
2.5m
0.1%
0.1%
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Specifications of American Standard Rail (AREMA/ASCE Rails)
