3 Main Types of Railway Spikes

Comparison of the three mainstream types of railway spikes and their application scenarios

Railway spikes are key components that fix rails to sleepers or railroad sleepers. According to their shapes and structures, spikes can be divided into three categories: ordinary spikes (square head spikes), spiral spikes, and spring spikes. They are suitable for different track systems and laying environments.

Ordinary spikes are usually made of carbon steel, with simple structure and low cost, and are mostly used in light rail, industrial railways or secondary lines. Spiral spikes provide stronger pull-out resistance due to their threaded structure, suitable for medium-strength lines, especially in situations where the degree of bonding between sleepers and spikes is required to be high.

Spring spikes are used in conjunction with spring clip fastener systems, mainly used in modern high-speed railways, heavy-load railways and urban rail transit systems, and have strong impact resistance and anti-loosening capabilities.

Different types of spikes also differ in installation methods, maintenance cycles and service life. Choosing the right type of spike not only affects the stability and service life of the track system, but also affects the later maintenance costs.

Understanding these basics will help railway construction units, purchasers and design engineers make more scientific and reasonable selection decisions.