Track structure details: steel rails

Track, as the upper structure of the line, covers rails, sleepers, ballast and other components, and plays a guiding and bearing role. It shoulders the heavy responsibility of guiding the running of locomotives and vehicles, and directly bears the huge pressure brought by the wheels, and effectively transmits it to the roadbed or bridge and tunnel structures. The stability and accuracy of the geometric dimensions of the track are crucial, because this will directly affect the safe and smooth operation of locomotives and vehicles.

Rails are the core of the track, consisting of rail heads, rail waists, and rail bottoms, and bear impact. Rails, as one of the core components of the track, bear the running weight of locomotives and vehicles. It is usually made of high-strength steel and has excellent durability and bearing capacity. In the track structure, the rails not only play the role of guiding the running of locomotives and vehicles, but also bear the huge impact force from the wheels and effectively transmit it to the roadbed or bridge and tunnel structures. Therefore, the quality and performance of the rails are crucial to ensure the safe and smooth operation of locomotives and vehicles.

Rails consist of three parts: rail heads, rail waists and rail bottoms. The rail head is designed to provide sufficient surface area and thickness to delay its crushing and wear; the rail foot is responsible for distributing pressure and maintaining the stability of the rail, and its width is crucial. In addition, the rail waist mainly bears the shear force to ensure that the rail has high vertical stiffness. Overall, the cross-section of the rail presents the characteristics of an I-beam.