What are crane rails?

Jan 12, 2026 Leave a message

What are crane rails?

 

Crane rails are heavy-duty steel tracks designed to support and guide overhead cranes, gantry cranes, and other industrial material handling systems, providing a smooth, strong runway for them to move heavy loads in factories, ports, and warehouses. Unlike standard railway tracks for trains, crane rails are built to withstand extreme, concentrated point loads, high impact, and frequent start-stop cycles over shorter distances, featuring a wider head and thicker web for maximum stability and wear resistance.

 

crane rail

 

Types of Crane Heavy Rail

 

  • QU Series Rails: These include rails such as QU70, QU80, QU100, and QU120, commonly used in heavy-duty crane applications. These rails are designed to handle the high impact and concentrated loads from industrial cranes.

 

  • A Series Rails: Profiles like A45, A55, A65, A75, A100, A120, and A150 are used for medium- to heavy-duty crane operations. These rails offer solid strength and stability for cranes that operate at a lower frequency or have a lighter load capacity.

 

  • UIC Series Rails: Widely used in European and international rail systems, UIC50, UIC54, and UIC60 are common crane rail profiles that offer high strength and wear resistance for diverse industrial applications.

 

track rail

 

Crane Rail Type Standard Size Material Standard Length
QU Series Chinese
YB/T 5055-2014
QU70, QU80,
QU100, QU120
U71Mn, U75V 12m
A Series German
DIN536
A45, A55,
A65, A75,
A100, A120, A150
50Mn,U71Mn 10/12/15m
ASCE Series American
ASTM, AREMA
ASCE25, ASCE40, ASCE60,
ASCE75, ASCE85, ASCE90, ASCE115, ASCE136
700/900A/1100 6-12m, 12-25m
UIC Series International Union of Railways
UIC860-0, EN-13674-1
UIC50, UIC54, UIC60 900A/1100 12-25m
BS Series British
BS11-1985
BS50'O',BS60A,BS60R,
BS75A,BS75R,BS80A,
BS100A,BS113A
700/900A 8-25m
JIS Series Japanese
JIS E1103/1101
15kg, 22kg, 30A, 37A, 50N,
CR73, CR100
According to JIS 9-10m
AS Series Australian
AS 1085
31kg, 41kg, 47kg, 50kg,
53kg, 60kg, 66kg, 68kg,
73kg, 86kg, 89kg
900A/1100 8-25m
ISCOR Series South African
ISCOR
15kg, 22kg, 30kg,
40kg, 48kg, 57kg
700/900A 9-25m

 

What are crane rails made of?

 

Crane rails are primarily made from high-strength, hard steels, often with significant carbon and manganese content (like U71Mn or 50Mn), engineered for durability, wear resistance, and heavy load capacity, with specialty options like stainless or heat-treated steels for corrosive or extreme environments, though older systems used wood or cast iron.

 

Steel Grade C(%) Si Mn Cr V P S Tensile Strength (Rm/MPa)
U71Mn 0.65~0.76 0.15~0.58 0.70~1.40 ≤0.035 ≤0.030 ≥880
U75V 0.71~0.80 0.50~0.80 0.75~1.05 0.04~0.12 ≤0.035 ≤0.030 ≥980
U78CrV 0.72~0.82 0.50~0.80 0.70~1.05 0.30~0.50 0.04~0.12 ≤0.035 ≤0.030 ≥1080
U77MnCr 0.72~0.82 0.10~0.50 0.80~1.10 0.25~0.40 ≤0.035 ≤0.025 ≥980
U76CrRE 0.71~0.81 0.50~0.80 0.80~1.10 0.25~0.35 0.04~0.08 ≤0.035 ≤0.025 ≥1080

 

Since 2008, GNEE RAIL has been supplying steel rails of different grades for more than 18 years, steel rails from GNEE is highly recommened in China and abroad.Wtih cutting edge equipment, GNEE produces high quality steel rails that meet with requirements of most countries. Standard rail, head hardened rail, heavy rail,light rail,crane rail and other types are all available here, as one of the China main rail supplier, GNEE RAIL has been working on supplying economical green railway products all over the world.

 

Get A Quote& Drawing