Date: _________

Time: __________

INTRODUCATION TO PERMANENT WAY

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Syllabus: Introduction to Track Engineering, Rails, Points & Crossings,
Ballasted & Ballast-less Track in DMRC, Long Welded Rails, Inspection of Tracks and
Buffer Stops,
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Introductory Material on P.Way for Orientation to employees from other

Departments

Permanent Way [P.Way ] - is the rail road on which train runs. It is called P.Way to
distinguish the final track constructed for movements of trains from the temporary track
constructed to carry building materials etc.
Track can be of two types viz. (a) Ballasted track & (b) Ballastless track.
(a) Components of Ballasted track are
1. Rail
2. Sleepers
3. Fastenings
4. Ballast
5. Formation
(b) Components of Ballast less track are
1. Rail
2. Reinforced concrete plinth
3. Fastenings(Vossloh)

Gauge - Distance between inner faces of rail measured at head.

Cant - It is the difference in height between the outer and the inner rail on a curve. It is
provided by gradually lifting the outer rail above the level of the inner rail.

Rails – Following are the functions of the rail:

a) Provides continuous and smooth surface for the movement of trains.
b) Guide the wheel along the fixed path.
c) Transfer the load from wheel to formation through a larger area of formation
through sleepers and ballast (ballasted track) / reinforced concrete plinth and
slab (ballastless track).
d) Offers less resistance to the wheels as compared to roads (one-fifth of the
road surface).
 Rails are designated by their weight per unit length (Kg/m) & grade. Its denomination
is written on web of rail at frequent interval. For e.g. UIC60 1080 HH denotes that
rail is of 60 Kg/m length. Its ultimate tensile strength is 1080Kg/ m 2. Symbol HH
denotes Head Hardened rail.
 Standard rail length is of 13m (Indian) and 18m (imported). They are welded together
by Flash Butt Welding process or Alumino Thermite Welding.
Sleepers - provide a firm base for lying of the rails. It performs the following functions-
 Give firm and even support to the rails
 Transfer the load imposed on the rails to a wider area of ballast, and

Different kinds of sleepers used on track are wooden sleepers, Steel sleepers and concrete
sleepers. Out of which concrete sleepers are used in metro Railway. Concrete sleepers used
in metro track are mono block type. The length of these sleepers is 2750mm and its width is
270mm at the ends. The rail seat is designed to carry 60kg UIC rail.
Density of sleepers (centre to centre) on main line and depot are 1600/km and 1540/km
respectively. Spacing of sleepers on main line and depot are 600mm and 650mm
respectively.
Elastic Fastenings
a) Ballasted Track-Elastic Fastenings in Ballasted Track consist of ERC, GRP and GFN
liners.
1. Elastic Rail Clip (ERC) or Pandrol Clip - Pandrol Clip is an elastic
fastening used in concrete sleepers. It is made from silica manganese spring
steel .ERC MKIII type clip is used in Delhi Metro Railway. Once in position it
exerts toe load in the range of 850-1100kg with design deflection of 13.5mm
to prevent longitudinal movement of the rail on sleeper. The clip can be
driven with an ordinary hammer and does not require any special tool.

The foremost function of elastic clips is to offer creep resistance. The rail
tends to move due to thermal expansion, contraction and longitudinal forces
due to acceleration and braking. This movement is prevented by adequate
toe load exerted by ERC. The essential feature of the ERC is the correct driving
of the clip so that leg of the clip is flush with the end face of the insert.
Overdriving and under driving shall be restricted by the observation of clip
with respect to end face of the insert. Overdriving/under driving causes
eccentric load on the insulators (GFN liners) and result in their displacement
and variation of toe load.

2. Rubber Pad – It is an important component between the rail foot and the
concrete sleeper to provide cushioning effect between the two. It is of 6mm
thickness with horns on side to prevent displacement. It is provided to
perform the following functions-
1) It absorbs shock
2) It dampens and absorbs vibration
3) It resist lateral movement of the rails
4) It prevent abrasion of the bottom surface of the rail, which
otherwise comes in direct contact with sleepers
5) It provides electrical insulation between the rails in an electrified
section
 3. Glass Filled Nylon (GFN) liners - It is used to fix the rail in proper
position over the PSC sleeper. It also helps ERC to exert adequate toe load.
There are two types of liners viz. Metal liners and GFN liners.GFN liners are
used in Track Circuited Areas and hence used in Delhi Metro Railway. GFN
liners are prone to breakage and hence should not be hammered. RT 3706
liner is being used here.

b) Ballast less Track-Rail Fastening system for ballast less track ensures an
effective reduction in vibration by means of an elastically supported rail. The rail rests
on the base plate with a rail pad in between. It is held down elastically by two
spring’s arms of the tension clamps, which are tensioned by means of T-head bolts,
nuts and washers. The base plate is supported by an elastomeric pad which is fixed
with anchor bolts and helical spring in the concrete. Vossloh System 336 is being
used in Delhi Metro Railway. Various components of this system are
1. Tension Clamp
2. T-head bolt with hexagonal nut and washer
3. Anchored bolt with hexagonal nut
4. Helical Spring
5. Collared washer
6. Insulating Bush
7. Rail pad
8. Ribbed Base Plate
9. Elastomeric Pad
10. Insulating Shim(Intermediate pad)
Two types of Vossloh fastening systems, one with SKL12 tension clamp and second
one with SKL MK tension clamp are used in Delhi Metro.
 SKL 12 tension clamp-The toe load per clip is10.5KN+-1.5KN and the static
creep resistance of one rail seat assembly of the fastening system is not less
than 9KN for UIC 60kg rails. They have approximate deflection of 14mm.
  SKL MK tension clamp-The toe load per clip is4KN +0.6KN and the static
creep resistance of one rail seat assembly is not more than 4.5KN for UIC
60kg rail.

Points & Crossing- A special arrangement in the railway track for diverting the rolling
stock from one line to another is called Points & Crossing. Point or Switches divert the rolling
stock while crossing provides the gap in the rails to be crossed by flange of the wheel. A
complete set of PnC along with Lead rail is called Turnout.

Turnout- It is an arrangement of pair of switches and crossing by means of which rolling

stock may be diverted from one track to another.
Tongue Rail - It is a tapered movable rail made of high carbon or manganese steel to
withstand wear. It is attached to a stock rail at heel. The tip of tapered end is called toe or
Actual Toe of Switch (ATS) and the point where it resumes full head width is called Junction
of Head.
Stock Rail -It is a running rail against which tongue rail operates.
Points -A pair of Tongue rails with their stock rails are termed as Points.
Crossing -A crossing is a device which allows wheel flange of a vehicle to pass from one
track to another. Crossings are designated by number viz. 1 in 8.5, 1in 12, 1 in 16 etc. In Delhi
Metro, 1 in 8.5 and 1in 12 are in use.
Throw of Switch-It is the distance by which the toe of tongue rail moves when the point is
operated at ATS.
Check Rail-It is provided to guide the wheel in crossing portion. It is taken as 41mm-45mm.
Facing Direction-If one is standing at SRJ and faces towards the direction of crossing, then
it is called facing direction.
Trailing Direction- If one is standing at heel of crossing and sees towards the direction of
switch, it is called trailing direction.
Diamond Crossing-When one track crosses another at an angle, a diamond is formed
comprising two acute and two obtuse crossings.
Scissors Crossovers-When two crossovers overlap exactly opposite to each other, a
scissors crossover is formed. It consists of four turnouts and a diamond crossing. Thus there
is four pair of switches, six acute crossings and two obtuse crossings.
INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF POINT & CROSSING
- The gauge and cross level measurements shall be done at the nominated stations
as indicated in the Performa.
- The clearances at check rail must be within the tolerances prescribed.
- The fastenings and bolts and other fittings must be properly secured and
tightened.
Buffer Stop - Track end closures are referred to as Buffer Stop. In Delhi Metro, Friction Buffer
Stop with retro reflective tape has been provided. The principle of operation for this type of
Buffer Stop is that during an impact the Buffer Stop immediately starts to slide once the
leading vehicle has fully engaged onto the impact areas of the Buffer Stop. The Kinetic
energy of the impacting vehicle is transferred to the Buffer Stop. The Buffer Stops during
sliding starts picking up the friction elements in sequence until the full braking capacity
required stopping the impacting train has been reached. All the Kinetic energy transferred to
Buffer Stop is then converted into heat energy and then transferred to the rail.