Steel rail is the main component of railway track. Its function is to guide the wheels of rolling stock to move forward, bear the huge pressure of the wheels, and transmit it to the sleepers. Steel rails must provide wheels with a continuous, smooth and least resistance rolling surface. In electrified railway or automatic block section, steel rail can also be used as rail track circuit. The steel rail is rolled from carbon killed steel smelted in open hearth and oxygen converter. Its purpose is to withstand the operating pressure and impact load of rolling stock.

2. Rail standards
Type |
Specifications |
Standard |
Material |
Length |
china standard steel rail |
GB6kg,8kg,GB9kg,GB12, GB15kg,18kg,GB22kg,24kg, GB30,P38kg,P43kg,P50kg, P60kg,QU70,QU80,QU100, QU120 |
GB11264-89 GB2585-2007 YB/T5055-93 |
U71Mn/50Mn |
6m-12m 12.5m-25m |
American standard steel rail |
ASCE25, ASCE30, ASCE40, ASCE60,ASCE75,ASCE85, 90RA,115RE,136RE,175LBs |
ASTM A1,AREMA |
700/900A/1100 |
6-12m,12-25m |
UIC standard steel rail |
UIC50/UIC54/UIC60 |
UIC860 |
900A/1100 |
12-25m |
German standard steel rail |
A55,A65,A75,A100,A120,S10, S14,S18,S20,S30,S33, S41R10,S41R14,S49 |
DIN536 DIN5901-1955 |
ASSZ-1/U75V/U71Mn/ 1100/900A/700 |
8-25m |
British steel rail |
BS50O,BS60A,BS60R,BS70A, BS75A,BS75R,BS80A,BS80R, BS90A,BS100A,BS113A |
BS11-1985 |
700/900A |
6-18m 8-25m |
Trough steel rail |
59R1,59R2,60R1,60R2 |
BS EN14811:2006 |
ASSZ-1/U75V/U71Mn/1 100/900A/700/R200/ R220/R260/320Cr/ R350HT |
8-25m |
Australian standard steel rail |
31kg,47kg,50kg,60kg, 68kg,73kg,86kg,89kg |
AS1085 |
8-25m |
|
European standard steel rail |
49E1,49E2,50E1,50E2,50E4, 50E5,50E6,54E1,54E2, 54E3,55E1,60E1 |
EN13674-1-2003 |
12-25m |
|
Indian standard steel rail |
ISCR50,ISCR60,ISCR70, ISCR80,ISCR100,ISCR120 |
IS3443-1980 |
9-12m |
|
South African steel rail |
15kg,22kg,30kg,40kg, 48kg,57kg |
ISCOR |
9-25m |
|
Japanese and Korean standard steel rail |
15kg,22kg,30kg,37A, 50N,CR73,CR100 |
JIS E1103-91/JIS E1101-93 |
JIS E standard |
9-10m 10-12m 10-25m |
3. Steel rail type
The type of steel rail is expressed in kilograms per meter of steel rail mass. The rails used on Chinese railways are 75kg/m, 60kg/m, 50kg/m, 43kg/m and 38kg/m.
The cross-sectional shape of Steel rail adopts the I-shaped cross-section with the best bending resistance, which consists of three parts: rail head, rail waist and rail bottom. In order to make the rail better withstand the forces from all aspects and ensure the necessary strength conditions, the rail should have sufficient height, its head and bottom should have sufficient area and height, and the waist and bottom should not be too thin.
Among the above various types of steel rails, the production of 38kg/m steel rails has been stopped, 60kg/m and 50kg/m steel rails are laid on the main trunk lines, and 43kg/m steel rails are generally laid on station lines and special lines. For heavy-duty railways and particularly busy sections of railways, 75kg/m steel rails are laid. In addition, in order to meet the needs of structures such as turnouts, extra-large bridges and seamless tracks, China Railway has also adopted special section (I-shaped asymmetrical to the central axis) rails. At present, the steel rails with low special section are more commonly used, referred to as AT rails.

The standard length of steel rail in China is 12.5m and 25.0m. Extra-heavy and heavy-duty rails use 25.0m standard length steel rails, and other types of railway tracks can use 12.5m25.0m standard length steel rails.
The "Interim Technical Conditions for 60kg/m Rails on 250km/h Passenger Dedicated Lines" stipulates that the standard rail length of 250km/h passenger dedicated lines (considering freight transport) is 100m.
There are three types of curvilinear shortened rails that are 40, 80, and 120mm shorter than the 12.5m standard rail, and three types that are 40, 80, and 160mm shorter than the 25.0m standard rail.

1), China
Chinese steel rails can be divided into crane rails, heavy rails and light rails in kilograms per meter:
①The crane rail is divided into four types: QU120, QU100, QU80, and QU70. The material is generally manganese steel. The largest unit weight is QU120, which can reach 118kg/m.
② Heavy rail. According to the steel type used, it is divided into: ordinary manganese steel rail, copper-containing carbon steel rail, high silicon copper-containing steel rail, copper rail, manganese rail, silicon rail, etc. There are three main types: 38, 43, and 50kg. In addition, there are 45kg rails used on a few lines, and 60kg rails have been planned to be used on lines with large volumes and high speeds. GB2585-81 stipulates the technical conditions of 38-50kg/m steel rail in my country.
In 2007, my country issued a new standard GB2585-2007. In addition to 38~50kg/m, two types of heavy rails of 60kg/m and 75kg/m were newly added.
③Light rail. There are mainly 9, 12, 15, 22, 30kg/m and other different rail types. Light rail is also divided into national standard (GB) and Ministry standard (YB Metallurgical Ministry standard). The above mentioned are several models of GB. YB models are: 8, 18, 24kg/m, etc.
2), international
Every country in the world has its own standards for rail production, and the classification methods are also different. Such as: British standard: BS series (90A, 80A, 75A, 75R, 60A, etc.) German standard: DIN series crane rail. International Union of Railways: UIC series. American Standard: ASCE series. Japanese standard: JIS series.

(1) The steel rail after rolling should be straight without significant bending or twisting. The local bending and torsion of light and heavy rails, as well as the amount of correction deformation, and the inclination of rail end faces, shall not exceed the standard.
(2) The surface of steel rail should be clean and smooth, free of defects such as cracks, scars, scratches, etc.; its end surface should not have shrinkage marks and interlayers. The allowable defects on the overall surface of the light and heavy rail and the extent of their geometric quantities shall not exceed the standard.

(1) Each heavy rail is rolled with a clear raised mark at its specified position: manufacturer's logo, steel number, furnace number, model number, manufacturing year (month) number. There are the words "A", "Z" and white paint that indicate a specific meaning.
(2) Light rails delivered in bundles should be marked with a lot number.
(3) The content of the steel rail quality certificate shall be in accordance with the standard stipulations in "8" (12).
(2) During the quality assurance period of steel rails, attention should be paid to the quality changes of steel rails. In recent years, there have been several claims for quality problems in the actual operation of imported steel rails. The inspection and quarantine agency used ultrasonic flaw detection and other testing methods to identify defects such as internal rail cracks and rail surface stripping. After the inspection and quarantine certificate was issued, significant results Effectiveness of claims.

Kingrail Parts attaches great importance to quality control and management of rails. Our steel rail production is fully controlled in accordance with the ISO9001-2008 quality system, and we have also obtained CRCC, a railway product production license from the Chinese Ministry of Railways. We have a complete set of testing equipment to ensure the quality of all our steel rail products and meet customer requirements.
Kingrail Parts is an ISO 9001/2008 certified company. All processes are in accordance with the requirements of the ISO quality management system. From the quality control of the steel rail raw material supplier to the finished product, we operate in accordance with standard procedures. We have a strict quality control system for suppliers:
1. For the inspection and testing of steel rail raw materials, we require suppliers to provide inspection indicators such as production batch number, chemical composition, and mechanical properties.
2. Our steel rail quality control inspectors take sample sampling and batch testing during the testing process and provide steel rail raw material material certificates and other means for control.
3. According to the different requirements of steel rail products, we make corresponding physical and chemical tests and inspections. If the result does not meet our requirements, we will refuse to accept, and only the materials that meet our standards can be accepted.
4. For the semi-finished steel rail and its outsourcing manufacturers, we often organize quality control coordination meetings, and provide technical support and guidance. Ensure that qualified steel rail is delivered to our customers before shipment.
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