Railway Track Sleepers are members which lay transverse to the rails on which the rail supports and fixes. Sleepers are concrete beds in the railway tracks. The sleepers are of concrete, timbers, steel, cast iron, RCC, and the Prestress concrete. The main role of sleepers is to transfer load from rails to the ballast. And the sub-grade below. It as a transverse member throughout the permanent way.

These sleepers fix vertical to each other. It fixes throughout the track. The main work of sleepers is to hold rails in a strong position. It receives the loads from rails and spread to ballast and sub-grades.

Functions of Railway Track Sleepers

Sleepers perform the following functions

• It holds the rails at the proper gauge and at the proper level, flat curves, turnouts, and in diamond crossings.

• Transfers load evenly from rails to ballasts to absorb vibrations of moving loads.
• Provides a good stability of track.
• The track circuiting is making easy with it.
• Supports the rail tracks at proper super-elevation.
• It acts as an elastic medium in between the ballast and the rails to absorb blows.
• It maintains the horizontal and vertical alignments throughout the entire track for a long lifetime.
•  They provide a way to rectify track geometry during its use.

Requirements of Railway Track sleepers

For a long time period and for a good performance the sleepers need to some important requirements.

• Sleepers must be economical.
• Should have a low maintenance cost.
• It should be easier to handle during the maintenance operations like lifting, packing, removal, and replacement.
• The weight of sleepers should not be too heavy or too light. It should have a moderate weight for ease of access.
•  And capable to resist shocks of rails because of a fast-moving load with vibration.
• It should have a proper spacing between two sleepers for ease of maintenance for removal and replacement.
• Sleeper to design in a way that they should not push out easily due to moving loads.
• A sleeper to provide with anti-theft qualities.

Railway Rail Tracks are the main important components in tracks. Rails are unsymmetrical I-sections. It composes of steel. Rails lay parallelly over sleepers. Railway Rail Track lies parallel to the entire track. Rails carry the wheel load of trains providing them a smooth way. And transfer the load safely to sleepers.

These rails are of high carbon steel to resist and withstand wear and tear. Rails joints together longitudinally with welding and with fishplates.

Functions of Railway Rail Tracks

Rails in the Railway Track serves the following purposes:

• Rails transfer loads from wheels safely to sleepers and ballasts.
• Provides a smooth level surface for movement of trains.
• Provides an unchanging surface for passage of heavy moving loads with minimum friction between steel rail and wheels.

• It guides the wheel of trains throughout the trackway.
• High carbon steel has high strength, stiffness, and durability.
• The web of rail is strong enough and support head of rails.
• Rails acts as girders and bear stress develop by heavy vertical/lateral loads, breaking force and thermal stress.

Length of Railway Rail Tracks

Longer rails are highly economic. And it gives a high strength. Joints are weak points in Railway Rail Tracks. So long rails consider mainly than short rails. Short rails consume more rail joints. This decrease the efficiency of rails. These rails joints with welding and by fish plates.

In the modern railways with the technological advancement, keeping gaps between rails avoids. The welding of rails introduces. These rails welds into three rails, five rails and ten rails. Welding of jointing rails is by melting them together. These welding rails has many advantages. It is economical, low maintenance, increase stability, reduce creeps. Creeps are longitudinal movement of rail tracks.  It is common to all railway rail tracks. It measures regularly in rail tracks.  A creep of up to 150 mm permits in rail tracks.

There are some important Railway Track Components in the construction of railway track. The railway track is a permanent way for all trains. A railway track is a combination of rails, sleepers, ballast, and subgrades. The systematic rails fit on a number of sleepers. This sleeper rests on ballast supports by subgrades. These rails fix or welds together by a component name as fishplates.

The trach consists of two parallel rails fix at a specific distance. This distance depends upon the gauge of tracks. These rails are parallel to each other.

Railway Track Components

A Railway Track has many Components in it. they are as follows,

• Rails
• Sleepers
• Ballast
• Formations or subgrades

A good quality and strong aggregate materials, steel I section to use in the construction of railway tracks.

1. Rails

Rails are the first main element in the Railway Track Components. It is of an I section make with steel. Two rails fix opposite to each other. These rails are vertical I section elements places vertically throughout the track.  It lies parallel to the entire track. It carries the wheel load of trains providing them a smooth way. And transfer the load safely to sleepers.

2. Sleepers

Sleepers are concrete beds in the railway tracks. It is the second main important thing in Railway Track Components. Sleepers are of concrete, timbers, steel, cast iron, RCC, and prestress concrete. These sleepers fix vertical to each other. It fixes throughout the track. The main work of sleepers is to hold rails in a strong position. It receives the loads from rails and spread to ballast and subgrades.

3. Ballast

Ballasts are stone, aggregates, and gravels. these places below and around the sleepers. The main work of ballast is to hold sleepers and rails. And provides them a strong grip. Stone ballasts widely use in railway tracks in modern railways.

4. Formations or subgrades

These are natural soils on the bottom of a track. These are the foundations of tracks. It holds rails, sleepers, ballast and the entire track together. It supports the railway track from the bottom layer.

Rail transport is a major means of passenger transport, mainly for large and quick travel between cities. And for transport in industrial areas. It uses little for goods movement. Railways are the most important means of passenger transportation.

The Rail transport network is highly useful and running punctually.

Railways is a useful transportation system for a country that does not have fossil fuels. And is completely dependent on imports.

It is the backbone of transport between the city forms around the railway lines extends out from industrial areas.

Features of Rail transport 

• Gauge
• Electrification
• Loading gauge
• Ticket charges

Rail transport is an important mode of long-distance transportation. It has important features, they are as follows

1. Gauge

It is the space between the rails on a railway track.

2. Electrification

Electric engines benefit from the high efficiency of electric motors. Electric engines are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance. This electrification is perfect for railways that cover long distances. And carrying a heavy traffic.

Electric power from a generating station transfer to substations using a three-phase distribution system.

3. Loading gauge

It defines as the maximum height and width for railway vehicles. And to ensure their loads safely pass through bridges, tunnels, and other structures.

4. Tickets Charges

Railways are the most important means of passenger transportation. The superfast trains charges on all passengers, irrespective of distance, separately for each journey.

The Stations

Railway stations classified into many types. These stations handle large numbers of passengers, pieces of baggage, goods and loads every day.

Bridges

The rail network makes large use of bridges and tunnels. In modern times, advances in bridge-building and tunneling technique has makes the railroad builders to reduce the track length. This increase train speeds on rail lines through hilly areas and mountains.

High-speed rail

The High-speed rail lines construct on high-level tracks to reduce the need to occupy the land. And involve very long bridges.

High-speed rail in refers to train service (passenger only) with average train speeds above 200 km/h.

High-speed service trainsets are introducing. These trains run on main lines as well as a passenger-dedicated high-speed track that allows a speed of up to 350 kilometers per hour.

In the introduction of high-speed rail, the travel speed of trains raises on the mainlines. The top speed for passenger trains reaches 200 kilometers per hour on main lines.

Rail is one of the main modes of transport. Railways deliver more trips and create a more passengers distribution and high income. The sharp increase in the number of train trip makes the fast growth of high-speed rail service in a country.