Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design,

construction and operation of all types of railway systems. It encompasses a wide range of
engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical
engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and production engineering.

Railway track foundation

Railway tracks are generally laid on a bed of stone track ballast or track bed, in turn is
supported by prepared earthworks known as the track formation. The formation comprises the
subgrade and a layer of sand or stone dust (often sandwiched in impervious plastic), known as
the blanket, which restricts the upward migration of wet clay or silt. There may also be layers of
waterproof fabric to prevent water penetrating to the subgrade. The track and ballast form the
permanent way. The term foundation may be used to refer to the ballast and formation, i.e. all
man-made structures below the tracks.

Additional measures are required where the track is laid over permafrost, such as on the
Qingzang Railwayin Tibet. For example, transverse pipes through the subgrade allow cold air to
penetrate the formation and prevent that subgrade from melting.

The sub-grade layers are slightly sloped to one side to help drainage of water. Rubber sheets
may be inserted to help drainage and also protect iron bridgework from being affected by rust.

Thetrackon a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting
of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties(sleepers, British English) and ballast(or slab track), plus the
underlying subgrade. It enables trainsto move by providing a dependable surface for their
wheelsto roll. For clarity it is often referred to asrailway track(British English and UIC
terminology) orrailroad track(predominantly in the United States). Tracks where electric
trainsor electric tramsrun are equipped with an electrification systemsuch as an overhead
electrical power lineor an additional electrified rail.

The termpermanent wayalso refers to the track in addition to lineside structures such as fences
etc.
Rail gauge

The nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice
it is specified at a certain distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head
(thegauge faces) are not necessarily vertical.

Rolling stock on the network must have running gear ( wheelsets) that are compatible with the
gauge, and therefore the gauge is a key parameter in determining interoperability, but there
are many others—see below. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the railway
company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only, and

independent hauliers provided wagons suited to the gauge. Colloquially the wagons might be
referred to as "four-foot gauge wagons", say, if the track had a gauge of four feet. This nominal
value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for.

An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a slight

variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons.

Sleepers

Concrete sleepers are made upside down in moulds, several sleepers long. Pandrolclip bases or
other fittings are inserted into the moulds. Pre-stressed steel reinforcing bars are installed in
these moulds, and then the concrete is poured. It takes several days for the concrete to cure,
after which the sleepers are removed from the moulds and cut into individual sleepers. The
bottom of the mould is marked with the logo of the manufacturer and a date

stamp.

Occasionally, sleepers are made with conduits for track circuitwiring, or extra fixtures for guard
rails. Sleepers can be made using a Long Line method or a Short Line method; each method has
its advantages and disadvantages.

Multiple companiesmanufacture sleepers around the world. They are transported to the work
site in small stacks, with pieces of lumber separating the layers of sleepers. They are then laid
using manual methods or using various sleeper laying machines.

Ballast
Track ballastforms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers (UK) or railroad ties(US) are laid. It
is packed between, below, and around the ties.It is used to bear the load from the railroad ties,
to facilitate drainageof water, and also to keep down vegetationthat might interfere with the
track structure. This also serves to hold the track in place as the trains roll by. It is typically
made of crushed stone, although ballast has sometimes consisted of other, less suitable
materials. The term " ballast" comes from a nautical term for the stones used to stabilize a
ship.The thickness of a layer of track ballast depends on the size and spacing of the ties, the
amount of traffic expected on the line, and various other factors. Track ballast should never be
laid down less than 150 mm (5.9 inches) thick; high-speed railway lines may require ballast up
to1⁄2metre (19.7 inches) thick. An insufficient depth of ballast overloads the underlying soil; in
the worst cases, this can cause the track to sink. If the ballast is less than 300 mm (11.8 inches)
thick, this can lead to vibrations, which can damage nearby structures (though increasing the
depth beyond this has no measurable effect).

Track ballast typically sits on a layer of sub-ballast; the latter is typically made of small crushed
stones. It gives a solid support for the top ballast, and seals out water from the underlying
ground. Sometimes, an elastic mat is placed under the ballast layer as well; this can allow for
significant reductions in vibration.

It is essential for ballast to be piled as high as the ties, and for a substantial "shoulder" to be
placed at their ends; the latter being especially important, since this ballast shoulder is, for the
most part, the only thing restraining

lateral movement of the track. The ballast shoulder should be at least 150 mm (5.9 inches) wide
under any circumstances, and may be as large as 450 mm (17.7 inches).

Fixtures and fastenings

Arail fastening systemis a means of fixing railsto railroad ties(United States) or sleepers
(international). The termsrail anchors,tie plates,chairsandtrack fastenersare used to refer to
parts or all of a rail fastening system. Various

types of fastening have been used over the years.

Railway stations

Atrain stationorrailway station(also called arailroad station,rail station, or depot) is a place

where passengerscan get on and off trainsand/or goodsmay be loaded or unloaded.
Early stations were usually built to handle passengers and goods. Today, goods are usually only
unloaded at big stations. Stations are next to a railway line, or they are the terminusfor a route.
Usually there are platformsto let passengers get on and off the train easily and safely. Many
stations have things such as shelters, ticketsales and benches.

The busiest railway station in the world is Shinjuku Stationin Tokyo, Japan. The largest station is
Nagoya Stationin Nagoya, Japan. The busiest station in

Europe is Clapham Junctionin south Londonin the United Kingdom. At peak times, there is one
train every 13 seconds there.

Maintenance

Track needs regular maintenance to remain in good order, especially when high-speed trains
are involved. Inadequate maintenance may lead to a "slow order" (North American
terminology, a "slack" or speed restriction in the United Kingdom) being

imposed to avoid accidents (see Slow zone). Track maintenance was at one time hard manual
labour, requiring teams of labourers, or trackmen (US: gandy dancers; UK: platelayers;
Australia: fettlers), who used lining bars to correct irregularities in horizontal alignment (line) of
the track, and tamping and jacks to correct vertical irregularities (surface). Currently,
maintenance is facilitated by a variety of specialised machines.

Flange oilers lubricate wheel flanges to reduce rail wear in tight curves, Middelburg,
Mpumalanga, South Africa

The surface of the head of each of the two rails can be maintained by using a railgrinder.

Common maintenance jobs include changing crossties (sleepers), lubricating and adjusting
switches, tightening loose track components, and surfacing and lining track to keep straight
sections straight and curves within maintenance limits. The process of crosstie and rail
replacement can be automated by using a track renewal train.

Spraying ballast with herbicideto

prevent weeds growing through and redistributing the ballast is typically done with a special
weed killing train.
Over time, ballast is crushed or moved by the weight of trains passing over it, periodically
requiring relevelling ("tamping") and eventually to be cleaned or replaced. If this is not done,
the tracks may become uneven causing swaying, rough riding and possibly derailments. An
alternative to tamping is to lift the rails and sleepers and reinsert the ballast beneath. For this,
specialist " stoneblower" trains are used.

Rail inspectionsutilize nondestructive testingmethods to detect internal flaws in the rails. This
is done by using

specially equipped HiRail trucks, inspection cars, or in some cases handheld inspection devices.

Rails must be replaced before the railhead profile wears to a degree that may trigger a
derailment. Worn mainline rails usually have sufficient life remaining to be used on a branch
line, sidingor stubafterwards and are "cascaded" to those applications.

The environmental conditions along railroad track create a unique railway ecosystem. This is
particularly so in the United Kingdomwhere steam locomotives are only used on special services
and vegetation has not been trimmed back so thoroughly. This

creates a fire risk in prolonged dry weather.

In the UK, the cessis used by track repair crews to walk to a work site, and as a safe place to
stand when a train is passing. This helps when doing minor work, while needing to keep trains
running, by not needing a Hi-railer or transport vehicle blocking the line to transport crew to
get to the site.

Indian railways

Indian Railways is an Indian state-ownedenterprise, owned and operated by the Government of

Indiathrough the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks
comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 65,808 km (40,891 mi) and 7,112
stations. In 2014-15,

IR carried 8.397 billion passengers annually or more than 23 million passengers a day (roughly
half of whom were suburban passengers) and 1058.81 million tons of freight in the year. In
2014–2015 Indian Railways had revenues of ₹1634.50 billion(US$25 billion) which consists of
₹1069.27 billion(US$16 billion) from freight and ₹402.80 billion(US$6.1 billion) from passengers
tickets.

Railways were first introduced to India in the year 1853 from Mumbaito Thane. In 1951 the
systems were nationalised as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest
networks in the world.Indian Railways is the world's seventh largest commercial or utility
employer, by number of employees, with over 1.334 million employees as of last published
figures in 2013 . As for rolling stock, IR holds over 245,267 Freight Wagons, 66,392 Passenger
Coachesand 10,499 Locomotives(43 steam, 5,633 diesel and 4,823 electric locomotives). The
trains have a 5 digit numbering system and runs 12,617 passenger trains and 7421 freight trains
daily. As of 31 March 2013, 21,614 km (13,430 mi) (32.8%) of the total 65,808 km (40,891 mi)
route length was electrified. Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 Volt AC
traction through overhead catenary delivery.