MORDERN TURNOUTS FOR INTRODUCTION OF HIGH SPEED ON THE EXISTING TRACK A.K.Singhal, Ex. Direc !r"Trac#$II"RDSO A.K.

Mi%hra, Direc !r"Trac#$III"RDSO S&n!'%i% Turnouts are considered to be weak link in Railway track. Any effort to upgrade the existing track for high speed must include improvements in various components of a turnout. Improvement in the turnout designs in past using curved switches, cast manganese steel ( !"# crossings and pre$stressed concrete turnout sleepers on large scale has served Indian Railways(IR# well to cater for the needs of increasing traffic. Turnout designs have further been upgraded by the introduction of thick web switches and weldable !" crossings to cater for the needs of increase in axle load and increase in speed in ever increasing traffic on IR. These improvements have tried and tested on IR but are yet to be adopted on large scale. This paper deals with these improvements which will help IR in implementing high speed ( upto %&& 'mph# on the existing track. (. INTRODUCTION

For past few years, there has been a conscious effort for introduction of high speed in Indian Railways. With the increase in speed on highways and introduction of more and more airlines, there is a need to increase the speed of trains to remain competitive in transport business. In addition, the high speed trains are environment friendly and consume lesser amount of natural resources in comparison to roadways and airways. The turnouts remain a weak link in track due to transfer of wheel from one rail to the other near switch and negotiation of gap at crossing. These two locations offer a resistance to continuous movement of the train and hence subjected to stresses far in e cess of continuous track. !t present, over"riding switches and cast manganese steel #$%&' crossings on fan"shaped pre"stressed concrete #(&$' sleeper are used in turnouts. )ver"riding tongue rails are made up of standard rail section with machining at the bottom of the rail for overriding on the foot of stock rail. *ue to planning at head and foot, the cross section of such tongue rails becomes smaller and they depend on stock rail for withstanding vertical and lateral forces. There are two fish plated joints in such switches which cannot be welded. !nother location of concern is $%& crossing where gap near nose of crossing is negotiated by rail wheels. These $%& $rossings are to be laid with gapless joints at toe and heel. +ut, with time, these gapless joints have a tendency of opening up and these develop into full fledged fish plated joints. Therefore, there are si fish plated joints left on one turnout out of which three lies on

the mainline. !s the fish plated joints are difficult to maintain properly over (&$ sleepers, these locations remain the weakest link re,uiring regular maintenance. !s the train has to move over a series of turnouts in station limit, the running invariably deteriorates which is reflected in the lower T-I values in station limit. The problem gets compounded because of the difficulty in maintenance of station limit tracks by machines for periodic packing, overhauling and deep screening. Track is re,uired to be laid and maintained with stricter tolerance in case of high speed and any gap in track is not desirable. The same is very much applicable to the track at turnouts too. In view of above, the turnout should not have any fish plated joints. In addition, it should facilitate continuation of long welded rail #.WR' for eliminating fish plated joints beyond the turnouts in station limit. The turnout using thick web switch and weldable $%& crossing fulfils above re,uirement for high speed track and the design of such turnouts has already been developed by IR. ). DE*E+OPMENT OF *ARIOUS DESIGNS OF TURNOUTS

Turnouts are in use since the invent of Indian Railways and there have been continuous improvement in the design of turnouts which is briefed hereunder/ ).( STU, S-ITCH . ,UI+T UP CROSSING

Initially stub switches were used for diverting the traffic from one line to other which consisted of short rail pieces to be connected to either of the routes by physical shifting. Two rail pieces and one rail piece were used at the place of switch and crossing respectively. .ater on, the arrangement near the crossings was replaced by a built up crossing retaining the stub switch in the switch area known as modified stub switches. These arrangements were structurally weak and cumbersome. *ifficulties were also e perienced due to thermal movement of rails in above arrangement. These weaknesses were addressed in split switches. The built up crossing is manufactured by bolting of point and splice rails and connected to wing rails through spacer blocks and hence has many loose0discreet components. The problem of relative movements of different components is observed causing e cessive wear and loosening of fittings. With increase in traffic and a le load, a need was felt for monolithic one piece crossing to avoid the shortcomings of built up crossing and $%& crossing was developed. ).) O*ER$RIDING S-ITCH . CAST MANGANESE STEE+/CMS0 CROSSING &ubse,uently, a split switch consisting of a tongue rail and stock rail with fastenings was developed which was later improved to over"riding switch. In over"riding switches, the tongue rail is raised by 1 mm with respect to stock rail which enables the machined

foot of tongue rail to ride over the unmachined foot of stock rail in closed position of the switch. Initially straight tongue rails were used which were projected outside the gauge face of straight tongue rail by about 1 mm posing an obstruction in the path of wheel. The service life of such tongue rails was very limited due to e cessive wear. +esides, regular maintenance and consistent monitoring were re,uired to ensure safety over such switches. .ater, curved switches were developed which were free of most of the shortcomings of straight switches and gave much better service life. !t present, such curved switches are most commonly used along with $%& crossings at turnouts. To improve upon built up crossing, $ast %anganese &teel #$%&' crossing was introduced in IR in the year 2344 in which discreet parts are eliminated and this crossing has better wear resistant properties due to different metallurgy. Thus, this crossing acts as a monolithic structure and its service life is considerably more than built up crossing. $%& crossing has different metallurgy in comparison to rail, therefore, it cannot be welded with adjacent rails by conventional welding methods. The present design of $%& crossing provides for gapless joints at toe and heel in place of welded joints. +ut these joints open up during service and subjected to impact force due to hammering action of rail wheel. This affects the riding comfort adversely besides reduction in the service life of track components including $%& crossing itself. Initially the turnouts were laid on wooden0steel sleepers. .ater, the design and drawings were developed for turnouts on pre"stressed concrete #(&$' sleeper. !t present, almost all the turnouts are laid on fan"shaped (&$ sleeper. ).1 THICK -E, S-ITCH . -E+A,+E CMS CROSSING )ver"riding switch has now been improved using asymmetric thick web tongue rail of lower height. *ue to little machining re,uired in the foot, more lateral rigidity and possible use of elastic fastening, these switches are safer and more reliable re,uiring less maintenance. The gap at toe and heel end of $%& crossing can be eliminated by the use of Weldable $%& crossing. In Weldable $rossing, a piece of special alloy steel is inserted between $%& crossing and 15 6g 7I$ rail. This piece is flash butt welded to $%& crossing at one end and 15 6g 7I$ rail on the other. The elimination of gap works in two ways/ first the impact force is eliminated and second the adverse affect on track fittings, sleeper and ballast is reduced significantly. 1. TECHNICA+ SUPERIORIT2 OF THICK -E, S-ITCHES

Thick web switches #TW&' are being used world over due to their technical superiority over )ver"riding switches#)R&', some of which are mentioned hereunder /

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World over, cross section of the tongue rail in modern design is asymmetrical section that is lower than the standard rail profile. This has the advantage that very little machining of the foot of tongue rail is re,uired. There have been incidences of fracture in tongue rails in )R& in which the crack has initiated from the edge of under"cutting portion of foot of tongue rail. 8o such failure is possible in TW& making it safer compared to )R&. Tongue rail of TW& is having asymmetrical section, the moment of inertia #Iyy' of which is higher compared to the tongue rail made of standard symmetrical rail for )R&. This results in high lateral rigidity in tongue rail ensuring minimum distortion under lateral loads. *ue to above advantage, TW& re,uire lesser maintenance and have more service life. The lower height of asymmetric tongue rail allows the use of elastic fastening system for holding stock rail on both sides which is necessary for modern turnout. In case of )R&, the stock rail is not fastened on tongue rail side causing disturbance of track geometry and track parameters fre,uently re,uiring regular maintenance. In case of )R&, holes are re,uired in the web of stock rail for fi ing the slide chair. &uch holes are not re,uired in stock rail of TW& eliminating the likelihood of bolt hole failure resulting in enhanced safety on such turnouts. The top of tongue rail is level with stock rail in TW&, whereas in )R& twist upto 1mm is inbuilt in design. Therefore, if TW& is used, twist in track will be eliminated which is an important consideration in high speed. The tip of tongue rail is housed in the recess under the head of stock rail which is formed by machining the stock rail head. This reduces shock at entry and wear at switch tip. This is a pre"re,uisite for high speed track as there must not be any obstruction in the path of wheel. The TW& is provided with 215 mm throw with spring setting device #&&*' which ensures proper housing of tongue rail and ade,uate flange way clearance up to junction of rail heads #9):'. &&* acts as an alternative to double pull arrangement for achieving full housing0butting of tongue rail with stock rail up to 9):. The provision of &&* obviates any likelihood of tight gauge in switch portion in floating condition. This, in turn, shall provide obstruction free path to high speed rail wheels. TW& are provided with $lamp point lock which provides direct locking of the switch rail with the stock rail for the complete effectiveness of the locking which is absolutely necessary for high speed.

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*ue to the abovementioned technical superiority of TW& , TW& is a must for high speed routes.

Thic# -e3 S4i ch 1.( FIE+D PERFORMANCE OF THICK -E, S-ITCHES

;55 sets of thick web switches#TW&' using asymmetric tongue rail section <7"2"15 on (&$ sleepers were laid in track in $R, =R, &=R, 8R > WR from the year ?555 onwards as per firms@ design with 6"type0=R$ fastening with spring setting device#&&*'. Recently, R*&) collected details of field performance of TW& and over"riding switches #)R&' from all concerned Aonal railways to assess the comparative advantages of TW&. The details of ?23 sets of TW& were received along with the detail of )R&. The following inferences are drawn from the details received from above Aonal railways/ a' &ome of the thick Web &witches have already lived a life of more than B55 -%T and are still in service. !s per $R, the renewal of TW& is re,uired after C"4 years compared to D"; years in )R&. WR has drawn inference that on an average TW& shall serve more than double the life of )R&. Re,uirement of reconditioning of tongue rail is very less in TW& compared to that in )R&.)R& has problem of wear of tongue rail and hence reconditioning is re,uired much more fre,uently than TW&. :ousing is very good in TW& and there is no compatibility issue with &>T department whereas there is problem of housing in )R&.

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!s per WR, TW& being sturdier re,uires lesser maintenance inputs due to lesser disturbance in track geometry.

The above inferences are very much relevant for high speed track for safety, reliability, riding comfort and maintainability and reestablish the technical superiority of thick web switches. These switches, already being used world over, are ideal for high speed track. 1.) DE*E+OPMENT OF DESIGN AND DRA-ING

R*&) has already developed design and drawings for 2/2? and 2/4.B turnouts with <7" 2"15 thick web switch which were issued in year ?55? and ?55; respectively. Thick Web &witches of R*&) designs are being manufactured by Indian switch manufacturers and these have been laid in track by RE8.. Recently, R*&) has also developed design and drawing of 2/21 thick web switches with <7"2"15 asymmetric rail section. &teel !uthority of India .imited 0+hilai &teel (lant has already installed re,uired plant and machinery for the production of end forged <7"2"15 thick web rail. :ence, the thick web switches of R*&) design can be manufactured indigenously. 5. TECHNICA+ SUPERIORIT2 OF -E+DA,+E CMS CROSSING

!s mentioned in preceding paragraph , the present design of $%& crossing provides for gapless joints at toe and heel which tend to open up during service due to the following reasons / a' b' c' tolerances in the siAe of fish plate bolt hole, bolt , rail hole and the position of hole from the end of $%& $rossing difference in vertical wear of top surface of $%& crossing and rail leading to impact of wheel tread fish plate bolt hole is perpendicular to fish plate whereas bolt hole in $%& crossing is perpendicular to the centre line of crossing.

The joints at toe and heel are subjected to impact force due to hammering action of rail wheel which leads to displacement0crushing of grooved rubber sole plate#-R&(' , opening of liners and elastic rail clips #=R$s', formation of grooves at the top of (&$ sleeper and rounding of ballast underneath. *ue to attrition and crushing, ballast becomes caked and elasticity of medium reduces considerably. !ll these factors lead to a situation where the impact force is not dissipated properly from rail to the formation below causing e cessive stress in the $%& crossing also. *esign length of $%& crossing is lessF therefore, joints are very near to nose of crossing. *isturbances created by joints to the moving wheel are not dampened in

small length, causing large impact forces at the nose of $%& crossing. *ue to this reason, problems are felt in the field about chipping of nose and loosening of fittings. *ue to above reasons, the service life of track components including that of $%& crossing is affected adversely. $%& crossing has different metallurgy in comparison to railF therefore, it cannot be welded with adjacent rails by conventional welding methods. In case of weldable $%& crossing, welded joint is provided between the crossing and the adjoining rails and fish plated joints are removed at the approach of the crossing. This helps in removal of hammering action at the approach of the crossing. The elimination of joints works in two ways/ first the impact force is eliminated and second the adverse affect on track fittings, sleeper and ballast is reduced significantly. This further helps in reducing the maintenance efforts. It is also possible to carry out .WR through point and crossing if joints in the vicinity of $%& crossing are welded. 5.( FIE+D PERFORMANCE OF -E+DA,+E CMS CROSSING

In foreign countries welding of $%& crossing with normal rail is being done by using intermediate piece. This piece has such metallurgical properties so that it can be welded with normal rail as well as $%& crossing. Intermediate piece is manufactured either cast or rolled to the shape of rail having dimensions slightly more than normal rail and same is first welded with normal rail by flash butt welding method. This piece is then cut to length of ?5"D5mm and welded with $%& crossing by same method. $hiseling, grinding and post heating are re,uired to be done after welding as per re,uirement which depend upon material properties of intermediate piece.

-el6a3le CMS Cr!%%ing Technology of welding of $%& crossing with normal rail was developed by =uropean countries in the year 2345. IR also imported ?5 turnouts in which Weldable $%& crossings were supplied. These turnouts were laid in !llahabad division of 8$R and the performance was reported to be satisfactory in terms of maintenance efforts, riding ,uality and wear. 5.) DE*E+OPMENT OF DESIGN AND DRA-ING

(resent geometrical design of $%& crossing of IR cannot be welded with rail as end geometry do not match. In view of above, R*&) has developed design and drawing of Weldable $%& crossings on e isting (&$ sleepers for 2 in 2? #*rg. 8o. R*&)0T"1;2?' and 2 in 4G #*rg. 8o. R*&)0T"1;;2' turnouts by increasing the length at toe and heel ends and matching the profile of normal rail so that this $%& crossing can be welded with intermediate piece. *uring design care has been taken to eliminate sharp radius of curves and proper matching of rail foot, web and head has been ensured. In the design one more feature has been added. Eertical stiffeners have been provided at the bottom side of crossing in between the sleeper location. These stiffeners are e pected to give lateral rigidity to $%& crossing under dynamic load therefore chances of cracking of $%& crossing at foot will be reduced. R*&) has also firmed up specifications along with testing procedure of Weldable $%& crossing to ensure ,uality control during manufacturing. The *rawings for Weldable $%& crossings have been issued for trial purpose. &ome Indian $%& crossing manufacturers having collaboration with foreign

companies have offered to manufacture weldable $%& crossings of R*&) design for trial purpose. 7se of Weldable $%& crossing, as mentioned above, results in elimination of joints at toe and heel but one gap near nose of crossing is still to be negotiated. It has been learnt that such crossings are used in =uropean countries up to ?55 kmph speed. 7. +-R THROUGH TURNOUTS

.ong welded rails #.WR' are very useful in eliminating fish plated joints and providing continuous path for smooth running which is a pre"re,uisite for high speed track. In HIndian Railway system@, station yards are located at an interval of 4"25 6m. Turnouts at stations make continuation of .WRs difficult through them. To have effective $WR of longer length , it is desirable to continue .WR through turnouts. =limination of joints improves safety, enhances passenger comfort and reduces wear and tear of track components and maintenance effort. In past, arrangement of strengthening frame was used in switch and crossing portion on wooden sleeper layout for continuing .WR through (oints and $rossings which did not perform satisfactorily. &ubse,uently, .WR through 2/2? 15 6g turnout with 252?B over" riding curved switch and 15 6g :eat treated welded crossing was tried at +hopal division of W$ Railways in ?55D. This arrangement performed satisfactorily. There was no maintenance problem, though the turnout was laid with =R$ %k"III and stock rails were having slide chairs fitted with bolts. In this layout, no special fittings such as :T& bolts or anti creep arrangements were provided. The tongue rails joints were also not welded to have free movement. With the advancement, it has been observed that $%& crossing can also be welded with the normal rail. In fact, most of the world railways are using weldable $%& crossing for continuing .WR through (oints and $rossings. +y the use of weldable $%& crossing there is no chance of relative movement of different components of crossing being monolithic and therefore no stress frame is re,uired in this portion. Further by introduction of (&$ sleeper with =R$, the arrangement provides much higher toe load, therefore, chances of movement of rail are minimum or within limit as this arrangement holds the rail properly and rail sleeper assembly acts as one unit.

In view of above, .WRs may be continued through turnouts with following arrangements/ a) 7se of <u"2"15 thick web switches with elastic fastenings and using :T& bolts in heel and distance blocks b) 7se of =R$ %6"E in complete turnout Aone and up to ; adjacent rail lengths on either side of turnout c) 7se of specially designed creep arresting device behind heel of switch d) 7se of Weldable $%& crossing e) 7se of creep anchors in lead portion *etailed calculation has been done to check whether the proposed arrangement is safe to withstand thermal forces. From the calculation, it has been observed that resisting force is more than induced thermal forces. Total theoretical movement of tongue0stock rail due to rise and fall in temperature with respect to the distressing temperature comes to appro imately C mm and 2B mm respectively. The actual movement is e pected to be less as e perienced in +hopal division and also due to provision of creep anchors in lead portion of turnouts. Further, in view of no relative movement of tongue rail, the operation of point and signaling gear will remain unaffected.

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EXP+OSI*E DEPTH HARDENED /EDH0 CMS CROSSING AND IN$SITU RECONDITIONING OF CMS CROSSING

$%& crossings provided with fish plated joints can be removed from the track easily for reconditioning0replacement compared to weldable $%& crossing. To reduce the maintenance #reconditioning' re,uirement, Weldable $%& crossing may be e plosive hardened in wear prone areas. In this connection, =*: $%& $rossing of firm@s design is under trial at 8orthern Railway. )ne technology for in"situ reconditioning of $%& crossing using translamatic robotic welder has been adopted for regular use in IR. )ther world proven and indigenous technologies are at various stages of development. 7se of in"situ reconditioning shall make the reconditioning of weldable $%& crossing possible in track itself. 9. CONC+USION

Turnouts being weak link in track need improvement for implementation of high speed # ?55 6mph' on the e isting track. The design, laying and maintenance of turnout should be such that it provides smooth running at station limit similar to that at block section. This re,uirement can be fulfilled by adoption of following measures at turnout/ a' b' c' 7se of Thick Web &witch with <7"2"15 asymmetric tongue rail and 15 6g 7I$ stock rail 7se of weldable $%& $rossings with e plosive depth hardening $ontinuation of .WR through turnouts

The design and drawings for thick web switch and weldable $%& crossing have already been developed by IR. The arrangement for continuing .WR through turnout has already been devised. %oreover, turnouts using thick web switch and weldable $%& crossing do not need any e tra0special arrangement from signaling department. It is also worth mentioning that such turnouts can not only be laid but can also be maintained through e isting means0technologies.