What is the steel rail standard?
The steel rail standard defines the core quality of steel rails—also called rail tracks—a vital component of the railway track system.
Steel rail undertakes the task of guiding the train wheel and transferring load from locomotive to railway sleeper. As an essential component of railway track structure, the quality and material of steel rail directly impact the safety and service life of railway track. For choosing high-quality steel rail, it is necessary to learn two questions: what is the standard for processing steel rail? And how are steel rails made? Today, we’ll discuss the first one—what is the standard for processing steel rail?
Rails standard in various countries
As for the standard of steel rail, to meet different requirements of different countries, there are many international standards for steel rail on the market.
The common standards include AREMA, UIC, JIS, BS, GB, Russian standards, etc.
Common Standards
AREMA steel rails standard
The AREMA standard was formulated by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association. American standard railway products, especially steel rail, generally adopt the AREMA standard. Common types include AREMA 115, 119, 132, 133, 136, and 147. And so on.
Russian steel rails standard
There are three standards for Russian steel rail: ГOCT 24182-80, ГOCT 18267-82, and ГOCT 51685-2000. They are designed for different steel; ГOCT 24182-80 is the standard for hot-rolled rails, and ГOCT 18267-82 is for heat-treated rails. GOST P 65 kg is a typical type of Russian standard steel rail.
JIS steel rails standard
The JIS standard is suitable for Japanese standard railway tracks. Japanese standard steel rail has a low technical requirement but a high production level. JIS standards for rail lists are as below:
JIS E1101: hot-rolled rails
JIS E1123: heat-treated end of rails
JIS E 1120—1994: Heat-treated rails
Normal JIS standard steel rail includes JIS 37kg, 40kg, 50kg, 60 kg, etc.
UIC steel rails standard
UIC is the International Union of Railway steel rail standard. The UIC standard is one of the most popular and widely used standards; many countries adopt this kind of standard to choose steel rails. UIC 54 and UIC60 are two common types.
BS standard steel rails
BS standard is short for British standard. Obviously, the BS standard is mainly used for the British railway track. Ordinary types of BS standard steel rail include BS 70, 75, 80, 90, 100, etc.
European steel rails standard
The European standard is one of the most advanced and strict standards for steel rail in the world. prEN13674-1:2002(E) and prEN13674-2:2003(E) are two parts of European standards; the latter mainly sets rules for railway switches. Besides, the European standard is designed for the high-speed railway.
GB steel rail standard
It is standardly used for the Chinese railway. GB standard covers many types of railway track, such as hot-rolled rail, heat-treated rail, and rail for the switch. all these steel rails can be applied in the 200 or 350 passenger railway, the 160 or 200 railway, etc. common GB standard steel rail include GB 43, 50, 60, 75, etc.
