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MODERN TURNOUTS FOR INTRODUCTION OF HIGH SPEED ON THE EXISTING TRACK A.K.Singhal, Execu i!e Di"ec #"$T"ac%&II$RDSO A.K.

Mi'h"a, Di"ec #"$T"ac%&III$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 has served Indian Railways(IR# well to cater for the needs of increasing traffic. %urther improvements have been made in turnout design by development of design 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. This paper deals with these improvements in the design of switch and crossing facilitating continuation of long welded rail(&'R# through turnouts 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 $%& $rossings are to be laid with gapless joints at toe and heel. +ut, in actual practice, these joints develop into full fledged fish plated joints due to various factors. Therefore, there are si fish plated joints left on one turnout out of which three lies on the mainline. !s the fish plated joints are difficult to maintain properly over (&$ 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.
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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 recently been developed by IR. +. TECHNICA, SUPERIORIT- 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/ a' 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 of tongue rails in )R& in which the crack has initiated from the edge of under"cutting portion of foot of tongue rail. 0o 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 of 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 213 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 #4)5'. &&* acts as an alternative to double pull Page 2 of 12

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arrangement for achieving full housing6butting of tongue rail with stock rail up to 4)5. The provision of &&* obviates any likelihood of tight gauge in switch portion in floating condition and hence provides obstruction free path to high speed rail wheels. h' 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.

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

Thic% .e0 S1i ch +.* FIE,D PERFORMANCE OF THICK .E/ S.ITCHES

733 sets of thick web switches#TW&' using asymmetric tongue rail section 89"2"13 on (&$ sleepers were laid in track in $R, :R, &:R, 0R ; WR from the year <333 onwards as per firms= design with >"type6:R$ fastening with spring setting device#&&*'. Recently, R*&) collected details of field performance of TW& and over"riding switches #)R&' from all concerned ?onal railways to assess the comparative advantages of TW&. The details of <2@ sets of TW& were received along with the detail of )R&. The following inferences are drawn from the details received from above ?onal railways/ a' b' c' &ome of the thick Web &witches have already lived a life of more than A33 -%T and are still in service. !s per field report, on an average TW& shall have service life 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&. 5ousing is very good in TW& and there is no compatibility issue with &;T department whereas there is problem of housing in )R&. Page 3 of 12

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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. +.+ DE2E,OPMENT OF DESIGN AND DRA.ING

R*&) has already developed design and drawings for 2/21 #*rg. 0o. R*&)6T" B3BA ', 2/2< #*rg. 0o. R*&)6T"12A7' and 2/C.A turnouts #*rg. 0o. R*&)6T"1<B@' with 89"2"13 thick web switch. These thick web switches have been designed with 213 mm throw along with spring setting device #&&*' with the provision of point clamp lock at the location of leading stretcher bar. The provision of &&* ensures proper housing of tongue rail and ade,uate flange way clearance up to junction of rail heads #4)5' whereas point clamp lock ensures direct locking of the switch rail with the stock rail for the complete effectiveness of the locking. In above R*&) design, elastic fastening has been provided on the inside foot of stock rail using :R$, leaf spring ; wedge arrangement. .eaf spring and wedge arrangement holding the stock rail on tongue rail side can be seen in the photograph below. This system is useful in continuing .WR through turnouts.

R*&) has also developed specification for thick web switches which is an improvement over the specification #IR&/ T"23"<333' for over"riding switch. &witches made from asymmetric thick web rails shall be machined by $0$ machine to achieve correct profile and prescribed roughness factor on all machined surfaces. In addition, specification for end forging of asymmetric thick web tongue rail has also been developed according to which the minimum length of forged section with desired rail profile shall be A33 mm and transition length of forging shall be in the range of 2A3 mm
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to <33 mm. The minimum length of A33 mm for desired rail profile has been incorporated to accommodate 2 metre long fish plate. +hilai &teel (lant of &teel !uthority of India .imited has already installed re,uired plant and machinery for the production of end forged 89"2"13 thick web rail. These thick web switches of R*&) design are being manufactured by Indian switch manufacturers and have been laid in track by RD0.. 5ence, the thick web switches of R*&) design can be manufactured indigenously. 3. TECHNICA, SUPERIORIT- OF .E,DA/,E CMS CROSSING

!s mentioned in preceding paragraph , the present design of $%& crossing provides for gapless machined joints at toe and heel but ,in actual practice, gapless joints are not possible due to following reasons / a' b' c' Tolerances in the si?e of fish plate bolt hole, bolt, rail hole and the position of hole from the end of $%& $rossing. *ifference 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 displacement6crushing 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 lessE 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 like chipping of nose and loosening of fittings are felt in the field. $%& crossing has different metallurgy in comparison to railE therefore, it cannot be welded with adjacent rails by conventional welding methods. 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 normally made of nickel"chrome steel F2B" 2@G $r ; @"2<G 0iH and is manufactured either cast or rolled to the shape of rail having dimensions slightly more than normal rail. The same is first welded with normal rail by flash butt welding method. This piece is then cut to length of <3"I3 mm 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.

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5ence, in case of weldable $%& crossing, welded joint is provided between the crossing and the adjoining rails. !s a result, fish plated joints are removed at the approach of the crossing. The hammering action of rail wheels is eliminated leading to riding comfort and enhanced life of track components. This further helps in reducing the maintenance efforts. It is also possible to carry out .WR through points and crossings if joints in the vicinity of $%& crossing are welded. IR imported <3 turnouts in the year 2@@2 in which Weldable $%& crossings were supplied. These turnouts were laid in !llahabad division of 0$R and the performance was reported to be satisfactory in terms of maintenance efforts, riding ,uality and wear. 3.* DE2E,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. 0o. R*&)6T"172<' and 2 in CJ #*rg. 0o. R*&)6T"1772' 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 to ensure proper matching of rail foot, web and head.

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In the design one more feature has been added. Dertical stiffeners have been provided at the bottom side of crossing in between the sleeper location. These stiffeners shall give lateral rigidity to $%& crossing under dynamic load therefore any likelihood of cracking of $%& crossing can be eliminated.

R*&) has also firmed up specifications along with testing procedure for Weldable $%& $rossing to ensure ,uality control during manufacturing. The specification of Weldable $%& $rossing is an improvement over the specification IR&"T<@ for $%& $rossing. In respect of chemistry, the ma imum limit of 0i, %o, $r, $u and !l has also been specified. !lso, it has been specified that the manganese shall not be less than 23 times the carbon content. The radiographic e amination has also been prescribed in entire cross"section for C3 mm length at ends of $%& $rossings to be welded with rail. 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.

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9se 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 for high speed. 4. ,.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 KIndian Railway system=, station yards are located at an interval of C"23 >m. 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 $rossings which did not perform satisfactorily. &ubse,uently, .WR through 2/2< 13 >g turnout with 232<A mm over"riding curved switch and 13 >g 5eat treated welded crossing was tried at +hopal division of W$ Railways in <33I. 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 5T& 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 $%& crossing there is no chance of relative movement of different components of crossing being monolithic and therefore no stress frame is re,uired in this portion. Further, (&$ sleeper with :R$ 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. 4.* DETAI,ED CA,CU,ATION FOR ,.R THROUGH TURNOUT

*etailed calculation has been done to check whether the proposed arrangement is safe to withstand thermal forces. 7.2.2 /a'ic )a"a5e e"'/ Thermal force ( L :!Mt : L <.2A 231 >g6cm< ! L B1.C1 cm< Nfor 13 >g #9I$' railO M L 3.333322A< for temperature ?one P ID t ma L B1Q $ t mean L ICQ $ td L t mean R AQ $ to t mean R 23Q $
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#For calculation purposes, take td L t mean R B.AQ $ td L ICQ $ R B.AQ $ L 7A.AQ $ Range of temperature variation on compression side / t ma P td L B1Q $ " 7A.AQ $ L I3.AQ $ Range of temperature variation on tension side / t d P t min L 7A.AQ $ P 3 L 7A.AQ $ +allast resistance for sleeper density of 2C33 sleepers6>m R L 27.BB >g6cm6Rail 7.2.< The"5al F#"ce / ( L <.2A 231 B1.C1 3.333322A< 7A.A L C112B >g

7.2.I /alla' Re'i' ance / This much strength is re,uired to be generated within the breathing length so as to prevent any longitudinal movement beyond the breathing length. )n the other hand, longitudinal movement of tongue rail will depend on breathing length. +reathing length L C112B6#27.BB 233' L AC.17 m 7.2.7 &ufficient longitudinal strength is re,uired to be generated by the fastenings at rail seat level in AC.17 m length which is generated as shown below / 0os. of sleepers in AC.17 m length with spacing AA3 mm L AC.1763.AA L 231 Resistance re,uired per rail seat L C1.12B6231 L C2B >g Taking transfer function #56D' L 3.7 Toe load needed per sleeper per :R$ L C2B6#3.7 <' L23<2.<A >g 7.2.A If :R$ mark D or any other fastening with average toe load of 2IA3 >g is used, resistance offered by 231 rail seats / Total Resistance Force L 231 2IA3 < 3.7 L 227.7C T 7.2.1 M#!e5en #6 T#ngue$S #c% "ail Ca'e #6 "i'ing e5)e"a u"e 7T) 8 T9: :longation L !:M<t<6<R t L Tma P Td L I3.AQ $ L B1.C1 <.2A 231 #3.333322A<'< I3.A<6#< 27.BB' L 3.1@ cm L 1.@ mm Ca'e #6 6alling e5)e"a u"e 7T9 8 T): %ovement of tongue6stock rail from stage of ma imum temperature to minimum temperature for decreasing trend $ontraction L !:M<t<67R t L Tma P Tmin L B1Q $ L B1.C1 <.2A 231 #3.333322A<'< B1<6#7 27.BB' L <.277 cm L <2.77 mm Therefore , total movement is <2.77 mm %ovement of tongue6stock rail in Tension side L <2.77 P 1.@ L 27.A7 mm 7.2.B !s the resistance force is more than the thermal induced force, the above arrangement of continuing .WR through (oints ; $rossing is e pected to be
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effective. Further <BS 5T& bolts will be used in heel and distance block which will also resist thermal force by transferring the same to the stock rail. 7.2.C These counteracting forces shall not permit relative movement between tongue rail and stock rail. $alculated theoretical total movement of tongue rail by << mm is not likely to affect the operation of point and signaling gear as there will not be relative movement of tongue rails. 7.2.@ From the calculation, it has been observed that resisting force is more than induced thermal forces. Total theoretical movement of tongue6stock rail due to rise and fall in temperature with respect to the distressing temperature comes to appro imately B mm and 2A mm respectively. The actual movement is e pected to be less as e perienced in +hopal division and also due to provision of creep anchors in lead portion of turnouts. Further, in view of no relative movement of tongue rail, the operation of point and signaling gear will remain unaffected. 4.+ ,A-OUT FOR ,.R THROUGH TURNOUTS In view of above, .WRs may be continued through turnouts with following arrangements/ a) 9se of 8u"2"13 thick web switches with elastic fastenings and using <BS 5T& bolts in heel and distance blocks b) 9se of :R$ %>"D in complete turnout ?one and up to 7 adjacent rail lengths on either side of turnout c) 9se of specially designed anti creep device behind heel of switch d) 9se of Weldable $%& crossing e) 9se of creep anchors in lead portion

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;. ;.*

OTHER IMPRO2EMENTS IN TURNOUTS EXP,OSI2E DEPTH HARDENED 7EDH: CMS CROSSING

$%& crossings provided with fish plated joints can be removed from the track easily for reconditioning6replacement compared to Weldable $%& $rossing. To reduce the maintenance #reconditioning' re,uirement, Weldable $%& $rossing may be e plosive hardened in wear prone areas. The initial hardness of $%& $rossing is about <<3 +50 while that of cast steel wheels is I<3"I73 +50. +y the time hardness of $%& $rossing is increased through work hardening, wear to the e tent of < to I mm takes place ,uickly. K: plosive hardening= process has been developed to overcome this problem. With this process, initial hardness of IA3 +50 is achieved in wear prone areas and hence service life of $%& $rossing before reconditioning increases. In this connection, K: plosive hardening= of $%& $rossings of R*&) design has been done by one of the manufacturer of $%& $rossing which is under trial at 0orthern Railway. ;.+ IN&SITU RECONDITIONING OF CMS CROSSING

!t present, $%& $rossings are re,uired to be removed from track so that reconditioning is done in controlled temperature condition in welding workshop. This activity re,uires traffic block for removal and insertion of crossing in addition to transportation of the same to welding workshop. Weldable $%& $rossing, being welded at toe and heel, shall re,uire greater effort for reconditioning at welding workshop and thermit welding of rail joints shall be re,uired at either side. In view of above, in"situ reconditioning is desirable for weldable $%& $rossing. &uch reconditioning re,uires proper temperature control measures to avoid any overheating which may lead to crack. )ne technology for in"situ reconditioning of $%& crossing using translamatic robotic welder has been adopted for regular use in IR which guarantees minimum C3 -%T service life. )ther world proven and indigenous technologies are at various stages of evaluation6development. ;.3 S.ING NOSE CROSSING

9se of Weldable $%& crossing results in elimination of joints at toe and heel but one gap near nose of crossing is still to be negotiated. &tudies conducted by )R: have indicated that for speeds upto <33 kmph on the straight side and 213 kmph on turnout side, it is not necessary to avoid this gap. 5owever, the gap near nose of crossing can be avoided for better riding comfort and maintainability which is possible by the use of swing nose crossing. &wing nose crossings are being used in advanced railway systems for obtaining gapless track in crossing portion specifically for high speed routes and higher a le load. ;.4 MO2A/,E S.ITCH DIAMOND

$onventional obtuse crossings in *iamonds have unsupported and unguided flange way gaps that wheels have to negotiate. These gaps generate high dynamic loads that adversely affect ride ,uality, track speeds and components= life. *ue to the high dynamic loads generated in the conventional design of *iamond, there are significant Page 11 of 12

maintenance problem. The service lives of crossings and diamonds are greatly affected by train speeds and wheel loads. To overcome the above problem, design of 2 in 23 and 2 in C.A movable switch diamond with double slip, single slip and without slip with (&$ sleepers have recently been developed by R*&). This design is having an innovative concept of movable obtuse crossing to avoid unsupported and unguided length at throat of obtuse crossing. <. CONC,USION There has been continuous improvement in the design of turnouts on IR. !t present, over"riding switches and $%& crossings are used over fan shaped (&$ sleepers on large scale. Indian Railways is pioneer in development of designs of turnouts, diamonds, movable switch diamonds and scissor crossovers for all locations over (&$ &leepers along with the design of (&$ &leepers. Time has come to switch over to modern turnouts on Indian Railways by introducing thick web switches and weldable $%& crossings for high speed track. &uch turnouts are widely used in advanced railways. *esign, *rawings and &pecifications for above turnout components have been developed such that these can be produced indigenously. .WR can be continued through turnouts using thick web switches and weldable $%& crossings for elimination of fish plated joints in station limit which is a pre" re,uisite for introduction of high speed. 0o e tra6special arrangement is re,uired from signal department for implementation of above modern turnout on Indian Railways. Technology of e plosive hardening and in"situ reconditioning shall lead to enhancement of service life of Weldable $%& $rossing. Thick Web &witches, being sturdier, is having more service life. 5ence, the use of modern turnout comprising of thick web switch and weldable $%& crossing along with .WR through turnout shall reduce the maintenance effort significantly.

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