CE 307

Railway Engineering and Airport

Planning
Ballast

Dr. Indrajit Ghosh

Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Ballast

Definition

A layer of broken stone, gravel, moorum or

any other granular material

Placed and packed below and around

sleepers

Distribute load from sleepers to formation and

simultaneously allow drainage

Give longitudinal and lateral stability to track

Ballast - Functions

Provide level and hard bed for sleepers

Hold sleepers in position during train passage

Transfer and distribute load to wide area

Provide longitudinal and lateral stability

Provide effective mean to maintain level and

alignment of track

Provide elasticity and resilience to track

Provide effective drainage to track

Ballast - Requirements

Should be tough and wear resistant

Should be hard enough not to get crushed

Should be non-porous, non-water absorbent

Should resist abrasion and weathering

Should allow good drainage

Should be cheap and economical

Ballast Types

Broken stone

Mostly used on Indian Railways

Should be non-porous, hard, angular, does not

flake due to vagaries of weather

Excellent ones are obtained from igneous

rocks like granite, quartzite, hard trap

Used for high speed tracks

Sandstone and limestone too make fairly good

ballast

Economical in long run

Ballast Types

Sand

Cheap, provides good drainage

Mostly used for CI Pot sleepers

In low density areas with wooden and ST sleepers

Coarse sand is preferred

Drawback is blowing effect due to vibrations

Causes excessive wear on rail top and moving

parts of rolling stock

Ballast Types

Coal ash or cinder

Used in yards, sidings, etc.

Used as initial ballast in new construction

Cheap and easily available

Corrosive, harmful for steel sleepers and

fittings

Ballast Types

Moorum

Used as initial ballast in new constructions or

as sub-ballast

Blanketing material on black cotton soil

Prevent water percolation into formation

Others

Gravel, River Pebbles, Kankar, Brick Ballast,

etc.

Ballast Types: Comparison

Ballast Types: Comparison

Ballast Size

Flat bottom sleepers

Metal sleepers

50 mm (2)
40 mm (1.5)

To ensure uniformity

50 mm adopted universally

For all types

Ballast Size

Points and crossings

Higher degree of precision is maintained

25 mm (1) preferred because of its fineness

Slight adjustment

Better compaction

Increased frictional area of ballast

Ballast Size

Indian railway specifications

Oversize if Retained on 65 mm > 5 % to 10%

Reject if Retained on 65 mm > 10 %

Ballast Section

Ballast section

Consists of

Width of ballast layer

Depth of ballast under sleepers

Ballast Section

Width of ballast layer

Lateral strength of track depends partly on

quantity of ballast used at end of sleepers

Generally increases with increase in width

There is a limit beyond which no useful purpose is

served

Limited to 38 to 43 cm from end of sleepers

Indian Standards provide recommendation

Width of ballast at foot level of rail

Depth of ballast below sleepers

Ballast Section

Ballast section

Ballast Section

Depth of ballast under sleepers

Important factor in load bearing and uniformity

of distribution of load

More depth will provide more load bearing capacity

US

Depth = sleeper spacing in recommended

Heavier loads and closer spacing of sleepers

India

Not followed

Larger spacing of sleepers ~ Thicker layer

Ballast Section

Min. depth of ballast section

Lines of equal pressure in ballast because of

wheel loads are in shape of a bulb

For simplicity

Load dispersion is assumed at 450 to vertical

For uniform load distribution on formation, ballast

depth should be such that dispersion lines do not
overlap with each other

23

Ballast Cushion

Minimum Depth of Ballast section

Ballast Section

Minimum Depth of Ballast section

= * [Sleeper Spacing width of sleeper]

c/c Sleepers
Spacing

Width of

Sleepers

Sleeper
45o

45o

Depth

Ballast Section

Given data

Wooden sleepers on BG track

Sleeper density = n+7

Width of sleeper is 25 cm

Minimum depth of ballast cushion = ?

Ballast Section

Ballast section

Packing and Boxing

Packing

Process of ramming or forcing ballast

underneath sleeper as per gradation

Boxing

Process of filing ballast loosely around or

between sleepers and beyond ends of
sleepers to required shape of ballast cushion
to provide lateral stability

Then dress track neatly

Ballast Screening

Screening of Ballast

Procedure of renewing ballast section which

got degraded

Crushed material clogs voids causing drainage

problem

Penetration of ballast in formation

Blowing away of ballast

Ballast Screening

Screening of Ballast