Want to learn about steel rail specifications and sizes in different countries? click here

Steel rail is the main component of railway track.Its function is to guide the wheels of the locomotive and rolling stock forward, bear the great pressure of the wheels, and pass to the sleepers.The rail must provide a continuous, smooth, and least resistant rolling surface for the wheels.In the electrified railway or automatic block section, the rail can also be used as a track circuit.The rails are rolled from carbon killed steel smelted by open hearth furnace and oxygen converter.Its purpose is to bear the running pressure and impact load of rolling stock.

Classification of steel rails:

Domestic:

Steel rails in China can be divided into crane rail, heavy rail and light rail in terms of the approximate weight of kilograms per meter:

Crane rail.There are four kinds of crane rail,they are QU120,QU100,QU80,QU70.Material is generally manganese steel,like U71Mn,U75V,U78CrV,U77MnCr,U76CrRE .QU120 steel rail has the largest single weight,up to 118kg/m.
Heavy rail.According to the types of steel used, the steel can be divided into: common manganese steel rail, common carbon steel rail containing copper, high silicon copper steel rail, copper rail, manganese rail, silicon rail, etc.With the steel grades of U74,U71Mn,U70MnSi,U71MnSiCu,U75V,U76NbRE,U70Mn,etc.There are mainly 38kg/m, 43kg/m, 50kg/m, 60kg/m and 75kg/m steel rails.
Light rail.There are mainly9kg/m,12kg/m,15kg/m,18kg/m,22kg/m,24kg/m,30kg/m steel rails with the steel grades of 50Q,55Q,45SiMnP,50SiMnP and Q235B.

Foreign:

Each country in the world has its own standards for the production of rails, and the way of classification is not the same.

BS standard:60A,60R,70A,75A,75R,80A,80R,90A,100A,113A with the steel grades of 700 and 900A.

BS11:1985 Standard Steel Rail
Specification	Size				Unit Weight	Grade	Length
	Head Width	Height	Bottom Width	Web Thickness	(kg/m)		(m)
	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(kg/m)		(m)
50 O	52.39	100.01	100.01	10.32	24.833	700	6m-18m
60 A	57.15	114.3	109.54	11.11	30.618	900A	6m-18m
60 R	57.15	114.3	109.54	11.11	29.822	700	6m-18m
70 A	60.32	123.82	111.12	12.3	34.807	900A	8m-25m
75 A	61.91	128.59	114.3	12.7	37.455	900A	8m-25m
75 R	61.91	128.59	122.24	13.1	37.041	900A	8m-25m
80 A	63.5	133.35	117.47	13.1	39.761	900A	8m-25m
80 R	63.5	133.35	127	13.49	39.674	900A	8m-25m
90 A	66.67	142.88	127	13.89	45.099	900A	8m-25m
100 A	69.85	152.4	133.35	15.08	50.182	900A	8m-25m
113 A	69.85	158.75	139.7	20	56.398	900A	8m-25m

Indian standard:ISCR 50,ISCR60,ISCR70,ISCR80,ISCR100,ISCR120 with the steel grades of 55Q and U71Mn.

ISCR Standard Steel Rail
Specification	Size				Unit Weight	Grade	Length
	Head Width	Height	Bottom Width	Web Thickness	(kg/m)		(m)
	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(kg/m)		(m)
ISCR 50	51.2	90	90	20	29.8	55Q/U71Mn	9m-12m
ISCR 60	61.3	105	105	24	40	55Q/U71Mn	9m-12m
ISCR 70	70	120	120	28	52.8	U71Mn	9m-12m
ISCR 80	81.7	130	130	32	64.2	U71Mn	9m-12m
ISCR100	101.9	150	150	38	89	U71Mn	9m-12m
ISCR 120	122	170	170	44	118	U71Mn	9m-12m

International Railway Union :UIC 860 standard.UIC 54 steel rail and UIC 60 steel rail with the steel grades of 700,900A,900B and 1100.

Specifications of uic54 steel rail and uic60 steel rail
Size	Head width	Height	Bottom width	Waist thickness	Weight	Length
UIC54	70mm	159mm	140mm	16mm	54.43 kg/m	12m-25m
UIC60	74.3mm	172mm	150mm	16.5mm	60.21 kg/m	12m-25m

American standard :ASCE series like ASCE25,ASCE30,ASCE40,ASCE60,ASCE75,ASCE85,90RA,115RE,136RE with the steel grades of 700,900A,1100.

American Standard Steel Rail
Specification	Size				Unit Weight	Material	Length
	Head Width	Height	Bottom Width	Web Thickness	(kg/m)		(m)
	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(kg/m)		(m)
ASCE 25	38.1	69.85	69.85	7.54	12.4	700	6m-12m
ASCE 30	42.86	79.38	79.38	8.33	14.88	700	6m-12m
ASCE 40	47.62	88.9	88.9	9.92	19.84	700	6m-12m
ASCE 60	60.32	107.95	107.95	12.3	29.76	700	6m-12m
ASCE 75	62.71	122.24	122.24	13.49	37.2	900A/110	12m-25m
ASCE 85	65.09	131.76	131.76	14.29	42.17	900A/110	12m-25m
90RA	65.09	142.88	130.18	14.29	44.65	900A/110	12m-25m
115RE	69.09	168.28	139.7	15.88	56.9	900A/110	12m-25m
136RE	74.61	185.74	152.4	17.46	67.41	900A/110	12m-25m

Length of steel rails:

The standard rail length is 12.5m and 25m.The standard length rail of 25m is used for extra-heavy and heavy-duty rail, while 12.5m 25m standard length rail can be used for other types of steel rails.