Development and Performance Evaluation of Rail Fastening System Using Non-metallic Materials for Main Members

Abstract

Rail fastening systems are generally designed to provide a certain level of electrical insulation to prevent rail current from leaking through the supporting track components to the earth. Despite this, some cases have been reported where, in some installation environments, the electrical insulation of rail fastening systems has deteriorated, resulting in transport disruptions caused by incidents such as ground faults and short circuits. Thus, we studied the applicability of resin materials to rail fastening members to prevent the reduction of the electrical insulation. Based on the results of this study, we produced a prototype of a rail fastening system using resin members and evaluated its performance. The performance evaluation of the prototype confirms that the prototype has the sufficient performance to be installed on a conventional rail track.