Types of Sleepers
The sleepers mostly used on Indian Railways are (i) wooden sleepers, (ii) cast iron (CI) sleepers, (ii) steel sleepers, and (iv) concrete sleepers. Table 7.3 compares the important characteristics of these types.
Table 7.3 Comparison of different types of sleepers
Characteristics Type of sleeper
|
|
Wooden |
Steel |
CI |
Concrete |
|
Service life |
12-15 |
40-50 |
40-50 |
50-60 |
|
(years) Weight of |
83 |
79 |
87 |
267 |
|
sleeper for BG (kg) Handling |
Manual |
Manual |
Manual |
No manual |
|
|
handling; no |
handling; no |
handling; |
handling; gets |
|
|
damage to |
damage to |
liable to break |
damaged by |
|
|
sleeper while |
sleeper while |
by rough |
rough |
|
|
handling |
handling |
handling |
handling |
(contd )
Table 7.3 (contd)
|
Characteristics |
|
Type of sleeper |
|
|
|
|
Wooden |
Steel |
CI |
Concrete |
|
Type of |
Manual or |
Manual or |
Manual |
Mechanized |
|
maintenance |
mechanized |
mechanized |
|
only |
|
Cost of maintenance |
High |
Medium |
Medium |
Low |
|
Gauge adjustment |
Difficult |
Easy |
Easy |
No gauge adjustment possible |
|
Track circuiting |
Best |
Difficult; insulating pads are necessary |
Difficult; insulating pads are necessary |
Easy |
|
Damage by |
Can be |
No damage by |
Can be |
No damage by |
|
white ants and |
damaged by |
white ants but |
damaged by |
white ants or |
|
corrosion |
white ants |
corrosion is possible |
corrosion |
corrosion |
|
Suitability for |
Suitable for |
Suitable for CF |
Suitable for CF |
Suitable for EF |
|
fastening |
CF* and EF^ |
and EF |
only |
only |
|
Track elasticity |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Best |
|
Creep |
Excessive |
Less |
Less |
Minimum |
|
Scrap value |
Low |
Higher than wooden |
High |
None |
* CF stands for conventional fastening. t EF stands for elastic fastening.
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