Ballas

t
Prepared by:
Shivam
Srivastava
Civil Branch
4th year

Index

Definition
Requirement of Ballast
Types of Ballast
Function of Ballast
Chracterstics of Ballast
Size and Section of Ballast
Quantity of Ballast
Desireable Property of Ballast
Renewable of Ballast

Definition
It is a layer of broken stone or any other
suitable material which is spread on the top of
railway formation and around the sleeper

Ballast - Requirement

Tough and resist water

Hard enough
Cubical , with sharp edges
Non-porous, non water absorbent
Resist attrition

Function Of Ballast

To hold the sleepers in position and preventing

the lateral and longitudinal movement.
To provide easy means of maintaining the correct
levels of the two rails in a track.
To drain rain water from the track.
To prevent the growth of weeds inside the track.
To distribute the axle load uniformly from sleeper
to a large area of formation.

Characteristics Of Good Ballast

It should have sufficient strength to resist crushing

under heavy loads of moving trains.
It should be durable.
It should have rough and angular surface.
It should have good workability.
It should be cheaply available in sufficient quantity.
It should allow for easy and quick drainage of the track.
It should not have any chemical action on metal sleeper
and rails.

Size And Section Of Ballast

The size of ballast used in railway track varies from 19

mm to 51 mm. Stones of size larger than 51. The size of
ballast mainly depends upon the type of sleeper used and
location of the track. The following sizes of ballast are used
in Indian Railway.
For wooden sleeper 51 mm
For steel sleeper 38 mm
For point and crossing 25.4 mm

Quantity Of Ballast

The quantity of ballast per meter tangent length

isFor B.G. - 1.036 cum
For M.G. 0.071 cum
For N.G. 0.053 cum

Desirable Properties of Ballast

Good bearing capacity and crushing value.

Tough and wear resistant.
Good drainage property.
Non porous.
Should resist attrition and abrasion.
Weather resistant.
Low lifecycle cost.

Ballast - Types

Broken stone
Gravel
Sand
Ashes or cinder
Kankar
Moorum
Blast furnace slag
Brick ballast

Gravel
It is the second best material for ballast. It is obtained
from river beds or from gravel
Advantage
Gravel is cheaper than stone ballast.
The drainage property of gravel is excellent.
It holds the track to correct alignment and
fradient.
Disadvantanges
It obtained from pits requires washing.
Due to round faces the packing under sleeper in loose.

Gravel easily roll down due to vibrations.

Broken StoneThis is the best type of ballast as it possesses all the

chracteristics of a good ballast.
Advantage
It is hard and resist crushing under heavy loads.
It has angular and rough surface and hence gives more
stability to the sleeper.
Its drainage properly is excellent.
Disadvantage
It is expansive.
It is not easily available.

Ashes or cinders
These or best products obtain from steam
locomotives.
Advantage
It is cheaper.
It has good drainage quality.
It is available in large quantities
Disadvantages
It is very soft.

It has got corrosive quality.

Sand
Sand is reasonably a good materil for the ballast. This type of
ballast is suitable for packing pot sleepers. It is used only on
unimportant tracks.

Advantage
It is cheap material.
It is available in large quantities.
It has good drainage.
Disadvantage
It has no stability and gets disturbed by the
vibrations caused by moving train.
It causes wear of rail, seats and keys.

Kankar
It is a natural material in the form of nodules from
which lime is perpared.

Advantage
It is cheaper.
Good drainage property.
Disadvantage
It is soft.
The track laid on kankar ballast are difficult to
maintain.

Moorum
It is a soft aggregate and is obtained by the
decomposition of laterite.
Advantage
It is easily available.
It has good drainage property.
It is used as blancket
Disadvantages
It is soft.
Maintence of track laid on moorum ballast is very
difficult

Blast Furnance Slag

It is a waste product obtained from the blast
furnish of the steel industry
Advantages
It is cheap material.
It has good drainge propery.
It has strong material.
Disadvantages
It is not available in large quantity.
Spreading of this material on the formation is difficult.

Brick Ballast
At places work good ballast material is not available over
burnt bricks are broken in to sutaible size to be used as ballast

Advantages
It is cheap material.
It has good drainge propery.
It prevents growth of vegetation
Disadvantages
It is soft.
The rails laid over such ballast get
corrugated.

Renewal Of Ballast
The ballast gets crushed due to repeated wheel
movement. Quantity of ballast is reduced due to
prolonged use. Various loss in quantity of
ballast is due to the following reason:
Penetration of ballast into the sub-grade.
Loss due to rain water and wind.
Blowing away of ballast by the repeated
movement of trains

Reference

http://accessengineeringlibrary.com/browse/railway-track-engineering-fourth-edi
tion/c9780070680128ch08

J S Mundrey: Railway Track Engineering, Fourth Edition. Ballast and Formation,

Chapter (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009), Access Engineering

teacher.buet.ac.bd/cfc/CE353/Lec7_ballast_web.pdf
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sumeetjack1-1613676-presentation-indi
an-railway/
http://www2.sonomamarintrain.org/userfiles/file/PPT%20Presentation%20on%2
0Construction%20Progress%20(8-12)%20copy.pdf
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=ppt+on+railway+ballast
http://www.slideshare.net/ashrafdgrt/group-railway
A. K. Upadhyay: S. K. Kataria & Sons