What is Permanent Way? Explain its components

Permanent way is simply called a “railway track”. The combination of rails, treated on a sleeper with the help of fixtures and fastenings and resting on ballast and subgrade is known as a railway track or permanent way.

Requirement of an Ideal permanent way:

• The gauge of the permanent way should be uniform and correct.
• The gauge of the permanent way should be strong enough against lateral forces.
• The curves provided in the railway track must be properly designed.
• Gradient provided should be even and uniform throughout the length of the track.
• The design of the railway track should be such that the load from the train is uniformly distributed on both rails and protect the track from an uneven settlement.
• The construction of the railway track should be done in such a way that repairs and drains if any of its portions must be carried out without any difficulty.

Components of the permanent way:

The main components of the permanent way are:

1. Rails
2. Sleepers
3. Fasteners
4. Ballasts
5. Subgrades