Different Types of Rail Switches And Their Features

Railway is an important means of transportation in modern life, and railway lines can be almost found all over the world. Rail switch, as the most important steering system in railroad, can be divided into different types according to construction requirements, geographical environment and. As a professional rail switch manufacturer, AGICO Rail can not only produce various types of rail switches according to the needs of users, but also provide more information about rail switches by summarizing the knowledge of rail switches over the years. Next, we will make an explanation about the rail switches to make everyone knows more about rail switch types and features of different types of rail switches.

Single Rail Switch

The main track of single rail switch is straight line, the siding bifurcates from main track to left or right side. Generally, a set of single rail switch is made up of switch, rail frog, guide rails, frog bolts and connection parts. Single rail switch has wide applications that reach 90% of all kinds of rail switches. In a complete set of single rail switch, there is a gap in the frog that limits the train speed. Movable-point frog is an effective way to increase the switch crossing speed.

Driving Rail Switch

To meet the needs of parallel operation, driven rail switches that are not on the way to the specified position and lock them when arranging the route. However, different from the protective rail switch, the protective rail switch should be checked for its interlocking conditions by the access road. The driven switch does not check the switch lock condition, and the opening signal can be established even if the driving switch is not in the specified position during the route alignment. 

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Equilateral Rail Switch

Equilateral rail switch includes two roads bifurcate from main track to right and left. Parts of a rail switch arrange symmetrically lining the bisector of railroad switch frog angle. Two connecting steel rails have same curve radius, there is no difference in running conditions. Equilateral rail switch has advantages in increasing radius of lead curve and shortening the length of station. Therefore, the equilateral rail switch can be applied in the head or tail of switchyard. The equilateral rail switch is also used with the single rail switch if necessary.

Three-way Rail Switch

Three-way rail switch, also known as compound heterotopic symmetric switch, is a common type of compound switch. It is equivalent to two sets of single switch switches which connect to different sides, but its length is much shorter than the sum of the two sets of single rail switches. Three-way switch by a set of switches, operating conditions are poor, not very difficult, should not be used. The three-way rail switch is a type of turnout that is laid when there are many lines to be connected and the terrain is restricted, and two single-way turnouts cannot be laid continuously on the mainline. The three-way rail switch is formed by incorporating one turnout into another turnout. The advantage of this switch is its shorter length. The disadvantage is that the switch rails are weakened more and the service life of the switch is short. At the same time, two common rail frogs cannot be equipped with guard rails on the inner side of the mainline, and locomotives cannot run at high speed along the mainline.

Therefore, this kind of rail switch can only be used in places where the terrain permits and the length of the line connection needs to be shortened as much as possible, such as the head of a marshaling yard or the end of the station, which connects the locomotive running line and the adjacent two arrival and departure lines.

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Rail Switches Summary

The above are several common types of rail switches. By understanding these different types of rail switches, we can not only know the types of rail switches, but also know the features of different types of rail switches. If you want to purchase rail switches for your railroad construction project, or just want to know more the information technical parameters of rail switches, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We have the ability and strength to meet your needs for rail switches and provide comprehensive service.