Permanent way
The permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on ties ("sleepers" in British parlance) embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway. It is described as permanent way because in the earlier days of railway construction, contractors often laid a temporary track to transport spoil and materials about the site; when this work was substantially completed, the temporary track was taken up and the permanent way installed.
Permanent Way Media
New railway concrete sleeper
Section through railway track and foundation showing the ballast and formation layers. The layers are slightly sloped to help drainage. Sometimes there is a layer of rubber matting (not shown) to improve drainage, and to dampen sound and vibration
Ballastless high-speed track in China
Diagram of cross section of 1830s ladder type track used on the Leeds and Selby Railway
Ladder track at Shinagawa Station, Tokyo, Japan
Cross-sections of flat-bottomed rail, which can rest directly on the sleepers, and bullhead rail which sits in a chair (not shown)
Bonded main line 6-bolt rail joint on a segment of 155 lb/yd (76.9 kg/m) rail. The alternating bolt head orientation is to prevent complete separation of the joint in the event of being struck by a wheel during a derailment.
welded rail joint
A pull-apart on the Long Island Rail Road Babylon Branch being repaired by using flaming rope to expand the rail back to a point where it can be joined together
An expansion joint on the Cornish Main Line, England
