J. M. Sadeghi, J. Ali Zakeri and M. Emad Motieyan Najar
International Journal of Railway, vol. 9, no. 2, pp.27-35, 2016

Abstract : In spite of recent advances in ballasted railway track, the correct choice of ballast for rail track is still considered criticalbecause aggregates progressively deteriorate under traffic loading and environmental exposures. Various ballast require-ments, functions and duties have been defined by researchers, railway companies and countries’ regulations even thoughit needs to be integrated to make following proper decision during track operation and maintenance. A proper under-standing of ballast properties and suitable tests are prerequisites for minimizing maintenance costs. This paper presents a capable classification for ballast characteristics which need to be investigated beforehand to such away, firstly to assign ballast functions, secondly need to clarify ballast requirements, thirdly to map appropriate tests toevaluate ballast characteristics and then it must be such that if ballast cannot carry out one of these duties, be able to callthere is ballast defect. The paper is structured in order to achieve these objectives.

Keyword : Track Ballast, Railway track maintenance, Ballast specification, Quality Assessing