What factors affect the lifespan of a rail pad?

A rail pad, also named rail rubber plate, is usually used between tie plates and sleepers or between rails and tie plate. The rail pad is made of elastic polyurethane mat and usually used on concrete sleepers. The rail pad can protect the concrete sleeper from abrasion and impaction, and it can also decrease the vibration from the passing train. It is believed that rail pad functions in two ways: diminish shock and distribute load. The thickness of our rail pads ranges from 5mm to 25mm,but usually the height should not to be so high in case the movement relative to the rails.

What factors affect the lifespan of a rail pad?

Rail pad lifespan is affected by mechanical stress (train speed, weight, impacts), environmental factors (extreme heat/cold, UV, humidity), material composition (rubber vs. composite), chemical exposure (oils, chemicals), and maintenance practices, all impacting properties like elasticity, stiffness, and hardness, with ideal conditions extending life to 8-25 years.

Mechanical Factors

Traffic Volume & Type: High-frequency, heavy loads, and high-speed trains increase wear.
Impact Loads: Wheel flats or rail defects cause severe impacts, degrading pads quickly.
Dynamic Forces: Constant vibration and loading alter pad properties over time.

Environmental Factors

Temperature: High heat softens pads; extreme cold makes them brittle (hardening), reducing cushioning.
UV & Ozone: Sunlight and ozone cause oxidative degradation, affecting material strength.
Humidity/Water: Can lead to water absorption, expansion, and reduced dimensional stability.

Functions of Rubber Rail Pad

In general, the main functions of rubber rail pads are reducing the high-speed vibration and impact of steel rails, protecting the railroad bed and the sleepers, and conduct electrical insulation to the information system. During the application, the rubber rail pads are often composed to the air. So in order to prolong the lifetime of rubber rail pads, we should improve the ageing resistance, cold-resistant, heat resistance and rot resistance of rubber rail pads. In order to make you get a better idea of rubber rail pads, we will have a detailed introduction about the features of rubber rail pads.

What is the thickness of rail pad?

Rail pad thickness varies significantly by application, generally ranging from 5 mm to 20 mm, with common thicknesses like 6-10 mm for standard use, but heavier loads (heavy haul, high-speed) and special types (like double-layer or cord-reinforced) can go up to 22 mm or more to manage shock, vibration, and load distribution effectively.

As a professional rail fastener manufacturer, GNEE RAIL can produce various types of rubber rail pads with different materials, such as natural rubber, EVA, HDPE and so on. In railway fastening system, rubber rail pads are often installed between the rail tracks and the concrete railway sleepers.

Comparion of EPDE+PP-X / TPE/TPR / TPU

Performance	EPDM+PP-X		TPE/TPR		TPU
	TPV	TPO	SBS	SEBS
Tensile Strength	Δ	Ο	Ο	Ο	◎
Compression permanent deformation(100℃,168H)	◎	Ο	Δ	Δ	Δ
Operating temperature(℃)	-60~135	-40~125	-20~80	-30~110	-30~120
Hot Air Aging	◎	Ο	X	Δ	X
(100℃,720H)
Oil Resistance,3#oil	◎	Δ	X	Δ	Δ
(125℃,70H,3#oil)
Acid and alkali resistance	◎	Δ	X	Δ	Δ
Processing technology	◎	◎	◎	◎	X
◎:Excellent Ο:Good  Δ: Ordinary Χ:Poor

GNEE RAIL provides exceptional elastic rail pads of various types for high-speed railways, normal-speed railways, and cranes. Especially the rail pads made of rubber, EVA, TPEE, and HDPE are very popular with customers. Our railway rubber pads fit the rails such as UIC54, UIC60, BS80lbs, BS100lbs, etc. We have more than 130set of machines in our production lines which can reach an annual production capacity of up to 2000, 000 pieces of rail pads. We offer a wide range of rail pads and other track materials at competitive prices.