Ministry of Transportation

Iraqi Republic Railways Co.

Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

"TURNOUTS"
1 - GENERAL

1.1 Detailed Design and Drawings

The Manufacturer shall provide calculations, design, detailed

drawings and list of material for all type of turnouts to the IRR.
Special care is given to turnouts equipped with concrete or steel
bearers for which the Manufacturer is fully responsible of the design of
both concrete or steel bearers, base plates and fastenings.
A precondition of the manufacture of turnouts or parts of
turnout is the positive approval of calculations and drawings by IRR.
The Manufacturer shall carry out modifications according to the
comments IRR without for that reason being entitled to make any kind of
claim. The fastening will be of the Pandrol Fastclip type.

1.2 Components

Turnout consist of the following parts:

a) Switches: two stock rails and two switch rails.

b) Intermediate Rails: four intermediate rail sections welded to the
switch parts and to the outside rails as or to the crossing.
c) Crossing: high-manganese steel casting fix nose.
d) Check Rails: (including outside rails): two check rails assembled
with two outside rails.
e) Concrete or steel bearers: supporting all the above parts and the
external rails (i.e. four rail sections welded to the crossing and the
outside rails on one side and forming the track on the other side).
f) Assembling materials, including those for external rails (as defined
hereinabove).
g) Switch Rods
h) Manual Switch Drive.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

All parts of turnouts shall be elictrically isolated to fullfill

the requirements of signalling system.
1.3 Connection with the Track
The turnout is connected to the heading tracks by welding the stock rails
on one side and the outside rails and crossing on the other side to the track
rails. Cast manganese crossing will be welded to the adjacent rails by
means of a transition rail fixed to the crossing.

Compromise of the track rails inclined 1 in 20 with the vertical

stock rails, outside rails and crossing is made by special baseplate seats of
the two respective sleepers 1 in 40.

1.4 Types & Quantities:

Following types of turnouts are specified as follows:
(Quantity Complete Set)

1.4.1 Turnout 760 – 1:14

− radius of deflection section: 760m
− angle of crossing: 4° 05' 08"
− length: 54.2167m
− identification mark: ST – UIC 60 – 760 – 1:14 RH/LH

1.4.2 Turnout 250 – 1:11

− radius of deflection section: 250m
− angle of crossing: 5° 16' 03"
− length: 30.900m
− identification mark: ST – UIC 60 – 250 – 1:11 RH/LH
1.4.3 Spare Parts
10% of all parts of turnouts except (Intermediate Rails).

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

1.5 Geometric Characteristics

1.5.1 Basic Data

Turnouts are laid on tangent stretches.

Gauge: 1435 mm for turnouts 1:14, 1:11

(values are measured 14mm below the rail level).

Concrete or steel bearers spacing: 60cm approx., but in any case

according to the reference drawings.
Dimension of point protection (distance measured at 14mm below the
running surface between the inner edge of the check rail and the running
edge of the crossing): 1396mm
Width of the crossing grooves: 44mm
Check rail flange way: 39mm for all turnouts
Opening at the switch toe: 160mm
Minimum switch: flange way: 60mm

Switch displacement force 3500 N

1.5.2 Tolerances
Tolerances, measured at off loaded turnouts, shall be according to the
following Table:

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

Main Lines Sidings

Characteristics Construction Operating Construction Operating

Gauge (mm) +2 -1 +5 -1 +3 -1 +5 -2
Cross level (mm) 2 3 3 4
Longitudinal level
(measured on a basic 2 3 3 4
line of 5m) (mm)
Alignment (versine with
16m chord, repeated
each 4m) (*)
at curves 3 4 5 7
at straight 2 3 2 3
Sleepers spacing (mm) 5 10 5 10
Check rail flangeway (mm) +1 -0

Crossing groves (mm) +2 -1

Dimension of point
+2 -1
Protection (mm)
Welded joints As per track (Part I para 3.4 and 3.5)

(*)Difference between consecutive measures 3 and 5mm

for main lines and sidings respectively
(see Figure 1 on the following page)

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

FIGURE 1 TURNOUTS VERSINE MEASUREMENT

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

2 - MATERIALS

2.1 Ballast

The ballast characteristics and requirements are the same as

those specified for tracks (see paragraph 2.9 of Part I).

2.2 Rails

2.2.1 Parts Obtained from UIC 60 Rails – Class A

Stock rails, intermediate rail, outside rails. Lengths, depending on the
type of turnout, are indicated in the reference drawings.

2.2.2 Parts Obtained from Special Rolled Sections

Switch rails: asymmetrical section Zu 1 – 60 UIC Code 861-2/0.
Check rails: asymmetrical U profile UIC 33 (RII-60) –UIC Code 860-1.

2.2.3 Quality of Steel and General Supply Conditions

2.2.3.1 Quality of Steel

The steel shall be obtained by the Siemens-Martin basic (open
hearth) process or oxygen-blown converters. The quality of the steel shall
be grade 90 A as defined by UIC Code 860/0.

2.2.3.2 Technical Specification and Supply

The manufacture and supply of the rails shall conform to the requirement
set forth in the “Technical Specifications for the Supply of Flat Bottom
Rails of Non-Treated Steel”, Code 860/0.

2.2.3.3 Markings
Marking shall be in relief or hot-stamped in accordance with the
requirements set forth in 1.3.1 and 1.3.2 of UIC Code 860/0.
The Inspector’s seal shall be stamped on the end section, toward the
ingot head.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

2.2.3.4 Acceptance
The acceptance of the rails shall be performed by IRR or his
representative based on the conditions in paragraph 2.2.3.2.
Copies of the certificates of acceptance by IRR, containing the
test and check results, the identifying data of the accepted rails,
the actual weight per unit or length, shall accompany the lot
covered by such certificates and be delivered to IRR.

2.2.3.5 Tolerances
The dimensional tolerances of the rails (section, length, straightness) shall
be strictly contained within those of the UIC code 860/0 paragraph 1.6 or
European Standard EN 13674-1. only in case the rail section 60 E-1 is
accepted by IRR.
The weight of rails calculated by multiplying the length of the rails
by the average weight per unit of length resulting from weighing: of 20
bars, half of them selected by IRR and half by the Manufacturer, shall be
not lighter than 2% of the normal weight. Below this limit the rails shall
be rejected.
Theoretical weight per unit of length shall be calculated for each rail
profile on the basis of its cross section and of a metal density of 7.85 g/cm³.

2.2.4 Loading, Transport, Unloading, Handling and Storage

Any handling shall be so done as to prevent permanent deformations and

blows on the rails. Suitable lifting equipment is required. Special attention
shall be paid for the long switch and stock rails of turnouts 760 – 1:14
Adequate packing is the responsibility of the Contractor. Rails shall not
be allowed to rest on the ground during storage.

2.3 Crossing

The crossing shall be of the monoblock cast-steel fix nose type.

2.3.1 Monoblock Cast-Steel Type

2.3.1.1
The crossing casting shall be made of high-manganese austenitic steel.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

The chemical composition shall be as follows:

− carbon 0.95 – 1.3 %
− manganese 11.5 – 14 %
− silicon 0.65 %
− sulphur 0.03 %
− phosphorus 0.04 %

2.3.1.2 Drawings and Gauges

The casting shall be made in accordance with the approved
manufacturing drawings. Control gauges shall be supplied by the
Manufacturer. On the two sides the fix manganese crossing shall be
protected by a UIC 33 check rail as per drawings.

2.3.1.3 Manufacture
The manufacturing procedures shall be those specified in this chapter and
when not conflicting therewith, as described in UIC Code 866/0.

In order to permit the welding of the manganese crossing to the adjacent

rails, four legs (transition rails) shall be welded to the crossing by electric
flash process in the workshop. The transition rails shall be type 60-E 1
grade R 260.

2.3.1.4 . Markings
Each casting shall bear in relief, so as to be easily visible:
− the manufacturer’s identification
− the month and year of manufacture
− identification for which type of turnout the casting is headed (UIC 60
– 250, UIC 60 – 760)
− an arrow showing the metal pouring direction.

2.3.1.5 . Electrical Connection

At each end of the crossing, plugs shall be inserted into the casting
allowing the installation of signal bonds by arc-welding.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

2.3.1.6 . Finishing
All casting shall be carefully cleaned of sand, fins, detachable oxide and
shall be free from blowholes, gates and shrinkage heads. They shall be
free from such defects as pipes, scales, blisters and shrinkage cracks.
Their surface shall show a clean appearance, any irregularities like joint
traces, carting fins, etc. shall be carefully ground off. The running surface
and running edges, finishing areas and all surfaces which make contact on
assembly shall be to correct profile and gauge. Any concealment of fault
or repair by welding will result in rejection.

2.3.1.7 . Dimensional Check and Acceptance

Dimensional checks against the manufacturing drawings with the gauges
supplied as mentioned under 2.3.1.2 shall be carried out. Acceptance test
on the casting shall be performed in accordance with UIC Code 866/0
under the supervision of the Railway Administration of the
Manufacturer’s country or by an Inspector appointed by IRR. The
acceptance certificates, bearing the identifying data of the accepted
material, shall be delivered to IRR.

2.3.1.8 . Loading, Unloading, Handling and Storage

The castings shall be loaded, unloaded and handled with suitable lifting
equipment. They shall be stored by resting their foot on flat surfaces with
scrapped wooden sleepers or timbers placed between. In handling them,
impacts and drops shall be avoided.

2.3.1.9. Guarantee
Contrary to stipulations made in other parts of the Tender Documents the
period of maintenance and guarantee for the cast manganese crossing will
be 5 (five) years.

2.4. Turnouts on concrete or steel bearers

The concrete or steel bearers for turnouts shall conform with the
requirements set for at point 2.2 of this Specifications. The Supplier will
submit to the approval of IRR the detailed design and calculation of the
concrete or steel bearers, the detail of their assembly with base plates and
Pandrol Fastclip, the layout of the turnout, together with copy of the
certificates of the tests carried out

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

2.5 Assembling Materials

The Supplier shall submit all the drawings, specifications and testing
requirements, according to the Manufacturer’s design, to IRR approval.

2.6 Switch Rod

The switch rods shall be provided as required and positioned according to
the reference drawings.
All rods have to be electrically insulated.

2.7 Manual Switch Drive

2.7.1 Purpose
Turnouts which are not electrically operated by a point machine (which is
part of signal box components) shall be operated locally by manual
switches drives, installed close to the switch rail toes.

2.7.2 Functional Characteristics

The manual switches drives shall be of “clamping locking” type i.e.
designed to lock each switch rail to its stock rail.
The drive device shall be designed to allow a drive movement of at least
160mm with a force of not less than 2500 N.
There shall be a single drive rod, attached to the switch rails.
The drive rods and any other part connecting the two switch half sets
shall be electrically insulated.

2.7.3 Drive Device

The drive device, of the counterweight type, shall consist of:
Supporting stand, of spheroidal graphite cast iron fitted with a suitable
baseplate of the same material; the supporting stand shall be attached to
the baseplate with screws driven into two of the sleepers of the turnout
next to the switch rail toes. Sleepers shall be of an adequate length, chosen
from among those specified for the turnouts.
Moving parts, comprising levers, cranks, counterweight and rods, to
actuate the movement of the switch rail with the functional
characteristics as specified before: the drive lever shall be so placed
the counterweight shall be such that can lift all moving parts and
assembly elements shall be of steel.

2.7.4 Design Drawings

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

Before beginning the supply, the Manufacturer shall submit to IRR for
approval the design with all working drawings of the device and of the
drive rods with clamps. The drawing shall indicate the quality of the
materials of all components, as well as dimensions, working processes and
material quality control standards adopted.

2.7.5 Acceptance
3 The Supplier shall submit to IRR the certificates of origin of
the materials, attesting to the quality of the same, which shall
conform with that shown on the drawing. The Engineer shall
perform operating tests on some samples taken at random,
and shall have the right to carry out any tests he shall deem
necessary and reject any stock of parts whose samples fail to
pass such tests.
4 Before loading and transport, all moving parts of the manual
switch drives shall be firmly immobilized.

3 - ASSEMBLING, PREASSEMBLING, LAYING IN THE STATIONS

3.1 Assembling, Preassembling and Disassembling

3.1.1 Assembling the Steel Parts

Assembling shall be carried out in accordance with the indication on the
drawings. During the assembling, the supplier shall make the necessary
adjustment for a correct assembly. The assembling of the steel components
may take place both in Iraq or in the manufacturer’s country.

3.1.2 Pre-laying and Preassembling

All turnouts shall be temporarily laid and screwed on the sleepers and
assembled at an appropriate plant in Iraq or in the manufacters's country.
Rails shall be connected by means of temporary joint material.
Prior to assembling, all bolts shall be lubricated with grease and all screws
dipped in coal tar.
The Supplier shall make sure that:
− the switch rail mates with the respective stock rail housing

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

− the base of the switch rails slides on the planes of the slide baseplates
− the switch rail rests on these planes and on the separation blocks
− all parts are correctly aligned the circular parts shall be checked by
measuring the versed sines on 4m chords
− the switch rail is stress-free when closed
− all flangeway are correctly positioned with a tolerance of + 0.5mm
− all other dimensions fall within the specified limits.
The checking shall be done by means of suitable gauges and callipers,
which the Supplier shall be required to supply to IRR. After checking, all
metal parts shall be cleaned and protected with anti-rust paint.

3.1.3 Marking
When the turnout is fully assembled and screwed into the sleepers, after
checking, it shall be marked as follows with white paint:

3.1.3.1 Concrete or steel bearers

a) Traverse line on the upper surface of one end, aligned on a straight line,
this line shall be the reference line
b) In the middle section the number of the turnout
c) Close to the reference line, the serial number of the concrete bearer,
starting from 1 at the beginning of the stock rail.

3.1.3.2 Rails, Crossing and Special Rolled Sections

On the web:
a) Turnout number
b) Length
c) Same figures on the ends of rails headed to the same joint.
On the base timber, serial number.

3.1.4 Disassembling
After marking, the turnouts shall be partially disassembled. The
temporary joint shall be removed.
The switch set shall remain completely assembled and shall be loaded as
such. All baseplates and clips shall remain fixed onto the concrete or steel
bearer. The crossing and the intermediate rails shall be removed. The
check rail and the outside rail shall remain in assembled.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

3.2 LAYING IN THE STATIONS

a) Unloading: the Supplier shall have on hand all the equipment to carry
out a slow and gradual unloading without impacts or drops.
b) A ballast layer shall be compacted up to the specified level, with the
same procedure as used for the track.
c) The concrete bearer shall be arranged according to the serial numbers
and taking care for proper alignment.
d) Rails shall be installed according to the turnout layout and temporarily
jointed without any drilling.
e) All fastening materials shall be installed and properly tightened.
f) The ballast required to complete and reach the specified level shall be
unloaded.
g) Tamping and lining shall be carried out by means of modern and
powerful levelling and lining machines. Three runs are required:
I) basic lift
II) first and second levelling and lining run.
h) When making up to the continuous welded rails (CWR) the temporary
joints shall be removed and all joints shall be welded by the Thermit
process.
The working sequence of the joint welding shall be according to the
following scheme.
i) The turnouts shall be subjected to free maintenance up to the final
hand-over.

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

FIGURE 2 TORNOUTS WELDING

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Ministry of Transportation
Iraqi Republic Railways Co.
Railway Projects Department
Ref./
Date/ 13 /8/2008

4 – TESTING

a) the correct arrangement of parts, by comparison with the drawings

b) all dimensions indicated in paragraph 1.5, making sure that they are
within tolerances
c) the secure holding of the screws and bolts
d) conformity with all requirements in this specification and in the
specifications of the Manufacturer.
Any defect found during the provisional test shall be made good
free of charge by the Supplier in the time allowed by IRR.
The checking of the quality of materials through the inspection of
the original test documents, tests that may be carried out at the
Manufacturer’s laboratory, tests that IRR shall choose to have carried out
at local laboratories and dimensional checks, shall be carried out by IRR
both during the progress of work and on completion thereof.
The Supplier shall prepare all callipers and device of adequate
precision required for checking the geometric characteristics of the
turnouts.

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