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Rail Track
Ballast
High-Performance Aggregates for Rail Infrastructure
Rail track ballast forms the foundation of the railway track, providing essential strength, stability, and drainage to support the heavy loads and dynamic forces of passing trains. It typically consists of hard, durable stone such as granite in the 32–50 mm size range, chosen for its high resistance to attrition, fragmentation, and weathering in demanding rail environments. The ballast ensures proper load distribution and effective water drainage beneath the sleepers, maintaining track alignment and safety. All our rail ballast is rigorously quality tested and fully compliant with Network Rail specifications, ensuring long-term performance, durability, and resistance to freeze–thaw cycles.
What is Rail Ballast?
Rail ballast provides a stable and load-distributing bed for railway sleepers (ties), ensuring the track remains properly aligned under the weight and movement of trains. Its angular shape allows the stones to interlock, reducing movement and helping to maintain track geometry while also offering excellent drainage.
Key Characteristics:
- Nominal size: Typically 32mm to 50mm
- Angular, crushed stone: Prevents lateral movement of sleepers
- Free-draining: Prevents water retention that could undermine the track bed
- Hard-wearing: Withstands the immense forces from passing trains
A fully loaded train weighs thousands of tonnes. Without the proper ballast material, stress would transfer unevenly to the ground, potentially damaging infrastructure and leading to track failure. Our ballast is designed to:
- Distribute weight evenly
- Provide long-term stability
- Protect sleepers and rail infrastructure
- Allow water to drain effectively, reducing frost damage and ground softening
- Crushed Granite (most common due to strength and durability)
- Other tough igneous rocks with suitable particle size and shape
- Rail embankment fill
- Structural backfill
- Drainage and filtration layers in civil engineering projects
- We offer rail ballast in bulk quantities, delivered across England, Scotland and Wales via:
- Articulated tippers
- 4, 6, 8-wheeler trucks
- Grab wagons
- Railhead and barge supply (on request)
