Railway track
Rail infrastructure / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Railroad track" and "Rail track" redirect here. For the song, see Railroad Track (song). For the defunct British company, see Railtrack.
"Permanent way" redirects here. For other uses, see Permanent way (disambiguation).
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as a train track or permanent way (often "perway"[1] in Australia), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, British English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers; since the 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel.