Rail Fastening System in an Insulation – TINES® ERS

The rail fastening system in an insulation TINES® ERS is a type of direct rail fastening intended for constructing ballastless rail surfaces.

In the TINES® ERS system, rails are fastened along their entire length in rail channels using the polyurethane elastomer TINES® Polyrail 60/65. This elastomer forms a permanently elastic, homogeneous rail insulation that fulfills two essential fastening functions, namely securing the rail within the rail channel and supporting the rail baseplate.

Thanks to the very good adhesion of TINES® Polyrail materials to concrete and steel surfaces, additional fastening of the rails in the rail channels using screw connections is not necessary.

Continuous fastening of the rails with the set of TINES® Polyrail materials ensures durable and elastic absorption of loads generated by train movements and temperature changes of the rails, i.e., loads acting in both vertical and horizontal planes. As a result, the TINES® ERS system effectively dampens vibrations and noise generated by train movements.

The material properties of the elastic rail insulation made of TINES® Polyrail 60/65 elastomer also positively influence the protection of the railway route’s surroundings against stray currents.

Optionally, the TINES® ERS system employs a continuous, elastic under-rail spacer TINES® Railstrip, which can serve as an additional element to modify the stiffness of the rail support according to specific design requirements.

The TINES® ERS rail fastening system in an insulation is designed for use in ballastless rail surface constructions on both single-track and multi-track lines, on conventional or broad-gauge routes (with track gauges of 1435 mm or 1520 mm). The system is applicable for fastening all Vignole rails, including, among others, those with profiles 60E1 and 49E1 as well as special rails. The TINES® ERS system can be used on straight sections and in horizontal curves with a radius R ≥ 150 m, for maximum rail vehicle axle loads up to 260 kN and a maximum permissible speed of 250 km/h. It is intended for use on railway networks or their segments, on metro infrastructure, and on branch lines.

The TINES® ERS rail fastening system in an insulation can be installed on engineering structures (bridges, viaducts, and in tunnels), on pedestrian crossings, railway–road crossings, bicycle crossings, in junctions, and transshipment terminals, as well as in the form of an integrated railway–road surface together with the prefabricated TINES® LC-L rail slab. The system is particularly dedicated to those sections where it is crucial to reduce the level of vibrations and noise emitted to the surroundings of the route during rail vehicle movements.

The TINES® ERS system constitutes a fastening system of categories C and D in accordance with the PN-EN 13481-5 standard. The TINES® ERS type fastening system can be used on networks subject to the obligation of applying Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI), on railway networks or their segments not subject to TSI, on metro infrastructure, on railway infrastructure including lines with track gauges less than 1435 mm, on branch lines, on private infrastructure, as well as on railway networks that are functionally separated from the Union railway system and intended only for regional or local transport (§ 6 point 1 lit. g, § 7 point 1 lit. b, § 8 point 1 lit. b, § 9 point 1 lit. b, § 10 point 1 lit. b, § 11 point 1 lit. b of the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure and Development of [date] regarding the approval for operation of certain types of structures, devices, and railway vehicles (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1923)).