The primary role of the rail fastening system is positioning and fixing the rails and transferring the vehicle load from the rails to the track substructure. The type and characteristics of the fastening system are usually chosen depending on the required elasticity of the track, planned load, and type of rail. There is a significant influence by fastening rail system in the emission of noise and vibrations which occur during operation of railway vehicles so the right choice of it contributes to noise and vibration mitigation. Worldwide there are many types of rail fastening system which have a different design, construction, and technical characteristics. The most commonly used rail fastening systems are W-clip, E-clip, Nabla clip, etc. The main reasons why there are many different ways of connecting rails to sleepers are the activity of independent institutions and institutions related to manufacturing of rail fastening systems material and a significant number of researching centres by the developed railway administration. By optimizing railway track it is necessary to choose the right characteristics of the fastening system which will ensure safe and reliable operation of the railway vehicles with a minimum of noise and vibration emission. The characteristics of the clip and the rail pad most influence the properties of the fastening system. Intending to develop a new fastening system, this paper primarily analyses the characteristics of the fastening system. Meaningful evaluation of the rail fastening systems demands knowledge about geometry, materials, mechanical and exploitation characteristics of the clip and rail pad. The new fastening system should comply with the requirements defined by the standards [1], [2]. Faculty of Civil Engineering of University of Zagreb collaborates with DIV d.o.o., a railway equipment manufacturer, on a R&D project “Development of DIV elastic fastening system”.

railway track, rail fastening system, rail clip, rail pad