Since the rails serve as a current conductor from the vehicle to the electrical substation, the rail fastening system must have a certain electrical resistance to prevent current from leaking from the rail to the sleeper. The resistance can be determined using a laboratory test described in the standard EN 13146_5-2012. This standard specifies a test procedure for determining the electrical resistance of the fastening system and steel or concrete sleeper under wet conditions. The test uses a multimeter to record current and voltage over time. One rail is connected to the positive pole of the laboratory rectifier and the other rail is connected to the negative pole. The current from the rectifier flows into the rail and through the fastening system and sleeper to the other rail and back to the source. This paper describes the laboratory measurement of electrical resistance performed on a W-14 fastening system and a concrete sleeper. The measurement was performed at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, within the project "Development of the elastic fastening system DIV".

rail fastening system; electrical resistance; rail-to-earth resistance; stray current