Long welded rails are extensively used these days due to their many advantages over traditional short welded rails, such as better load distribution, longer rail lifespans, increased safety, lower maintenance costs, faster speeds, and more efficiency etc. The provision of continous long welded rails over bridges & adjacent embankment can be adopted and strictly adhered based on the specific guidelines outlined in UIC 774-3R. Rail structure interaction effect is one of the fundamental aspects to be considered in the design of railway bridges. However, the usage of long welded rails over a steel open web through girder bridge carries its own unique challenges since the stress developed in long welded rails primarily depends on the stiffness of bridge elements. This paper presents a comprehensive case study on three ongoing bridge projects, featuring two single span and one multi span simply supported steel open web through girder bridge with varying span length (55.51m, 79.90m and 145.5m) for Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation. Using industry-standard finite element method software package, rigorous Rail-Structure Interaction assessments were carried out in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the UIC 774-3R code of practice. Open web through girder bridges increases the flexibility of structure and poses difficulty to satisfy the stress and displacement criteria mentioned in UIC & Indian Railway Standards codal provisions. Comparisons are made between additional rail stresses and displacements obtained from the previously mentioned rail-structure interaction analyses and conclusions were reached. In this paper, alternate proposals required for identifying the acceptable economically feasible solution that meets the codal requirements are suggested. The possibilities of continuous long welded rails over steel open web through girder bridges are collectively scrutinized, and conclusions are drawn.

track, long welded rails, rail interaction, switch expansion joints, rail free fasteners, open web girders, steel bridges