Wooden sleeper tracks are one of the earliest and most traditional forms of railway track construction, with a history of over 150 years.
These tracks use sleepers made of timber (commonly pine, cedar, or oak) to support the rails, which are fixed with spikes or screws onto the sleepers and laid on a bed of ballast.
Features:
Good elasticity, effectively absorbs the impact and vibration of trains.
Light weight, easy for construction and maintenance; damaged sleepers can be easily replaced or cut.
Wood can be locally sourced, which historically kept costs low.
Service life is generally 10–20 years; susceptible to climate effects, pests, and rot.
Widely used for early railways, branch lines, mountain railways, and mining railways.
Applications:
China started large-scale use of wooden sleeper tracks since the Wusong Railway in 1876.
Before the 1980s, almost all mainlines in China used wooden sleepers.
Nowadays, they are mainly found in temporary lines, minor branch lines, port railways, or heritage lines.