Railway switch, also called turnout, it is an equipment that makes the locomotive vehicles turn from one channel into another channel. In another way, railway switch is also one of the weak links of the track. The railway switch is widely used in the railway station, marshalling station. The turnout can give full play to the carrying capacity of railroad line. Even for the single-track railway, laying turnouts and build a section of line with enough length, two different trains can run from opposite directions. 

Railway Switch Supplier from China

As a leading railway switch supplier in China, AGICO Rail can provide simple turnout , equilateral turnout, three-way turnout, slip switch, other types of rail switch, and related railroad switch parts. We also accept customization according to your requirements. Based on advanced technology support and rich experience, our products have been widely applied in main line in China, and exported to North America, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia. 

rail turnout

railroad switch parts

Point machine in railway

Rail turnout package

Rail switch cases

Speeding-up Turnouts

Turnouts designed jointly by CREC

Self-developed high speed turnouts

Specifications of rail switch

Types of Railway switch

Rail switch has complicated classifications, we can divide it into various types according to shape, size of steel rail, frog angle, or sub-rail foundations. 

By shape

According to the shape of rail turnout, there are four common types of rail turnout, simple turnout, equilateral turnout, three-way turnout, and slip switch.

Simple turnout: A railroad switch that leads one line to two. The side lines branch off from the main line to the left or right. The simple turnout has most wide application among all types of railroad switch, takes 90% of total. It is made up of switch, frog, guard rail and connection. 

Equilateral turnout: it is a special type of simple turnout. Equilateral turnout is divided into two lines from the main line to both sides. Each part of the crossing is symmetrically arranged according to the bisector of the frog angle. The curve radius of the two linked lines is the same. This switch has the advantages of increasing the radius of the guide curve and shortening the length of the station. Therefore, equilateral turnout can be generally laid in the yard head or tail, also can be laid in the arrival field, the depot good yard and other lines.

Three-way turnout: it is connected to three strands at the same time, and two sets of switch rails operate two sets of pointed rails. It is used when there are many lines that need to be connected, but the terrain is limited, and two single turnouts cannot be laid continuously on the main line. Three-way turnout is to integrate one turnout into another. The advantage of three-way turnout is short length. The disadvantage is that the sharp rail is weakened more and the switch has a short service life. Therefore, this type of turnout is only allowed where the terrain permits and the length of the line connection needs to be shortened as much as possible, such as the head of the yard or the terminal station.

Slip switch: it is actually equivalent to the combination of four sets of simple turnouts and a pair of diamond crossing. It plays the role of two turnouts and occupies less area, especially for connecting several parallel lines, the connection length is shortened more significantly than a simple turnout, and the train bends less when passing through, running smoothly, and the lookout conditions are good . However, the structure is complicated, the number of parts is large, and maintenance is difficult. Generally, it is only used in large marshalling stations, passenger stations, or other throat areas where the length of the land is limited.