Railway fish plate, it is also called rail joint or joint bar. As one of the rail components, rail joint's function is different from other rail components. Rail joint is a flat metal plate usually used to connect adjacent two rails by a number of rail bolts or railroad spikes. Traditionally, railway fish plate is drilled with some holes on the ends of the sections to be connected. There are some holes in the end of railway track, which are used to be lined up with the holes in the railway fish plate and jointed with rail bolt. In general, railway fish plates are made of steel, but plastics and composites are alternative raw materials for rail joint.

Typical types of railway fishplates
According to different applications, rail joints can be divided into many types. Typical rail joint types include ordinary rail joints, insulated rail joints, non-standard rail joints and compromised rail joints

1. Common Rail Joint
Common rail fishplates are made of general material Q235 steel, which can be used for various types of rails. The appearance and weight of ordinary rail joints vary with the weight of railway tracks. The main types of ordinary railway fishplates are 4 holes and 6 holes.

2. Insulation rail joints
The raw materials and production process of insulated rail joints are determined by the process standard of the insulation material. The size of insulated rail joints is the same as that of ordinary rail joints. Insulated rail joints are generally used in railway sections or leaky sections near power plants. Insulating rail joints can effectively prevent leakage accidents.

3. Non-standard rail joints
There are many types of non-standard rail joints in all rail joints. The section and speed of different railways determine the difference between certain rail joints and ordinary railway fishplates. Generally, there are three types of non-standard rail joints with different weights, different pitches and different appearances.

4. Compromise rail joints
Compromise rail joints are different from non-standard rail joints. Generally compromised rail joints include protruding railway fishplates and railway turnout expansion joints. Compromised rail joints are basically customized, mainly used for turnout expansion joints or the appearance of some railway sections with special designs and requirements. Compared with other types of rail joints, compromised rail joints are difficult to machine.

International standards of railway fish plates:
1. UIC standard railway fish plate
Standard: UIC864-4& UIC864-8    
Material: Chinese steel grade 40#    
Size(kg): U79-UIC54, U85-UIC60

2. DIN standard railway fish plate

3. Chinese standard railway fish plate

Maanshan Ruika Metal Products Technology Co., Ltd.