Maintenance of way refers to the maintenance, construction, and improvement of rail infrastructure, including tracks, ballast, grade, and lineside infrastructure such as signals and signs.
Maintenance of way workers repairing track in Japan
A section of jointed rail, on wooden ties, with spikes to secure the rails.
A hirail vehicle used by Sperry Rail Service to inspect tracks for defects
A track crew in Louisiana adjusting a railroad track using lining bars, in 1939.
Track ballast is the material which forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the compression load of the railroad ties, rails, and rolling stock; to facilitate drainage; and keep down vegetation that can compromise the integrity of the combined track structure. Ballast also physically holds the track in place as the trains roll over it. Not all types of railway tracks use ballast.
Good quality track ballast is made of crushed stone. The sharp edges help the particles interlock with each other.
Track ballast supports railway sleepers, which carry railway track.
Ballast must be irregularly shaped to work properly.