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Bonding of rail left on-track/trackside

OLEngineer

Member
Joined
10 Jun 2026
Messages
16
Location
London
Hello, I am looking for a standard which states what the minimum length that a continuous piece of rail should be before it must be bonded? I've tried looking through the network rail standards for track but to no avail, and being OLE Im not very well versed in Pway.
We think it may be 200m long but would love to be corrected, ideally with a source.
 
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RailUK Forums

Ploughman

Established Member
Joined
15 Jan 2010
Messages
3,097
Location
Near where the 3 ridings meet
Not all rail joints need bonding.

Just noticed the rail may be CWR and not in track.
When in renewals we used to offload CWR strings in 4ft or Cess 6ft
If any cables or ducts across then if needed, packing pieces could be used to protect the cable.
at rail overlaps then the rail was splayed out if possible to reduce contact between rails.

S+ T or OHL bonding was not normally considered
In hot weather periods the overlaps would need checking due to thermal expansion.
This could cause rails to move themselves down off a high shoulder.
 
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