Engineering Specification

Track

CRN CP 241
BALLAST
Version 1.2

Issued May, 2016

CRN DMS REFERENCE:

CRN-SPC-AMS-017

Owner: Manager Engineering Services

Approved by: D Mackney, Principal Track and Civil Engineer
Authorised by: J Zeaiter, Manager Engineering Services

Disclaimer. This document was prepared for use on the CRN Network only. John Holland Rail Pty Ltd makes no
warranties, express or implied, that compliance with the contents of this document shall be sufficient to ensure safe
systems or work or operation. It is the document user’s sole responsibility to ensure that the copy of the document it is
viewing is the current version of the document as in use by JHR. JHR accepts no liability whatsoever in relation to the use
of this document by any party, and JHR excludes any liability which arises in any manner by the use of this document.
Copyright. The information in this document is protected by Copyright and no part of this document may be reproduced,
altered, stored or transmitted by any person without the prior consent of JHG.

UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 1 of 8

CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

Document control
Revision Date of Approval Summary of change
1.0 March, 2012 First Issue. Includes content from the following former RIC standards:
TS 3402
1.1 July, 2014 3 - Change to sampling requirement and frequency; 4.3 - Table included for
clarity and completeness; 4.6 - Heading change; 4.9 - Change to limits on
ballast electrical resistivity; 5 - Changed reference to Australian Standard;
5.1 - New heading; 5.2 - New section on crystalline silica limits and testing
1.2 May, 2016 See Summary of changes below

Summary of changes from previous version

Section Summary of change
2.1 Updated standards references to remove dates
3 Changed wording for consistency
4.4 Changed ‘Principal Civil Engineer’ to ‘Principal Track and Civil Engineer’

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 2 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

Contents
1 Scope and application ............................................................................................................................. 4
2 References ................................................................................................................................................ 4
2.1 Australian and International Standards ......................................................................................... 4
2.2 CRN documents ............................................................................................................................ 4
2.3 Other references ............................................................................................................................ 4
2.4 Definitions ...................................................................................................................................... 4
3 Sampling and testing ............................................................................................................................... 4
4 Requirements............................................................................................................................................ 5
4.1 Bulk density ................................................................................................................................... 5
4.2 Flakiness index .............................................................................................................................. 5
4.3 Aggregate crushing value .............................................................................................................. 5
4.4 Wet attrition value .......................................................................................................................... 5
4.5 Weak particles ............................................................................................................................... 6
4.6 Crushed particles of coarse aggregate (for river gravel only) ....................................................... 6
4.7 Material finer than 75μm ................................................................................................................ 6
4.8 Particle size distribution ................................................................................................................. 6
4.9 Ballast electrical resistivity ............................................................................................................. 7
4.10 Delivery .......................................................................................................................................... 7
5 Alternative materials ................................................................................................................................ 7
5.1 General .......................................................................................................................................... 7
5.2 Crystalline silica ............................................................................................................................. 7
6 Additional tests......................................................................................................................................... 7
7 Documentation required .......................................................................................................................... 8
8 Ballast production .................................................................................................................................... 8

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 3 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

1 Scope and application

This Specification sets out requirements for the purchase of railway ballast.

It is applicable for ballast material used on the Country Regional Network (CRN) to meet the
requirements of CRN Engineering Standard CRN CS 240– Ballast.

2 References
2.1 Australian and International Standards
AS 2758.7 Aggregates and rock for engineering purposes Part 7: Railway ballast
AS 1141 Methods for Sampling and Testing Aggregates
AS 1289.4.4.1 Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes - Soil chemical tests -
Determination of the electrical resistivity of a soil - Method for sands and granular
materials
Unless otherwise specified, all references relate to the latest standard versions, including
amendments and relevant superseding standards.

2.2 CRN documents

CRN CS 240 Ballast

2.3 Other references

Nil

2.4 Definitions
For the purpose of this document, the definitions in AS 2758.7 apply. In addition the following
applies:

Track Classification Aggregate requirements shall be determined on the basis of the

following classification:
Class H Track carrying more than 6MGT per year
Class N Track carrying between 1MGT and 6MGT per year
Class L Track carrying less than 1MGT per year

3 Sampling and testing

Unless otherwise specified below sampling and testing shall be carried out in accordance with the
requirements of AS 2758.7 and the AS 1141 series of Standards.

The John Holland Rail Country Regional Network (JHR CRN) Officer or nominated delegate
arranging supply of ballast shall obtain certification from suppliers for all new ballast supplied from:
- Quarries not previously used for the supply of Railway Ballast to this specification.
- Existing quarries used for the supply of Railway Ballast to this specification where the material
being quarried changes.

An independent party who shall be an approved member of the National Association of Testing
Authorities (NATA) shall carry out the sampling and testing. Certification shall include
documentation that the ballast has been sampled and tested in accordance with, and meets the

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 4 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

requirements of this specification. The test report from the sampling and testing authority shall be
submitted to JHR CRN, even where this specification is not met. The sample testing shall be
obtained from the point of delivery and/or at the source of the supply.

For product approval from new suppliers or material sources:

Sample testing shall be undertaken for all tests specified in Sections 4 and 5.

During normal production

Sample testing shall be undertaken with following frequency:
- Every 10,000t, carry out the tests specified in Sections 4.1 to 4.8.
- Every 12 months, carry out a petrographic analysis for deleterious material as specified in
Section 5.
JHR CRN may require additional sampling and testing where JHR CRN suspects that the material
is not to specification.

4 Requirements
The supply of railway ballast shall be in accordance with AS 2758.7 unless otherwise specified in
this document.

The following specific requirements shall apply:

4.1 Bulk density

When determined in accordance with AS 1141.4 the compacted bulk density of ballast material
3
shall not be less than 1,400 kg/m .

4.2 Flakiness index

When determined in accordance with AS 1141.15 the proportion of flaky particles in the ballast
material retained on the 6.70 mm test sieve shall not exceed 30%.

4.3 Aggregate crushing value

When determined in accordance with AS 1141.21, the aggregate crushing value of the fraction of
ballast material passing the nominated sieve sizes shall meet the requirements specified in
Table 1.

Track Classification
Particle size L N H
19 to 26.5mm < 40% <30% <25%
37.5 to 53mm TNR TNR <30% (TNR = Test not required)
Table 1 – Aggregate crushing value

4.4 Wet attrition value

The wet attrition value of the ballast material for each track classification, when determined in
accordance with AS1141.27, for the fraction of material passing the 53.0 mm test sieve and
retained on 37.5 mm test sieve shall be as follows:
Class H 6% maximum
Class N 8% maximum

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 5 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

Class L 12% maximum

Material having a wet attrition value in excess of the requirements for a specific class of track may
be accepted provided the corresponding aggregate crushing value does not exceed the
requirement for the specified class of track and is endorsed by Principal Track and Civil Engineer

4.5 Weak particles

The percentage of weak particles, when tested according to the procedure set out in AS 1141.32,
shall not be greater than 5%.

4.6 Crushed particles of coarse aggregate (for river gravel only)

When determined in accordance with AS1141.18, ballast that is derived from river gravel shall
consist of at least 75% by mass of crushed particles. The proportion of uncrushed particles shall
not exceed 5%.

4.7 Material finer than 75μm

The percentage of materials finer than 75μm, when tested according to the procedure set out in
AS 1141.12, shall not be greater than 1% (except for Graded Aggregate where the percentage
shall not exceed 5%).

4.8 Particle size distribution

The particle size distribution (grading) of ballast aggregates, when determined in accordance with
AS 1141.11 and AS 1141.12, shall conform to the requirements set out in Table 2.

Sieve size Ballast Grade

(mm)
Enhanced Standard Medium Fine
Nominal size (mm)
60 60 60 50
(RailCorp (Uniformly graded (steel sleepers) (graded
Graded Ballast) ballast) aggregate)

% passing by mass
63.0 100 100 100 –
53.0 85 – 100 85 – 100 95 – 100 100
37.5 50 – 70 20 –- 65 35 – 70 70 – 100
26.5 20 – 35 0 – 20 15 – 30 –
19.0 10 – 20 0 –- 5 5 – 15 40 – 60
13.2 2 – 10 0–2 0 – 10 –
9.50 0–5 – 0–1 20 – 30
4.75 0–2 0–1 – 10 – 20
2.36 – – – –
1.18 – – – 5 - 10
0.075 – 0–1 0–1 0 –- 5
Table 2 - Ballast Grade

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 6 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

4.9 Ballast electrical resistivity

To meet electrical resistance requirements necessary for the satisfactory operation of signalling
track circuits, ballast shall demonstrate an electrical resistivity greater than 60 ohm.m when tested
in accordance with AS 1289.4.4.1.

4.10 Delivery
Graded ballast material shall be handled at the producing plant in such a manner that it is kept
clean and free from segregation. Vehicles used for transportation shall be clean and free from
rubbish and substances that may foul or damage the ballast.

Discharge from plant, loading of trucks, delivery and building and maintaining stockpiles shall be
carried out in a manner which effectively avoids segregation and contamination with other
materials.

Any ballast delivered directly from quarry stockpiles shall have been accepted according to the
requirements of this specification prior to delivery to railway wagons.

5 Alternative materials
5.1 General
In addition to meeting the requirements of Section 4 of this specification, material from new sources
of supply shall be subject to petrographic and petrological analysis in accordance with the
requirements of AS 1141.26 to evaluate for deleterious materials.

Igneous or other rock, displaying minerals considered to be harmful to the overall performance of
the ballast may be rejected following petrographic analysis or durability testing, even though the
rock complies with other sections of the specification.

5.2 Crystalline silica

Exposure to crystalline silica dust can cause serious, long term health effects. Two factors are
important in determining the likelihood that this will occur: particle size and the presence of
crystalline silica.

In order to provide practical, effective management by JHR CRN of potential silica dust exposure of
its workers when handling rail ballast, material from new and existing sources of supply shall be
subject to the following requirements:
- Percentage of material passing 75 micron sieve shall be less than 1% when tested in
accordance with Section 4.7.
- Percentage of SiO2 in material samples shall be less than 35% when tested in accordance with
AS 1141.26.
The ballast supplier shall provide a Safety Data Sheet covering its product for consideration in the
JHR Activity Method Statement and Task Risk Assessment Briefing for the safe handling of the
product.

6 Additional tests
Additional tests for other properties may be specified. These tests may include chemical reactions,
electrolytic reactions, electrical conduction and others.

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 7 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2
CRN Engineering Specification - Track CRN CP 241
Ballast

7 Documentation required
Documentation required for each of the required tests listed in this document and in AS 2758.7
shall be provided in accordance with the relevant Australian Standard.

8 Ballast production
JHR CRN shall be provided access to inspect ballast production facilities at any unscheduled time
during normal working hours for the purpose of:
- Observing sampling and testing procedures.
- Review plant and ballast production facilities.
- Carry out any additional sampling and testing.

© JHR UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED Page 8 of 8

Issued May, 2016 Version 1.2