Track ballast forms the track upon which railway sleepers are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties, It is typically made of crushed stones.



Ballast performs several important functions:



2. To allow for maintaining correct track level without disturbing the rail road bed.


3. To drain off the water quickly and to keep the sleepers in dry conditions.


4. To discourage the growth of vegetation.


5. To protect the surface of formation and to form an elastic bed.


6. To hold the sleepers in position during the passage of trains.


7. To transmit and distribute the loads from the sleepers to the formation.


8. To provide lateral stability to the track as a whole.