Why are broken pieces of rock spread on railway tracks? Please explain.?

Answer 1

Gravel is cheap, relatively easy to transport and stays put.

This allows you to lay down a structure that is relatively
flimsy (rails attached to cross beams) and then anchor
the whole thing so that even a many-ton train won't
move it. As a side benefit, it will cut down (but not
entirely stop) things from growing through it and interfering
with the train.

Yeah, I suppose you could imagine connecting metal bars
that drilled 20 or 30 feet into the ground, but that would be
more expensive and potentially require blasting where
otherwise unnecessary. And it would not prevent plants
from overwhelming the track.

Using gravel allows the engineer to use gravity and
friction cheaply.

Answer 2

Rail tracks are normally laid on a bed of coarse stone chippings known as ballast, which combines resilience, some amount of flexibility, and good drainage. Steel rails can also be laid onto a concrete slab (a slab track). Across bridges, track is often laid on ties across longitudinal timbers or longitudinal steel girders.

Answer 3

1. It helps keep the rails in place.
2. It keeps weeds from growing.
3. It's cheaper than dirt in the long run.

Answer 4

It's there to cut down the risk of fires from sparks, and stops weeds growing over the rails.

Answer 5

Railroads have used overwhelmed rock ballast from the very starting up of railroading. The ballast spreads the load from the load of trains gently over the underlying floor, secures and stabilizes the binds in position, and grants drainage, assisting to save the binds dry.