7302 40 — Fish-plates and sole plates of iron or steel, for railways or tramways

7302 Railway or tramway track construction material of iron or steel, the following: rails, check-rails and rack rails, switch blades, crossing frogs, point rods and other crossing pieces, sleepers, fish-plates and chairs, wedges, sole plates, rail hook bolts, pads and braces, bedplates, cross-members and other parts specialised for jointing or fixing rails: 7302 10 – rails 7302 30 – switch blades, crossing frogs, point rods and other crossing pieces 7302 40 – fish-plates and sole plates 7302 90 – other

This heading covers structural elements of railway and tram tracks of conventional or narrow gauge ferrous metals.

(1) Railway or tramway track rails are hot-rolled products. This heading covers all rails of any length, including bull-headed rails, flat-bottomed (Vignole) rails, grooved tramway rails, slotted rails for electric trams and conductor rails, etc. The heading covers all rails of the type normally used for railway or tramway track, irrespective of their intended use (overhead railways, travelling cranes, etc.). However, the heading does not cover rails not of the railway or tramway type (e.g., guide rails for sliding doors or lift rails). Check-rails, also known as guard rails or safety rails, are fixed alongside the main rails to prevent derailment of wagons at points and on curved sections of track. Rack rails are designed for installation on steep sections of railway. Rack rails of one type consist of two long parallel bars joined by closely spaced cross-rods; the intervals between these rods are designed to engage the teeth of a gear wheel located under the locomotive. The second type comprises rack rails which engage with a gear wheel in a similar manner. All the rails described above may be straight, curved or drilled with bolt holes. (2) Switch blades, crossing frogs, point rods and other crossing pieces, which may be cast or otherwise obtained, are used at railway junctions or at crossings of the main line. (3) Sleepers (cross-ties) of iron or steel are used to support the rails and keep them parallel. They are usually pressed into final shape after rolling, but may also be assembled by welding or riveting several components together. They usually have a cross-section in the form of a "U" or an "omega" with very short flanges, and they are covered by this heading whether or not drilled, punched, slotted, or fitted with pads or bearing plates or integral fastening devices. (4) Fish-plates are hot-rolled, forged or cast products of various shapes (flat, shouldered, angle, etc.) which are used for joining one rail to the next. They are covered by this heading whether or not drilled or punched. (5) Chairs (usually of cast iron) are used for fixing bull-headed rails to the sleepers; they are fastened by spikes or bolts. Chair wedges are used to hold the rails in the chair. Sole plates (bearing plates, sleeper plates) are used for fixing flat-bottomed rails to the sleepers. They protect the sleepers and are fastened to them by clips, bolts, coach screws, spikes or, in the case of steel products, by welding. Rail hook bolts are similarly used for fixing flat-bottomed (Vignole) rails to the sleepers; they are bolted to the sleepers and clamp the flat foot of the rail to them. This heading also covers other rigid fastening devices for railway rails, e.g., those obtained by bending

the steel rod approximately in the L-shape (the shape of a non-even-sided corner); the short side is pressed against the sole of the rail, and the long side with a slightly flattened but not pointed end is fixed in a hole previously drilled in the sleeper. In addition, elastic rail fasteners are also classified in this heading. They are made of spring steel and attach the rail to the sleeper or to the support plate. The clamping force shall be achieved by geometrically deflecting the anchorage from its original "industrial" position. A gasket or insulating device, usually of rubber or plastic, shall be installed between the mount and the rail or between the mount and the sleeper. (6) Cushions and stretch marks are used to secure the rails in a parallel position. Some stretch marks and corner rods are designed to be bolted to a series of sequentially spread wooden sleepers; thus fixed at right angles to sleepers, they serve to prevent deformation (or "theft") of the path at certain points. (7) Other special devices that counteract the theft of a track are devices that are attached to the rail in those places where its longitudinal movement takes place. They shall be attached to a sleeper or support plate to prevent such longitudinal displacement. This heading does not include: (a) screws, bolts, nuts, rivets and crutches used for fastening the structural elements of the rail track (headings 7317 and 7318); (b) assembled track links, turning circles, thrust platform buffers and overall gates (heading 8608).

Notes

English text as published in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/1832 (Combined Nomenclature). The EAEU tariff and the EU nomenclature copy these notes from the same convention. For a Russian declaration the binding version is the Russian one: Annex to Decision No 80 of the EEC Council of 14 September 2021.

1. In this chapter, the expression ‘cast iron’ applies to products obtained by casting in which iron predominates by weight over each of the other elements and which do not comply with the chemical composition of steel as defined in note 1(d) to Chapter 72.

2. In this chapter, the word ‘wire’ means hot- or cold-formed products of any cross-sectional shape, of which no cross-sectional dimension exceeds 16 mm.

Additional note

Machine translation. The original is the Russian text of the EAEU tariff, and customs goes by it; this translation is for understanding only and has no legal force.

1. Drilling pipes are used for descent into a borehole and lifting a rock-destroying tool, transferring rotation, creating an axial load on the tool, supplying a washing fluid or compressed air to the bottom. There are ordinary, weighted and leading drill pipes.

Ordinary drill pipes (heading 7304) - usually one-piece round cross-section, are connected by means of drill locks or semi-locks with special large conical threads.

Weighted drill pipes (heading 8431) are usually round or square cross-sections with an increased wall thickness; they are also connected by thread and serve to increase the stiffness of the lower part of the column and to place a load on the rock-destroying tool.

Leading drill pipes (heading 8431) - multifaceted cross-section, are placed at the top of the column of drill pipes and transmit it rotation from the rotator of the drilling rig.