Barili, piastre alsoknownasfish, areanessentialComponentOfrailwaytracks.
Inadditiontoprovidingstructuralsupport,jointbarsalsohelptodistributetheweightofpassingtrainsmoreevenlyalongthetrack.Whenatrainpassesoverajointinthetrack,theweightofthetrainisconcentratedatthatpoint.Thiscancauseexcessivewearandtearontherailsandincreasetheriskoftrackbucklingorothertrackdefects.Jointbarshelptospreadthisweightacrossalargerarea,reducingthestressontherailsandprolongingtheirlifespan.
Anotherimportantfunctionofjointbarsistomaintainalignmentandcontinuityinthetrack.Whentworailsectionsarejoinedtogetherwithjointbars,thebarshelptokeeptherailsalignedandpreventthemfromshiftingormovingapart.Thisiscrucialforensuringsmoothandsafetrainoperations,asanymisalignmentorgapsinthetrackcancausetrainwheelstoderailorderailment.Jointbarsalsohelptoreducenoiseandvibrationsthataregeneratedwhentrainspassoverthejointsinthetrack.