Roll way

A roll way or running pad is the pad placed on a concrete slab or on the ties on the outside of the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) conventional track along both running rails of a rubber-tyred metro or along the unconventional track of a tram. The rubber-tyred wheels roll directly on the roll ways.

• With a conventional track:
  • The ones of the Montreal Metro are precast concrete on a concrete slab.
  • The ones of the Paris Métro are H-steel on ties.
  • The ones of the Mexico City Metro are H-steel.
  • The ones of the Santiago Metro are precast concrete below ground and H-steel above ground.
  • The ones of the Lausanne Metro Line M2 are H-steel
  • The ones of the Lyon Metro (lines A, B and D) are H-steel.
  • The ones of the Lille Metro are precast concrete
  • The ones of the Toulouse Metro are precast concrete.
• Without a conventional track:
  • The ones of the Sapporo Municipal Subway are flat steel with a central guide rail
  • Busan Subway Line 4, runs directly on a concrete slab between guide bars
  • Many people mover systems, such as Crystal Mover, run directly on concrete slabs or other surfaces between guide bars
  • Some guided buses, rubber-tyred trams, such as Translohr and Bombardier Guided Light Transit, use concrete slabs while being guided by a single central rail

View of a track from a sand drag, in the Montreal Metro near the Beaugrand Station, showing the cross-section of guide bars, precast concrete roll ways and conventional track.

Ouchy M2 station, showing the angle iron guide bars, the bumper posts and the I-beam roll ways as well as bumper posts.