Blonde Girl Strips Her Red Underwear On The Railway

A major problem of jointed track is cracking around the bolt holes, which can lead to the rail head (the running surface) breaking. This was the cause of the Hither Green rail crash which caused British Railways to begin converting much of its track to Continuous Welded Rail.
Insulated joints
Where track circuits exist for signalling purposes, insulated block joints are required. These compound the weaknesses of ordinary joints. Specially-made glued joints, where all the gaps are filled with epoxy resin, increase the strength again.