Abstract Increasing axial loads require the best solutions for maintenance of the railway rack structure. The study is devoted to improving the railway stability in the joint zone for modern operating conditions. The relevance of the issue is substantiated according to analysis of domestic and foreign practices. The analysis shows that using under-sleeper pads reduce vibrations transferred from concrete sleepers to crashed stone, including the joint area. The possibility of solving the issue by using of under-sleeper pads for straightening the track in the joint zone is considered. The paper contains the results of studies conducted in the Experimental ring of JSC VNIIZhT in order to select durable materials for ensuring long-term track stability. In order to assess the implementation effectiveness of under-sleeper pads and to ensure the track stability in the joint zone, the accumulation of track settlements for pads with different stiffness was evaluated, as well as the accelerations in the vertical plane of the sleepers.