Cooling device and production method for rail

An apparatus for cooling a rail, configured to jet a cooling medium to a head portion and a foot portion of a rail in an austenite temperature range to forcibly cool the rail,

• the apparatus comprising:
• a first cooling unit comprising a plurality of first cooling headers configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to a head top face and a head side of the head portion, and a first driving unit configured to move at least one first cooling header of the plurality of first cooling headers during forcible cooling to change a jet distance of the cooling medium jetted from the first cooling header;
• a second cooling unit comprising a second cooling header configured to jet the cooling medium to the foot portions;
• a control unit configured to control the first driving unit to adjust the jet distance;
• and
• an in-machine thermometer configured to measure a surface temperature of the rail,
• wherein the control unit adjusts the jet distance according to a cooling rate obtained from a result of measurement by the in-machine thermometer, and a target cooling rate set in advance.