The most Important stresses imposed to the crack layers and the subgrade are certical ones. Depending upon the modulus of elasticity for the subgrade, formation layers may be needed between the ballast bed and subgrade. In this paper, a theoretical analysis for calculating vertical stresses on the various track layers is presented. The analysis is applied for the scenarios of existace or absence of formation layers, for different track characteristics. Results indicate the cases when formation layers are needed between the ballast bed and the subgrade.