In order to study the propagation characteristics of acoustic emission waves generated by damage in the switch rail of heavy-haul-railway, this article takes the switch rail of the No. 12 turnout on heavy haul railways as the research object. Combining Abaqus simulation and the lead-break acoustic emission experimental technique, it simulates the acoustic emission signal generated by the damage of the switch rail through the leadbreak experiment, conducts a detailed analysis of the acoustic emission simulation method of the turnout switch rail, verifies the correctness and effectiveness of the simulation model, and validates the simulation results through on-site measurements.The results show that the damage emission signals in different characteristic sections of the switch rail have similar frequency distribution characteristics. However, the intensity gradually decreases with the increase of the characteristic section. Moreover, with the continuous increase of the conduction distance, the energy disperses to other frequency bands in the wavelet time-frequency diagram. The introduction of the damage model increases the response of the acoustic emission signals in each frequency band, especially producing an abnormal peak between 160 and 200 kHz. This result has also been verified through on-site measurements.The research results can provide reference for the analysis and application of acoustic emission signals in the detection of switch rail damage.