An analytical method has been developed to estimate the dynamic contact force between wheel and rail when trains are running on rail with vertical irregularities. In this method, the effect of Hertzian deformation at the contact point is considered as a linearized spring and the wheel is considered as an sprung mass. The rail is modelled as a discretely-supported Timoshenko beam, and the periodic structure theory was adopted to obtain the driving-point receptance. As an example, the dynamic contact force for a typical wheel/rail system was analysed by the method developed in this research and the dynamic characteristics of the system was also discussed. It is revealed that discretely-supported Timoshenko beam model should be used instead of the previously used continuously-supported model or discretelysupported Euler beam model, for the frequency range above several hundred hertz.