Crane runway beams differ from other structural components used in conventional steel structures since they are subject to frequently recurring stresses due to the introduction of wheel loads from cranes. Crane runway beams that support top-running overhead bridge cranes are often made from hot-rolled I sections. In case of light crane service, a flat bar of structural steel is commonly used as crane rail and is attached to the upper flange of the beam’s I section by fillet welds. The rail welds are exposed to multi-axial stresses resulting from the local wheel load introduction and the global bending and are, therefore, at risk of fatigue. At present, the current version of EN 1993-1-9:2005 contains neither a suitable detail category nor appropriate design rules for intermittent rail welds. In an ongoing research project, the fatigue behaviour of intermittent rail welds is being investigated both numerically by means of finite element calculations and experimentally in fatigue tests under travelling wheel loads. Both chain and staggered intermittent rail welds are being investigated. The objective of this research project is to develop a generally valid and practicable proposal for the fatigue analysis of intermittent rail welds according to the nominal stress concept, that meets the reliability requirements set out in Eurocode. This paper provides a brief overview of the ongoing research project and presents the first findings. The finite element model for determining the nominal stresses of rail welds, which was presented at the Fatigue Design 2023 conference, has been verified by means of tests on the contact conditions between the crane rail and the top flange of the crane runway beam. The verified model is used to investigate the effects of the wheel load eccentricity in the cross-section of the crane runway beam and the influence of the global shear stresses on the nominal stresses. Furthermore, the effective notch stresses of the rail welds are determined using the sub-modelling technique and compared with the nominal stresses in order to derive fatigue notch factors.