The coefficient of friction between railway wheels and rails is crucial to the railway adhesion, further greatly affecting railway operation and maintenance. Since the wheel-rail system is an open system, the coefficient of It is significantly influenced not only by various types of contaminants but also by environmental conditions. This paper conducted a set of pin-on-disc tests measuring the coefficient of friction focusing on the influence of environmental conditions (relative humidity and temperature). In addition, influences of iron oxides, leaves and glycol/water mixtures on the coefficient of friction were also studied. The friction results are shown in the form of friction maps. Results indicate that it oxides on the surfaces can prevent the samples from large friction reduction particularly at the low temperature. The friction mechanism is also discussed with the help of scanning electron microscopy photos. On the other hand, effects of leaves in reducing the coefficient of friction become limited with the presence of the glycol/water mixture.