The initial geometry of a railway track continually degrades over its life-cycle. Changes in the track alignment give rise to variations in the dynamic axle load which accelerate track degradation, with consequences for maintenance and availability of the line. This behaviour is particularly evident at some critical locations that are associated with abrupt changes in the track’s vertical stiffness, such as transitions to bridges or other structures. In order to mitigate this problem, careful design and construction is required, for which several recommendations have been suggested in the literature. However, studies based on the maintenance records of existing high-speed lines have shown that the problem of track degradation associated with stiffness variations is far from being solved. This paper presents a short review on the design of transition zones. A case study on the design and construction of a transition zone on a new Portuguese railway line is analysed. Results of conventional laboratory and cyclic load triaxial testing on granular materials and in situ mechanical characterization of the layers are presented. Relevant aspects regarding the construction are addressed and discussed. The results obtained at the substructure level seem to indicate that the design of the transition zone was successful in minimizing settlement and achieving a gradual stiffness increase as a bridge is approached.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Design and construction of backfills for railway track transition zones




    Publication date :

    2015




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    Local classification TIB:    275/7030
    BKL:    55.30 Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, Eisenbahntechnik



    Design and construction of backfills for railway track transition zones

    Paixão, André / Fortunato, Eduardo / Calçada, Rui | SAGE Publications | 2015


    Experimental analysis of railway track settlement in transition zones

    Wang, Haoyu / Markine, Valeri / Liu, Xiangming | SAGE Publications | 2018

    Free access

    Electric railway track construction

    Tate, H.W. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1925


    A new design of railway track construction

    Engineering Index Backfile | 1909


    British Railway Track : design, construction, and maintenance

    The Permanent Way Institution | TIBKAT | 1943