RailEng Abstracts.pdf

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Abstracts of the Sixth

International Conference

on

“Maintenance & Renewal of Permanent Way;

Power & Signalling; Structures & Earthworks”

30th April - 1st May 2003

Venue:The Commonwealth Institute

London

Edited by:

Professor M.C. Forde, PhD, CEng, FREng, FICE, FIEECarillion Chair

University of Edinburgh

www.railwayengineering.com

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First published in April 2003

by

ENGINEERING TECHNICS PRESS46 Cluny Gardens

Edinburgh EH10 6BN, UK

Tel: +44-(0)131-447 0447Fax: +44-(0)131-452 8596

www.railwayengineering.comemail: [email protected]

ISBN 0-947644-50-4

© The Contributorsnamed in the List of Contents 2003

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Conference Advisory Board:

Dr EOA Awoleye, Jarvis Facilities Ltd, UKW.M. Browder, Assoc of American Railroads, DC, USADr R Clark, Sperry Rail Inc, CT, USAR Collinson, Halcrow Transmark, UKA Doherty, Network Rail, UKProfessor M.C. Forde, University of Edinburgh, UKE Gardiner, Carillion Rail, UKProf E Hohnecker, University of Karlsruhe, GermanyJ Hugenschmidt, EMPA, SwitzerlandDr GA Hunt, AEA Technology Rail, UKDr T Ishikawa, East Japan Railway Company, JapanB Kauf, Hz-Croation Railways, CroatiaJR Kennedy, Rail Services Australia, AustraliaDr B Kufver, Faber Maunsell, UKA Lau, Mass Transit Corporation, Hong KongProf Q Leiper, Carillion plc, UKDr A Massel, TU Gdansk, PolandH McAnaw, Infraco BCV Ltd, UKProf D.M. McCann, University of Edinburgh, UKM Miwa, Railway Technical Research Institute, JapanDr N O’Riordan, Ove Arup, UKJ.R. Osborne, OLE & Distribution Alliance, UKC Parker, Network Rail, UKDr J Perry, Mott MacDonald, UKDr I Robertson, Alstom, FranceDr JG Rose, University of Kentucky, KY, USADr JL Rose, Penn State University, PA, USAS. Rushton, Carillion plc, UKDr TR Sussman, US DOT, MA, USAMJ Taylor, Faber Maunsell, Birmingham, UKK Teager, Network Rail, UKDr J Tunna, AREMA, CO, USAJM Tuten, Futrex Inc, SC, USADr D Utrata, Iowa State University, USAD Ventry, Network Rail, UKR Winfield, Carillion Rail, UKDr S-C Wooh, MIT, MA, USA


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Keynote Papers .................................................................................................. 7

Theme 1: Railway Track

Day 1: Influence of Rolling Stock on Rail + Track ............................ 13

Rail Inspection ........................................................................ 17

Safety ...................................................................................... 25

Change in Railway Operation in Europe ................................ 29

Rolling Stock and Noise ......................................................... 33

Electrification and Lighting .................................................... 39

Signalling ................................................................................ 43

Rail Design ............................................................................. 47

Day 2: Asset Management .................................................................. 55

Track Investigation and Inspection ......................................... 59

Track Bed Modulus Determination ........................................ 69

Rail Maintenance .................................................................... 73

Track Bed Properties and Improvement ................................. 81

Theme 2: Railway Structures and Earthworks

Day 1: Earthworks Assessment and Management .............................. 89

Earthworks Stabilisation ......................................................... 93

Day 2: NDT and Monitoring of Rail Bridges and Retaining Walls ... 99

Bridges .................................................................................. 103

Tunnel Investigation ............................................................. 109

Tunnelling: Ground Movement and Vibrations .................... 113

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THE CONTRIBUTION OF RAILMETALLURGY TO TRACKINTEGRITY

Dr S JaiwsalCorus Rail Technologies, Swinden TechnologyCentre, Moorgate, Rotherham S60 3AR, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, metallurgy, track,integrity.

The complexity of the track system is widelyrecognised but more importantly, despiteconsiderable research, the rail-wheelinterface and its implications for track andvehicle degradation and maintenancecontinue to challenge the industry.Reference is often made to “the System’sSolution Approach” for engineering a‘through-cost’ solution to meet therequirements of the track engineer.However, evaluating proposed solutions ina system’s context is often overlooked infavour of the isolated assessment of anindividual parameter affecting systemperformance. Hence, it is necessary toestablish the definition of the track systemand the disciplines required to achieve andmaintain the desired level of track integrity

A key statement describing the roleplayed by metallurgy in other fields is thatover 70% of the steels in use today wereinvented in the last ten years and yet thevast majority of the track in any countryutilises steels that were invented quite sometime ago. The metallurgical developmentsof rail steels have largely been left with themanufacturers in contrast to the earlierpractice in the industry of activeparticipation of bodies such as the“Improved Rail Steel Liaison Group” thatbrought together the permanent wayexpertise of the industry with themetallurgical knowledge of the railmanufacturers. However, the effective useof any newly developed steel is dependent

on the knowledge of what is required – “youcan only provide an answer if you know thequestion”. This paper addresses many ofthese issues.

REMEDIATION OF RAILWAYEARTHWORKS

M StraughtonArup, 63 St Thomas Street, Bristol BS1 6JZ,[email protected]

Keywords: Design integration, valueengineering, alliancing.

Arup were commissioned by Network Railto investigate causes of instability of6 railway earthworks, comprising twocuttings and four embankments located inthe Great Western Zone. Once the cause ofinstability was established, topographicsurveys and ground investigations werecompleted, and remedial solutionsdesigned. The author was part of thegeotechnical team responsible for theidentification of the causes of failure andsubsequent design of remedial measures.

The causes of instability included deepseated instability due to failure of theunderlying embankment foundationmaterial, and local instability of ballast atthe embankment shoulder caused by raisingof track level by routine maintenance of thetrack over a number of years.

The stabilisation method adopted foreach site was dependent largely on the modeof failure, underlying geology and the needto maintain the operation of the railwayduring implementation of the proposedworks. Solutions included bored concretesoldier piles with regrading of embankmentslopes and the use of shear trenches, a novelform of embankment stabilisation involvingdeep counterfort drains.

The paper concentrates on the

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geotechnical aspects of the projects, andtherefore presents details of three of the sixearthworks sites considered. This includesthe geometry and geology of the sites, theform of the assumed cause of the instabilityand details of the proposed remedial works.It also provides a commentary on worksimplementation through an alliancecontractor, and identifies the benefits of thismethod of design and procurement.

QUANTITATIVE RISKASSESSMENT OF RAILWAYINFRASTRUCTURE

SE RossTube Lines Ltd., 30 The South Colonnade,Canary Wharf, London E14 5EU, [email protected] ReidReid Rail Ltd, 4 Polwarth Gardens, Edinburgh,EH11 1LW, [email protected]

Keywords: Risk assessment, safety,railways, QRA.

Recent interest in asset management,particularly within the railway industry, andthe need to prioritise work withininvestment programmes, has placed uponengineers an increased need to undertakesuitable and sufficient risk assessments.This paper discusses some of the limitationsof qualitative risk assessments and presentsoptions for undertaking quantitative riskanalysis (QRA), including analysis ofrelatively large populations ofinfrastructure assets using risk models. Theimportance of QRA is discussed, togetherwith benchmarks against which the outputshould be compared, and comments madeon the important role of the engineer inQRA and risk models.

INNOVATIVE USE OF FRP TOSTRENGTHEN RAILWAY BRIDGES

Brian Bell & Alan HardieNetwork Rail, London, [email protected] Farmer & Ian SmithTony Gee & Partners, Cobham, UK:[email protected] ; Sam Luke & Lee Canning,Mouchel, West Byfleet, UK:[email protected]

Keywords: Bridges, FRP, strengthening.

Network Rail is the successor to Railtrackas the owner of the United Kingdom’s (UK)main line railway network. The bridgeportfolio associated with its network is largeand varied, consisting of about 40,000bridges, which equates to about 68,000individual spans. About half of this stockconsists of masonry arches, with the balanceconsisting of about 16,000 metallicstructures and 4,000 concrete decks. Of the40,000 bridges, about 28,000 carry therailway over obstructions such as roads,rivers and valleys and over 6,000 carrypublic highways over the railway. Thebalance carry private roads, farm tracks andwatercourses over the line.

This paper describes how fibrereinforced polymer composite materialsbecame accepted for use on Network Rail’sbridges, the controls that have been put intoplace to ensure that the introduction of FRPshas been accomplished withoutcompromising safety and the managementprocesses put in place to ensure thatstrengthened bridges can be kept safely inservice.

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FAILURE STATISTICS ANDMAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES FORRAILWAY TURNOUTS IN SWEDEN

Arne NissenDivision of Operation and Maintenance, LuleåRailway Research Center, Luleå University ofTechnology, SE-971 87 Luleå, [email protected]

Keywords: Turnouts, failure modes,failure statistics, maintenance strategy,railways.

Turnouts are critical subsystems in a railwaysystem. Today there are a large number ofproblems due to the non-functioning ofturnouts, especially during the winterseason. The goal of the present study is toinvestigate whether the informationavailable in different databases is useful fordegradation trending and to serve as a basefor the improvement of both routines andtechnical design.

With the information available indatabases it has been possible to make abrief analysis of the situation. A preliminarystudy shows that 10% (250) of the turnoutsstudied contribute to 21% of all theinspection complaints and to 35% of thereported malfunctions. An extendedanalysis of these turnouts might give furtherunderstanding of factors related to theirproblems. This paper presents a generaldiscussion on the relationship betweeninspection results and occurrences offailures.Some of the major results are:• Trends of degradation are possible to

calculate, but this is not carried outwithin the current strategy. Data frommeasurements performed in inspectionsshould be reported and documentedbefore alarm levels are reached.

• Redesign of the switch-blade controlsensor, the switch mechanism and theelectric heater system seems to be very

urgent and will, when carried out inpractice, reduce the number of faultsreported.

• Malfunctions in turnouts can be reducedby systematic preventive maintenanceand reviewing of current routines.It is obvious that a strategy for the

documentation and follow-up ofmaintenance activities is lacking and thatsuch a strategy is strongly needed.

Important factors when analysing thestatistics of different turnouts are discussedin this paper.

Findings from the study suggest that awell thought-out strategy for data collectionand communication should be formulatedand implemented to improve the functioningof the turnouts.

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SIMULATION OF RAIL WEAR ANDROLLING CONTACT FATIGUEUSING THE WHOLE LIFE RAILMODEL

MC Burstow, AS Watson & M BeaglesAEA Technology Rail, Jubilee House, 4 St.Christopher’s Way, Pride Park, DerbyDE24 8LY, [email protected]

Keywords: Rolling contact fatigue (RCF),gauge corner cracking, rail wear.

The Whole Life Rail Model has beendeveloped by AEA Technology Rail and theUniversity of Sheffield as a practicalengineers decision support tool to helpcontrol rolling contact fatigue (RCF). Themodel can be used as an ‘asset management’tool to assess the likelihood of crackinitiation, and to set rail grinding rates andintervals to keep the risk of RCFdevelopment under control.

The model consists of a number of‘modules’ which evaluate rail wear, crackinitiation and different phases of crackgrowth. The model assembles the modulesto determine the interaction between wearand fatigue crack growth and assesses therisk of RCF cracking developing. Eachmodule is under constant development, oneaspect of which is the effect of differentvehicles on wear and damage of the rail.Vehicle dynamics simulations are used todetermine the conditions of the contactpatch at the wheel-rail interface, and thecontribution to wear and damage at the railhead imposed by each passing vehicle.

This paper describes how the model canbe used together with vehicle dynamicssimulations to predict, in particular, railwear and worn rail profiles.

DEVELOPING ROLLINGCONTACT DEFENCE PLANS FORINFRASTRUCTURE

Dr RF CareOve Arup and Partners International,Ltd.13Fitzroy StreetLondon W1T 4BQ [email protected] Clark & MA DemboskyTransportation Technology Center, Inc.55500 DOT Road, Pueblo CO 81001, [email protected] /[email protected]

Keywords: Rail, rolling contact fatigue,wheel rail interface, defence plans.

Numerous parallel development andimplementation efforts continue to bedirected toward solving the problems ofrolling contact fatigue (RCF) on the Britishrailway system. These efforts are focusedon both sides of the wheel-rail interface.Many of these programmes are dependenton the results of complex research andanalytical tasks, and are not quite ready forapplication in the field. While workcontinues on the specific areas ofinvestigation and research, the symptomsof RCF continue to occur on the operatingrailway.

This paper describes a currentprogramme to develop and implementdefence plans for treating the symptoms ofRCF on the British railway system. Theprogramme targets a prioritised list ofactions that are considered to be practicaland achievable in service, with the intentthat both establishing actions and theprioritisation of those actions must be aniterative approach, refined as knowledgeimproves.

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EMBEDDED SLAB TRACK TESTTRACK IN SPAIN:CONSTRUCTION OF A LOWMAINTENANCE CONCRETE SLABTRACK

DH Emmett & M RobertshawBalfour Beatty Rail Projects, Room A104,Midland House, Nelson Street, DerbyDE1 2SA, [email protected]@BBRail.com

Keywords: Embedded, slab track, Spain.

This Paper describes the installation of theBalfour Beatty Embedded Slab Track(BBEST) system in a section of Test Trackconstructed for the Spanish high speedrailway authority Gestor de InfraestructurasFerroviarias (GIF).

The Paper highlights the design andconstruction aspects of the BBEST systemthat are particularly pertinent to lowmaintenance track systems.

As background to this work, which wascarried out during the first quarter of 2002,the Paper outlines the worldwide experienceof Balfour Beatty Rail in the field of SlabTrack design, construction andmaintenance, much of which hascontributed to the reasons for developingthe BBEST system.

The Paper gives a brief description ofthe BBEST system and the methods usedfor the installation in Spain. It also refers tothe testing and monitoring that was carriedout on the section of Slab Track, particularlywith regard to rail deflections under trafficand the performance of the track in termsof noise and vibration.

The Paper highlights the aspects ofdesign and construction that contribute to alow maintenance trackform and then setsout the proposed future developments of theBBEST system that Balfour Beatty intendto carry out, that will further enhance the

low maintenance characteristics of thesystem.

COMPARISON & ANALYSISEFFECT OF VIBRATIONCONTROL SLEEPER PAD ONGWE_MOK ELEVATED RAILWAYBRIDGE IN JEOLLA LINE

Ki-Young Eum, Hyung-Suk Mun, Won-Hee You & Dae-Sang KimKorea Railway Research Institute, 374-1,Woulam-Dong, Uiwang-City, Kyonggi-Do,[email protected]

Keywords: Vibration control, sleeper, highnoise level, vehicle dynamic loads.

Any noise and vibration from railway lineis carefully considered most importantfactor to estimate railway safety andpassenger comfort. Even though railway hasrecognized the very friendly environmentaltransportation than motors it still has heavyenvironmental problem such as high noselevel and vibration from railway line.

There are few reasons for vibration andnoise from railway line. In order to reducevibration levels, its source and routes mustbe prevented. The reduction of vehicledynamic load can be best solution dealingwith this matter. Diminution of sleeperspring constant is also considered anothersolution.

In this paper, the effect of vibrationreduction with vibration absorber isinvestigated on Jeolla line (south-west lineof South Korea). The results are comparedand estimated based on different measuringfactors.

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DEVELOPMENT OF ULTRASONICRAILWAY INSPECTION SYSTEMSUSING PHASED ARRAY METHODS

Dr D Tscharntke, T Heckel, R Boehm &Dr A ErhardBAM, Department VIII, 4 Unter den Eichen8712200, Berlin, [email protected]@[email protected]@bam.deR Krull, J Lützner & H HintzeDeutsche Bahn AG, DB Systemtechnik,TZF92, 14774 Brandenburg-Kirchmöser,[email protected]@[email protected]

Keywords: NDT, ultrasonic, phasedarray, railway, inspection, directivitypattern, crack analysis/sizing.

This paper presents the state of the currentactivities to develop an ultrasonic railwayinspection system using phased arraymethods. The aim is to build up a system,which can perform a crack analysis andsizing. At first a probe, which was designedfor the wheel disk and railway inspection,will be presented. The subject area of thispaper will be the railway inspection. Theprobe was designed using a point sourcesynthesis model [Boehm, 2002], which isdeveloped over several years at thelaboratory. The model was used to computethe directivity pattern of the probe.A comparison will show the goodcongruence between the measured andcomputed directivity pattern of the probefor some different angles of incidence. Thesoundfield control using the phased arraytechnique allows high detection probabilityand size estimation of cracks. Theevaluation of the results obtained makeeasier to determine which repairingmeasures are required and their urgency.

A phased array probe in sequence canreplace different conventional probes. Thatimplies a great variability during theinspection. However, the sequentialexcitation of the probes by a phased arraydevice causes a drop of the examinationvelocity compared with the currently usedsystems. The inspection system should beoptimized to cope examination velocitiesof 25-30 km/h. The results obtained withrail specimens at the laboratory arepresented in the contribution.

EDDY-CURRENT DETECTION OFHEAD CHECKS ON THE GAUGECORNERS OF RAILS: RECENTRESULTS

R Krull, H HintzeDeutsche Bahn AG, DB Systemtechnik, TZF9214774 Brandenburg-Kirchmöser, [email protected]@bahn.deM Thomas & R PohlBAM, Department VIII.4, Unter den Eichen 8712200 Berlin, GermanyS RühePrüftechnik Linke & Rühe GmbH, MagdeburgGermany

Keywords: Gauge corner cracks, rail, eddycurrent, NDT.

Deutsche Bahn’s track network is subjectedto very high levels of operational stress.High train speeds and heavy axle loads arethe critical factors affecting the service lifeof the rails. This places increasing demandson the rail technology used and hastightened the requirements that need to bemet by non-destructive material testingtechniques. For example, defects occurringat or near the surface of rails can be a majorcause of component failure and thereforerequire a test method that is speciallydesigned to detect rail defects of this type.

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A major consideration for safetyinspections of the permanent way is thespeed with which the rails can be scanned.Today, rail test vehicles are available whichenable rail defects to be detected andanalysed at speeds of up to 100 km/h.

BEHAVIOUR OF SURFACECRACKS UNDER WHEEL/RAILCONTACT LOADING

Jianjun Han & Manicka DhanasekarCentre for Railway Engineering, CentralQueensland University, Rockhampton,QLD4702, [email protected]@cqu.edu.au

Keywords: Railhead stresses, rail surfacedefects, railhead subsurface cracks, crackpropagation.

Surface cracks in railhead adversely affectthe safety, economy and passenger comfortof the railway operation. Although surfacecracks are easily inspected and maintained(usually removed using rail grinding ifdetected very early), often the associatedsubsurface cracks - if gone undetected -could lead to catastrophic failure of the rail.Therefore, a closer investigation of thesubsurface cracks near the surface defectsis more pressing. There are many fieldexamination technologies available in themarket that would detect the cracks.However, only limited theoretical methodsare available for the purpose. Theoreticalexamination of the effect of surface cracksto the potential damage of the railhead isessential for a comprehensive understandingof the cracks and crack propagationpotential. Although finite elementmodelling could provide solution to railheaddamage, extensive effort is required to meshthe crack tip accurately. This paper reportsa two-dimensional model based on

distributed dislocation theory for fractureproblems in finite bodies and applied thetheory for the analysis of the surface defectsin railheads. Both the boundary of therailhead and the surface defect are modelledas continuous distributed dislocations. Thismethod does not require any meshing andhence saves time significantly. Stressintensity factors are evaluated for thesurface defects at various locations of therailhead when the railhead is subjected todifferent loading regimes. The potentialpropagation of the surface cracks is alsoaddressed in the paper.

LONG RANGE INSPECTION OFRAIL USING GUIDED WAVES –FIELD EXPERIENCE

P. Wilcox1, M. Evans, B. Pavlakovic, D.Alleyne and K. VineGuided Ultrasonics (Rail) Ltd, 17 DoverbeckClose, Ravenshead, Nottingham, NG15 9ER,[email protected]. Cawley and M. LoweDepartment of Mechanical Engineering,Imperial College, Exhibition Road, LondonSW7 [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, testing, guided waves,long range, level crossing.

Ultrasonic techniques have been used formany years for the inspection of rail. Thesemeasurements can detect the presence of awide variety of defects but there arepractical difficulties with the technology.While large transverse cracks of the typelikely to cause catastrophic failure can bedetected, the large, critical defects can bemasked by large numbers of small, surfacedefects along the length of the rail. It wouldbe very useful to be able to determinereliably the largest defect size in a length of

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rail. Also alumino-thermic welds aredifficult to inspect due to the typical defectorientation and the attenuation of the weldmaterial. Guided waves provide a veryattractive solution to these problems; theytravel along the rail, for tens or hundreds ofmetres, and are partially reflected by anydefects which are present. They areparticularly sensitive to vertical defects andthey are used at relatively low frequency sothey are not significantly attenuated by weldmaterial. With financial support fromNetwork Rail, the authors have developeda practical inspection tool based on guidedwave measurements. Initial laboratory testsof the method, together with finite elementpredictions were presented at the 2002Railway Engineering conference. Thispaper describes the design of a pre-production prototype guided waveinstrument suitable for site trials. Resultsobtained at a level crossing are presentedthat demonstrate the use of the system as apractical screening tool.1Now with the Department of MechanicalEngineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TR.E-mail: [email protected]

REMOTE STRESS MONITORINGFOR RAIL MAINTENANCEAPPLICATIONS

FP Brennan & B de LeeuwUniversity College London, NDE Centre, Deptof Mechanical Engineering, Torrington Place,London WC1E 7JE, [email protected] RoffeyAMEC Rail, Stephenson House, 2 CherryOrchard Road, Croydon CR9 6JA, UK

Keywords: Structural integrity monitoring,continuous welded rail, stress freetemperature, stress monitoring, railintegrity, points connections.

The continuous collection and storage ofdata describing the state of a structureprovides a wide range of advantages overconventional structural maintenancesystems. The most significant of theseinclude the overall increase in the safety ofthe monitored application as well as apotential long term reduction inmaintenance costs as the need for intrusiveand costly inspection routines is reduced.This is true for many industries includingRail where track inspections often requireclosure of the line and a significant manualintervention. Recent developments inelectronic sensors and data acquisition andtransmission systems have led to an increasein momentum in the development of state-of-the-art technology in the field ofStructural Integrity Monitoring. One suchsystem is the new Stress MemoryTechnology (SMT), developed byFIOSTEC Ltd. and University CollegeLondon. This consists of a self-containedhand-sized monitoring unit which, whenattached to the surface of the structure,passively senses and records the occurrenceof pre-defined structurally significantevents.

This paper presents the application andresults of preliminary field and laboratorytrials carried out in conjunction with AMECRail to investigate the feasibility of SMTfor use in Rail maintenance applications.The two selected applications were themonitoring of the Stress Free Temperatures(SFT) in Continuously Welded Rail (CWR)and monitoring of stresses in Pointsconnections. Initial results indicate a highlevel of accuracy, repeatability andsensitivity of the SMT technology anddemonstrate that the systems are sufficientlyaccurate to monitor stresses in bothapplications.

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LIGHTREC: SMALL &LIGHTWEIGHT TRACKGEOMETRY RECORDINGEQUIPMENT

Seiji Fukushima & Yasukuni NaganumaCentral Japan Railway Company (JR-Central),1545-33, Ohyama, Komaki-shi, Aichi 485-0801, JapanE-mail: [email protected]

Keywords: Track geometry; trackirregularity; two-point method.

A truly portable equipment for recordingtrack geometry named LIGHTREC hasbeen successfully developed to enable real-time measurements on all maintained track.Critical achievements of the developmentare low cost, light weight, compactness,high precision, heavy duty, and easyoperation. These characteristics wereachieved by modifying and adopting aunique principle called the two-point anglemethod for LIGHTREC. Since the newprinciple needs only one optical encoder tomeasure irregularities, it has been possibleto develop a product model that islightweight (15kg) and folding (from 2.5mto 1.8m) with a significant reduction in cost(about 1/5). Seven measuring itemsincluding track gauge, cross level, alignment(right and left), longitudinal level (right andleft), and twist can be measured andcalculated to a high precision. As test resultson LIGHTREC have proved satisfactory,there are strong expectations that theequipment will find a variety of applicationsin track quality management.

WHEEL – RAIL INTERACTIONRESPONSES DUE TO TRACKGEOMETRY IRREGULARITIES

YQ Sun, M Dhanasekar & D RoachCentre for Railway Engineering, CentralQueensland University, [email protected], [email protected]@cqu.edu.au

Keywords: Wheel-rail interface, dynamicresponses, track geometry irregularities,wagon and track.

With a view to examining the dynamicresponses of the wheel-rail interface, athree-dimensional wagon-track systemdynamics (3D WTSD) model wasdeveloped and presented widely in theliterature by the authors in recent times. The3D WTSD model consists of threesubsystems, namely, a 37 degree-of-freedom (DOF) wagon subsystem, a wheel-rail interface subsystem and a four-layertrack subsystem. This paper presents theapplication of the 3D WTSD model to theexamination of the effect of track geometryirregularities on the lateral and verticaldynamic impact forces. The simulateddynamic responses at the wheel-railinterface due to some geometricirregularities, namely, the variation of crosslevel and gauge are presented. Thecharacteristics of the dynamic responses dueto these track irregularities are examined.The sensitivity of the dynamic responses tothe variation of cross level and gauge arealso presented. It is shown that when thewavelength of cross level irregularity wasless 2 m, the vertical impact force exhibitedhigher rates of increase. It is also shown thatthe derivation of the gauge face of the railin the plane of track has pronounced effecton the (L/V) ratio.

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NEW ULTRASONIC MODELS OFEMBEDDED AND SURFACE-BREAKING CRACKS

Professor LJu FradkinWaves and Fields Group, FEST, London SouthBank University, 103 Borough Rd, LondonSE1 0AA, [email protected] VV KrylovDynamics, Systems and Control Group, AAELoughborough University, LeicestershireLE11 3TU, [email protected]

Keywords: NDT, ultrasonic, transverse,rayleigh, waves, surface, cracking.

New mathematical models have beenrecently developed for modelling scatter ofhigh-frequency longitudinal and transversewaves from embedded smooth and rough(corrosion) cracks as well as scatter of theRayleigh waves from surface-breakingcracks. The models can be used to improvethe existing capabilities of detecting andsizing safety compromising cracks in railsand train wheels using piezo-electrictransducers.

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SAFETY PROTECTION ISSUES

James F FindlayW. L. Gore & Associates, (UK) Ltd, SimpsonParkway, Kirkton Campus, LivingstonEH54 7BH, [email protected]

Keywords: Safety, trains, track, protectiveclothing.

Throughout the railway industry there hasalways been a culture of safety andprotection for passengers, train crews, andinfrastructure maintenance crews.

Working practices have been improved,operational procedures have been revisedand authorities like HM RailwayInspectorate are active in implementinglearnings.

RAILWAY MAINTENANCE ANDSAFETY: ARTIFICIALINTELLIGENCE LINKS1

Dr M An & Professor P FoyerEngineering Design Research Centre, Schoolof Engineering, Coventry University, [email protected]

Keywords: Artificial intelligence,approximate logic approach, railway safety,safety model.

There are numerous variables interacting ina complex manner which due to the largeamount of data available, cannot beexplicitly described by an algorithm, a setof equations or a set of rules in the railwayassessment. In any situation, there may beboth a shortage of key information and anexcess of other information. Neural networkand approximate logic techniques havedemonstrated its usefulness and accuracyin predicting accidents that would occurunder different combinations of conditionsin some fields in parallel and aviationindustries. This paper presents the recent

research result of the development of fuzzylinguistic risk levels using approximatelogic approach to deal with uncertainty withour industrial partners. Expert andengineering judgements are then mappedand transferred to neural network modelsof an intelligent safety prediction system forrailway infrastructure safety analysis. It willbe evaluating the accuracy of riskpredictions made by conventional(statistical) and AI techniques.

1This work forms part of the project on “An intelligentsafety prediction system for rail design andmaintenance” funded by Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Grant No.

GR/S07292.

SAFETY MANAGEMENT ON THEBRITISH RAILWAYS: A SYSTEMICAPPROACH

Jaime Santos-Reyes & Dr Alan N BeardCivil Engineering, School of the BuiltEnvironment, Heriot-Watt University,Edinburgh EH14 4AS, Scotland, [email protected]@civ.hw.ac.uk

Keywords: Risk, railways, system, safetymanagement, viability.

The British railway industry has undergonea number of changes in the years followingprivatization. Privatization has led to a morefragmented industry and as a result anumber of organizations have been involvedin the operations, maintenance and renewalof the railway system. In addition to this anumber of train accidents, such as the traincollision at Ladbroke Grove (1999), thetrain derailment at Hatfield (2000), and themore recent train derailment at Potters Bar(2002), have highlighted that the currentsafety management may be inadequate.There is a need for a systemic approach tosafety management in the railway industry.

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Also, it may be argued that such an approachwas necessary even before privatization.This paper presents a preliminary BritishRailway Safety Management System(BRSMS) model that aims to help tomaintain risk within an acceptable range inrailway industry operations in a coherentway. It is hoped that this approach will leadto more effective management of safety inthe British railway industry.

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OPTIMIZING REGIONAL TRAFFICON A SOUTHERN GERMANREGIONAL RAILWAY BY USE OFTHE COMPUTER AIDEDRESCHEDULING SYSTEMREGIDISP

Prof Dr-Ing Wilfried KochRavensburg-Weingarten University of AppliedScience, Research Group of Intelligent SystemsPOB 1261, D-88341 [email protected]

Keywords: Rescheduling, train control,transport control, traffic optimization,intelligent transport.

Optimal rescheduling in cases of delay isimportant for improving punctuality andservice quality in public transportationsystems. Since it is impossible to solve therescheduling task manually, computer aidedsystems are necessary for this purpose. Inthe past 10 years the Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciencehas conducted research activities in the fieldof computer aided rescheduling. SinceDecember 15th 2002 the HohenzollerischeLandesbahn AG in Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany is the first regionalrailway company in Germany to usecomputer aided rescheduling. This paperdeals with the project as well as with theprogram system used. It shows somepractical experiences and outlinespossibilities for future use.

ECONOMIC EVALUATIONMETHODOLOGY OF THEREGIONAL TRANSPORTSERVICES IN THE NEWEUROPEAN RAIL SYSTEM

FJ Calvo Poyo & J Oña LopezUniversity of Granada. E.T.S.I. CaminosCanales y Puertos, C/ Severo Ochoa,s/n – 18071 GRANADA, [email protected] / [email protected]

Keywords: Regional railway, high speed,interoperability, methodology, economicevaluation, rail demand.

This work presents an evaluation ofthe regional rail transport in the newEuropean scenario (common normative,new infrastructure and new trains).A methodology based on economicexploitation results of these transportservices has been used. Case of study: newregional rail service Sevilla-Granada-Almería.

CZECH RAILWAYS – THE WAY OFCHANGES

Dr Danuse MarusicovaAdviser to First Deputy Director General,Czech Railways, Nabrezi L. Svobody 1222,110 15 Prague1, Czech RepublicEmail: [email protected]

Keywords: Czech Railways, railwaytransformation, relationship between CzechRailways, joint stock company and RailwayInfrastructure Administration, stateorganisation.

From January 1, 2003 Czech Railways, stateorganisation was transformed to companiesaccording the Act No. 77/2002 Coll. - toCzech Railways, joint stock company andthe Railway Infrastructure Administration,state organisation. Contemporaneously bythis Act the Rail Safety Authority as a new

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organisation was also established. Theaccess of rail operators to the railwayinfrastructure in a neutral and non-discriminatory manner is treated by alreadynovelised Act on Railways from 1994. TheCzech Railways, joint-stock company paysfor the use of the railway infrastructure tothe Railway Infrastructure Administration(like any other rail undertakings).

Czech Railways, joint stock company(the state is 100% shareholder) as anintegrated rail undertaking ensuresoperating of railway transport on the railwayinfrastructure owned by the state as well asmanagement of the railway infrastructureowned by the state. The RailwayInfrastructure Administration, stateorganisation is a body representing the stateas the owner of railway infrastructure. Thedepreciation allowance for the railwayinfrastructure is not charged.

The paper shows new positions andmutual relations between new companiesand financial as well as technical rules formodernisation, development andmaintenance of the railway infrastructure.

A SYSTEMS APPROACH TOMONITORING ASSETRELIABILITY

Dr CR BellCDS Rail, 1570 Parkway, Solent Business ParkFareham, Hampshire PO15 7AG, UK

Keywords: Rail, monitoring, asset,condition, reliability.

Any system obtaining useful information onthe state of remote assets needs to performthe following functions:• Collecting the relevant data.• Collating data from many different, and

often geographically separated, sources.• Reducing the data to useful information.• Transmitting this information to where

it can be used.

• Displaying the right information to theright people.This paper outlines some of the issues

involved in taking a whole system approachto produce successful asset monitoringsystems for the rail environment.

Monitoring systems are not signallingsystems, and many of the safetyrequirements for vital signalling equipmentapply, but equally many do not, makingsafety approval challenging. Monitoringsystems can produce vast quantities of datain remote outside locations whereconventional IT equipment cannot be usedfor data reduction. This problem iscompounded by the low bandwidthcommunications links generally available.

Information about an asset is frequentlyof interest to different parts of theorganisation. Monitoring S&C can provideinformation about physical movement,interlocking with the signalling system andheating in cold weather. System design andoperation must cover the differingrequirements of all these interest groups.

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TOWARDS A LOW NOISERAILWAY SYSTEM

Professor Dr Ing Eberhard HohneckerDepartment of Railway Systems, Institute forRoad and Railway Systems, University ofKarlsruhe, Kaiserstrasse 12, D-76128Karlsruhe, GermanyAbt l [email protected] -karlsruhe.de

Keywords: Embedded rail systems, noiseand vibration measurements, railwaymodels, acoustical optimization.

The paper reviews the progress made duringthe research project „Low EmissionRailway System (LERM)“ funded by theGerman Ministry of Education andResearch. The construction of test tracksand in-situ measurements of air-borne andground-borne sound emission is carried outtogether with partners from academics(IASP at Humboldt University, Berlin),industry (Edilon, Munich) and from railwayinfrastructure operators (City of Munich).Modelling of the acoustic properties ofballast track and slab track superstructuresis carried out at the University of Karlsruhe.

DEVELOPMENT FOR SIMPLETILTING MECHANISM WITHROUNDED SECTION CAR-BODY(RSC)

Hyung-Suk Mun & Won-Hee YouKorea Railway Research Institute374-1, Woulam-Dong,Uiwang-City, Kyonggi-Do, [email protected]

Keywords: Tilting mechanism, car body,comfort.

On curved rail, the speed of train must bereduced in order to keep riding comfort. So,the train has the speed limitation inconventional railway line. But if the train

has the tilting mechanism, the speed of trainis able to be increased while maintainingthe riding comfort. Generally, the tiltingtrain is faster than the non-tilting train about30% in curve.

The tilting train technology andreduction of travel time has been carefullyinvestigated by KRRI (Korea RailroadResearch Institute). Based on the primaryresearch result from KRRI, tilting controlsystem and tilting operation interface areconsidered its core technology to applytilting train to Korean conventional railway.Passenger comfort is controlled by amountof tilted car body. So the smoothness ofinterface between tilting bogie and car bodyduring the tilting system operation is veryimportant factors to estimate its capability.

RSC (Rounded Section Car-body) canperform tilting operation with non-tiltingbogie and non-tilting pantograph withoutany serious modification. The high tiltingtechnology to control bogie, pantograph andcar body can be eliminated in RSC tiltingsystem. Tilting train with RSC can bemanufactured easily. It is main advantageof this technology.

In this paper, design requirements ofnormal tilting train car-body are introduced.And new technology called “RSC tiltingsystem ” is presented with its simpledrawing. This technology has been underthe patent process. Preliminary orconceptual design is introduced. List ofparts and its simple functional descriptionalso explained to do synthesis designprocess. Basic railway safety formulas areintroduced to verify operating reliability ofRSC tilting system in analysis design stage.Finally, the running test might be expectedto demonstrate capability of RSC tiltingsystem.

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LOCOMOTIVE AUTOMATICPARKING BRAKE

Ed Lu, PENPI Manager, Locomotive Parts Marketing,Transportation Systems, General ElectricCompany, 2901 East Lake Rd., Bldg 12-2, Erie,PA 16505, [email protected]

Keywords: Locomotive, parking brake,automatic.

This paper provides an overview of theautomatic parking brake for the locomotiveapplication. This design replaces theexisting handbrake with an automatedbraking system. The system is controlledfrom the operator cab or from the walkwayof the locomotive. It improves theergonomics and provides consistent parkingbrake application. With the automaticcapability the electrical system designer canthen provide safety interlock and othersystem level improvements for thelocomotive.

MODELLING THE STABILITY OFBIMODAL TRAINS

Professor P Foyer, Dr M Blundell &K Do KangCoventry University, School of Engineering,Priory Street , Coventry CV1 5FB, UK

Keywords: TruckTrain, bogie, bimodal,ADAMS/Rail, UK loading gauge.

The growth of bimodal trains (carrying roadtrailers on rail, using the trailer frame as thesole carrying structure) is significant inUSA, for both general merchandise andserving car assembly plants. There are alsoapplications in Europe. Growth in UK,despite years of interest, has so far been nil,because it is very difficult to operate full2.5 metre internal height trailers as bimodalsin UK.

Current bimodal train speeds are fairlylow and trains are long, so overall journeytimes can also be long. In order to improveon this, a development of the TruckTrainhigh-power, short FMU [Freight MultipleUnit] concept has been conceived. It takesthe form of relatively short but fast bi-modal, bidirectional trains (carrying 2.5metre internal height trailers) to enable JIT[Just-in-Time] services to operate betweendestinations which are not directly rail-served. The advantages would be shortjourney and terminal times and minimalterminal costs.

Currently, there is no experience ofbimodal trains running at 75-100 mph. Thearticulated [shared] bogie configuration isalso not yet in use for high-speed freight.Equally important is that a key part of thevehicle is the trailer, whose configurationand operation may not be totally within thetrain operator’s control.

The marginal feasibility ofaccommodating full size 2.5 metre internalheight trailers within the UK loadingconstraints means that effects of instabilityand exaggerated suspension response(rolling, pitching, yawing and hunting)could both violate the dynamic loadinglimits and in the extreme become safetyproblems. We are running a PhD project todevelop an Adams-based modelling tool toinvestigate the stability and dynamicenvelope issues of these trains and designrules for suspensions and trailers..

The paper discusses the problems, boththose under investigation and the difficultiesof building a fully-customisable simulationmodel with the desired output measures,using the Adams Rail software package. Themodel is responsive dynamically to changesin the geometry of the bogies andsuspension, changes in the suspensionparameters and to differences in trailerframe geometry and stiffness. It will report

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on movements in roll, pitch, yaw andhunting, in response to a variety of trackconditions and range of speeds and onstability of the vehicles and train on thetrack.

VIBRATION AND ACOUSTICINSIGHT ON HIGH SPEED TRAINSRUNNING ON A BALLASTSUPERSTRUCTURE

M Vanali, D Rocchi & F RipamontiPolitecnico di Milano, Dipartimento diMeccanica, Campus Bovisa, Via La Masa 3420158 Milano, [email protected]@[email protected]

Keywords: Pass-by noise, microphonearray, ballast superstructure, high speedtrains, rolling stocks wear.

A modern parameter in the global qualityassessment of high speed trains is the noiseemission. An innovative method for theidentification and comparison of mobileacoustic sources was implemented: themicrophone array. Basis of the method isthe “beamforming algorithm” that from ameasure of the acoustic pressure in severalpoints allows to investigate the position andthe characteristics of the sound source. Thissource can be either fixed or moving respectto the array making the method capable ofseparating different sources among ageneral noise signal perceived during avehicle pass-by.

The method was developed usingnumerical models and proved to be effectivetesting it on site with different known soundsources both fixed and moving.

After these tests an application of thepass-by noise measurements generated bya rail convoy was investigated. The occasionwas given by an experimental campaign

settled for the evaluation of noise andvibration emission of a standard ballastsuperstructure, within a European researchprogram (“HIPERTRACK”). Resultsshowed the method capability to distinguishmultiple sound sources and in particular thepossibility to identify the noise emitted bya single wheelset. In this paper an analysisof the noise emitted by the wheel-trackinteraction of different convoy typologies,on the same ballast superstructure, has beenperformed and results will be discussed.Comparisons between noise and vibrationrecorded on the rail showed a goodagreement. Time/frequency analysis wasfinally implemented to identify the emissionspectrum associated with every singlebogie.

ROLLING NOISE REDUCTION BYUSING WHEEL DAMPERS

Jaroslav SmutnyDepartment of Railway Constructions andStructures, Faculty of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Technology Brno, Veveri 95, 60200 Brno, Czech [email protected]

Keywords: Rolling noise, wheel dampers,acoustic analysis, time frequency transform

The priority, given today to the research ofrailway traffic noise, depends on alwaysmore strict standards of environment, withthe introduction of high-sped trains and withrequirements on more environment friendlygoods transport. Very important noisesource that affects the environment is thesystem wheel-rail. So called rolling noiseis caused by vibration of structures ofwheels and rail. These noise and vibrationsare initiated mainly by shape unevenness(roughness) of both contact surfaces in thecontact place. The reduction of the wheelacoustic energy can be achieved by

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optimising the wheel design or usingvibration and noise absorbers. The absorbersignificantly contributes to reducing noiseof the wheel.

The importance of acoustic andvibration measurements and analyses areunambiguous as from the point of view ofhuman health protection, so from the pointof safety, lifetime and reliability ofmeasured establishment, eventually theconstruction. The precise analysis providesdetection and identification of noise andvibration sources and thereby theirreduction as well. Theoretical study of thisproblem, the developed procedure ofmeasurement and analysis anddemonstration of real experimentalmeasurement of acoustic-vibrationparameters different by various types of railwheels will be demonstrated in the article.

RETROFITMENT OF 1500VDCEMUS WITH THREE PHASE DUALVOLTAGE DRIVES – INDIANRAILWAY TARGETS RELIABILITY

Shri DK Gupt & Shri Ravi AgarwalWestern Railway, Mumbai, India

Keywords: Electric traction, retrofit,Indian railways.

Introduction of electric traction at 1500Vdc on the Great Indian Peninsula (GIP)Railway from Victroria Terminus to Kurlaon 3rd Feb.1925 marked the dawn of a newera in the Indian Railways. Subsequently,electric traction was introduced on 5th

January 1928 on Western Railway, theerstwhile the Bombay, Baroda & CentralIndia (BB&CI) Railway.

The suburban Railway system isrecognised as the lifeline of Mumbai. AsMumbai suburban railway network carried6.1 million commuters everyday, it hashighest passenger density in the world,

ahead of even Tokyo & Seoul. More thanhalf of the total daily passengers using entireIndian Railway system are from Mumbaisuburban system alone. The increasingpopulation in urban centers has given riseto the need of a mass transit system, whereelectric traction is the most favoured modewith its well-known advantages. At present,Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains plyingon the Mumbai suburban section, operatemore than 2000 services with a holding of200 EMU rakes of 9-car. Mumbai suburbanrailway network is stretched over 240 kms,from Churchgate to Borivli on WesternRailway, Mumbai Chatrapati ShivajiTerminus to Kasara/Karjat on CentralRailway.

Mumbai suburban railway network,inspite of having heavy demands on it, hasprovided an efficient and reliable servicesince the introduction of the first ‘Aag-Gadi’(Carriage of Fire), brought by the BritishEast India Company. However, the pressureon it continues to increase and has nowreached alarming proportions. Over-crowding has grown to such an extent thatmore than 5000 passengers travel in a 9-car rake during peak hours in the peakdirection, as against the designed capacityof only 2700. This amounts to 16 passengersper sq.mtr of floor space, which is beyondthe realm of imagination. Described asDense Crush Load, Super Dense CrushLoad and “Practical Loading Limit”, theovercrowding is unparalleled in the worldof commuter services.

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THE INTRODUCTION OF HIGHOUTPUT WIRING TRAINS TO THEUK

Terry WalshOLE & Distribution Alliance, WolverhamptonRoad, Penkridge, Staffordshire ST19 5AQ, [email protected]

Keywords: Electrification, multi purposevehicle, overhead line, tensioning, train,wiring.

Railtrack’s requirements to replace over 700tension lengths of wire on the West CoastRoute Modernisation programme called fora major step change in the type of equipmentused and the methodology. In May 1999 theOLE & Distribution Alliance was fundedby Railtrack to Design and Build two highoutput wiring trains each capable ofrenewing a full tension length of wire in ashort midweek possession.

As there was no equipment in use inEurope or the Far East that was suitable toimport, the team set about putting togethera specification that would meet the stringentperformance criteria and the onerousrequirements of the UK railway industry.

After discussions with severalequipment suppliers, Windhoff, a Germanmanufacturing company was selected as apartner in the development of the new trains.An order was placed in July 1999 anddetailed design commenced. The equipmentwas ready for trials in June 2000 andshipped to the UK within two months.

Vehicle Acceptance Body (VAB)certification was achieved and the first wirerun (tension length) was successfullyreplaced during November 2000. To dateover 650 wire runs have been replaced, withthe added achievement of a full replacementwithin a five and a quarter hour midweekpossession.

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LED CLUSTER TECHNOLOGY INRAILWAY SIGNALLING

H. BartonScientifics Limited, 500 London Road, DerbyDE24 [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, signals, light emittingdiodes (LEDs), LED clusters, opticalmeasurement.

In recent times, the UK railway industry hasgenerated a number of developmentsinvolving new technology in signalling.Many of the developments have revolvedaround the production of light. This paperfocuses on recent signalling developmentsfrom an optical viewpoint. Examples havebeen given of the introduction of lightemitting diodes (LEDs) into UK railwaysignals and indicators. The benefits of thesignalling developments have beendiscussed, and the processes of opticaltesting and assessment have been described.A progress report has also been given of aworking party recently set-up to considerand resolve the challenges with opticalmeasurement of LED clusters.

DORSET COAST RESIGNALLINGUSING SIMIS W ELECTRONICINTERLOCKING

Andy Stringer BEng CEng MIEEMIRSESiemens Transportation Systems, 4 HighlandsCourt, Cranmore Ave, Solihull B90 4LE,United [email protected]

Siemens Transportation Systems andNetwork Rail are working together tointroduce new technologies into the UK,commencing with the Dorset Coast Re-signalling Project. Central to the project hasbeen the development of SiemensElectronic Interlocking System, Simis W,to enable it to be used in the UK. This paperand presentation will look at the challengesfaced and the solutions employed to makethe project a success. It also looks towardsthe future and the continuing developmentfor use across the entire network.

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DYNAMIC VEHICLE RESPONSEON SHORT CIRCULAR CURVESAND TANGENT TRACKS

Dr B KufverFaberMaunsell, 160 Croydon Road,Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4DE, [email protected]

Keywords: Dynamic response, curves,tangents, tracks.

Various railway companies specify in theirtrack standards a minimum length forcircular curves and tangent tracks (i.e. aminimum length between transition curvesand/or superelevation ramps) as a functionof design speed. Also a draft Europeanstandard (prENV 13803-1 Railwayapplications - Track alignment designparameters - Track gauges 1435mm andwider - Part 1: Plain line) defines suchminimum lengths. In an appendix to thisdraft, the minimum lengths are discussedin comparison with roll oscillations of thevehicles.

When this minimum length cannot beachieved with the preferred radii and lengthsof transition curves, the alignmentparameters must be changed (changed radiiand/or shorter transition curves) and/or thedesign speed must be lowered. Availableterrain corridors may limit the possibilitiesfor changing the alignment.

Hence, the question arises as to whetheror not the minimum lengths of elements withconstant curvature may justify shortertransition curves and/or lower train speeds.

In this paper, various options inalignment design are analysed, and thedynamic vehicle response is quantified.Tilting and non-tilting vehicles have beensimulated with the GENSYS computer codeat various speeds on circular curves andtangent tracks with a length of 0-100m.

Vertical wheel/rail forces, track shiftforces and wheel climbing ratios as well as

passenger comfort in terms of PCT

, rollvelocity, lateral jerk and lateral accelerationhave been evaluated according tointernational draft standards from CEN andUIC.

INNOVATION IN THE DESIGN OFA NEW RAILWAY IN AN URBANENVIRONMENT – SUNDERLANDDIRECT

Clive RobertsCorus Rail Consultancy, PO Box 298, YorkYO30 1AA, [email protected]

Keywords: New railways, innovation,value engineering and design.

This paper addresses the key role ofinnovation in the design of major newrailway infrastructure projects drawingupon experience gained by Corus RailConsultancy’s design team from theSunderland Direct Project.

Christiani and Nielsen teamed up withCorus Rail Consultancy at tender stage andwas employed by Railtrack to design andconstruct the new 5.2km railway runningwestwards from Sunderland to SouthHylton. The line commenced with a newunderground station beneath the existingbus station at Park Lane and largelyfollowed the route of a former railway,which had been infilled and converted to acycleway. Four additional surface stationsand various bridges and structures wereprovided as part of the project.

The contract included everything apartfrom signalling and the electrificationsystem, which were awarded under separatecontracts by Railtrack linked by an allianceagreement to the civils contract.

The structure and organisation of themulti-functional design team and itsrelationships with the construction and

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client teams will be discussed.Specific examples of design innovation

will be provided to illustrate the inter-relationship of design and constructionissues including the ground level concourseat Park Lane Interchange, underpinning ofexisting structures and bridge/tunnelconstruction.

TRACK TRANSITION CURVEGEOMETRY BASED ONGEGENBAUER POLYNOMIALS

Louis T Klauder Jr, PhD, PEWork Soft, 833 Galer Rd, Newtown Square,PA 19073, [email protected]

Keywords: Railroad, track, spiral,transition, geometry.

This paper reviews an improved way ofapproaching the design of spiral transitioncurves for railroad tracks. The essence ofthe improved approach is to have spiraldesign begin not with choice of ageometrical shape for a spiral but rather withchoice of a functional form for the roll ofthe track as a function of distance along thespiral. The paper reviews a naturalgeneralization of the improved approachthat supports the design of higher ordertransition curves. The basic track rollfunctions that arise in the method are foundto be closely related to the Gegenbauerorthogonal polynomials. Linearcombinations of the basic roll functionsgenerate transition geometries that are moreflexible than geometries based on a singlebasic roll function and that can be tailoredto solve local problems such as inadequate“offset” of a spiral that needs to belengthened or design of a curve that turnsthrough a small angle. In its general formthe method requires use of numerical

integration via a computer program, butclosed form solutions can be obtained bymeans of approximations that arereasonable in some situations.

DETERMINATION OFLONGITUDINAL FORCES INCONTINUOUS WELDED RAILTRACK USING HORIZONTALCURVATURE MEASUREMENT OFTHE RAIL BENT

Professor W Koc & S GrulkowskiGdansk University of Technology, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, 11/12 G. Narutowicza Str,PL 80-952 Gdansk, [email protected] A Wilk, P Dobrowolski & G KostroGdansk University of Technology, Faculty ofElectrical and Control Engineering, 11/12G. Narutowicza Str., PL 80-952 Gdansk, [email protected]

Keywords: CWR track, longitudinalforces, lateral displacements, measuringapparatus.

The proceedings of the last conferencesRAILWAY ENGINEERING included theresults of investigations carried out at theGdansk University of Technology relatedto the determination of strengthcharacteristics of CWR track during controlof the track axis [1], [2]. Both theexperimental tests and the numericalanalysis have proved that the determinationof longitudinal forces in CWR tracks ispossible by use of the curvaturemeasurement of the rail displacedhorizontally by tamping machine.

There has been designed and madeadequate apparatus for determining thehorizontal curvature. The operationalcharacteristic of the tamping machineprovides facilities for the apparatus tomeasure the track displacements in such a

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way that it is possible to separate the railhorizontal and vertical displacementcomponents from the measuring signal. Forthis purpose a special structure wasdesigned to connect the detecting elementwith the rail head. To covert the mechanicalmeasuring magnitude to electric voltagevalue, advantage was taken of differential /capacitance and induction sensors. Thistype of structure is resistant to any damageresulting possibly from excessivedisplacements of the track grate andsurpassing the measuring range. A testingsignal from the sensor is transferred byscreened cable to the central electroniccircuit to be next registered in the computer.For the curvature measurements use wasmade of three sensors to test the lateraldisplacements of the track at some selectedcharacteristic points. The measuringapparatus is installed in the tampingmachine without making any constructionalchanges in the machine. Both the assemblyand the disassembly take little time.

By applying the elaborateinstrumentation it was possible to performseries of curvature measurements at astationary testing station and during themachine’s current operation in the testingrailway track in use. The obtained resultsconfirm the adopted investigation course.

3-D FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OFTHE RAIL INCLUDING ANELASTIC FOUNDATION

T Nishiyama, Dr MA Bhatti & Dr HDLeeUniversity of Iowa, Dept of Civil &Environmental Engineering, 4105 SeamansCenter, Iowa City, IA 52242-1527, [email protected]@[email protected]

Keywords: Rail, elastic foundation, finiteelement model.

A three dimensional finite element analysis(FEA) model of the rail structure includingties and elastic foundation is developed. Themodel can calculate stresses in an entire railfor given geometry of rail structure andmaterial properties. Using the resultsobtained from this 3-D FEA model, stressdistribution can be determined. Also anANSYS design tool is developed for aparametric analysis. Using this ANSYStool, the stress distribution in the entire railstructure can be quickly determined forvarious dimensions and material propertiesof the rail, tie and foundation. This toolsaves practitioners an enormous amount oftime by allowing them to analyze any railstructure using 3-D Solid FEA rail modelon the fly.

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VERY HIGH SPEED RUNNING ANDTRACK DESIGN

Prof Dr EA López Pita & P FonsecaTeixeiraCentre for Innovation in Transport (CENIT),Polytechnic University of Catalonia, GranCapitán, s/n. Módulo B.1 D-21108034Barcelona, [email protected]@upc.es

Keywords: High-speed, track, design,vertical stiffness.

Since the opening of the TGV-Atlantiquein 1989, the maximum speed on acommercial operation has been in Europeof 300 km/h. In Japan, the mentioned levelof performance was reached in 1997.However, the new line Madrid-Barcelonahas been projected to allow maximumspeeds of up to 350 km/h. This decision hasnot been motivated by the wish of breakinga record. It has been simply the consequenceof a commercial need: reach a journey timeof 2h15 between both cities, located at adistance of 680 km. Only with this level ofperformance it will be possible to obtain amarket share of 60% with respect to theairplane, justifying, at least partially, theinvestment done on railway. In this context,the current paper has a double purpose: thefirst, to expound, within the actual state ofthe knowledge, the theoretical reflectionscarried out to have a track and a vehicle themost suitable possible to the mentionedspeed of 350 km/h; the second, to show theresults obtained during the tests at 350 km/h, regarding track vertical loads. Theconclusions deduced from the researchaccomplished show that, with the measuresadopted for the track and vehicle, it will notbe expected a relevant increase on themaintenance costs of the Madrid-Barcelonaline, compared to the ones found on theMadrid-Sevilla high speed line.

PROBABILISTIC APPROACH INDETERMINING OPERATIONRESISTANCE OF SWITCHES

DiplIng Otto Plasek PhD, DiplIngVlastislav Salajka, Ph.D.Brno University of Technology, Fakulty of CivilEngineering, Veveri 95, 662 37 [email protected], [email protected]

Keywords: Railway construction,switches, signalling system.

The operation (throwing) resistance ofswitches depends on the both the design andoperation condition. Some of the switchdesign parameters are defined; some otherparameters can be specified as randomquantities. As random quantities there canbe specified e.g. friction coefficientsdepending on the lubrication of the slidebaseplates, the height alignment of the slidebaseplates, the changes of the rail profiledue to wear, etc.

For selected types of turnouts there havebeen developed computation models usingthe method of finite elements. These modelshave been applied to compute theparameters of the random quantityrepresenting the operation resistance ofswitches. The computations have beenperformed using the Monte Carlo method.Deflection curves of switch rails in thecourse of setting displacement have beendetermined. The positioning of settingdevices has been optimised.

Maximum value of the throwingresistance of the switches in the course ofthe setting process has been analysed.Parameters of the random quantitydescribing this value have been related toparameters characterizing the switch settingand locking device. With respect to requiredreliability of switch operation there havebeen defined limiting values of theoperation resistance of the switches. Theselimits have been included in the technicalstandards of Czech Railways.

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INCREASING TRAIN SPEED INTEHRAN-MASHHAD DOUBLE-TRACK LINE UP TO 160KM/H

JA ZakeriIran University of Science & Technology,Department of Railway Engineering, Tehran,[email protected] AyanIranian Islamic Republic Railways, Track &Technical Building Dept, Tehran, Iran

Keywords: Speed, track geometry.

The passenger train speed in Iran waslimited to 120km/h. Because locomotiveswere diesel and too old. In recent years,Iranian Railways decided to purchase somehigh-speed locomotives with 160km/h fromAlstom Company, and in 2002 a number ofAlstom locomotives delivered to thecountry. On the other hand, the second trackof Tehran-Mashhad line was under theconstruction and practically interred theservice (as double-track) in May 2002.Increasing old track speed, correcting trackgeometry in some points and also tampingwith continues tamping machines anddispatching test trains with the speed of 140km/h carried out from May to September2002 as preparations to operate trains with160 km/h formally. In this paper, theactivities carried out as well as the resultsobtained from test trains described.

IMPROVING SPIRAL GEOMETRYOF EXISTING TRACKS

Louis T Klauder Jr, PhD, PEWork Soft, 833 Galer Rd, Newtown Square,PA 19073, [email protected] M ChrismerPELTK Engineering Services, 100 W Butler‘AveAmbler, PA 19001, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail design, spiral, existingtracks.

This paper discusses two problemsencountered during planning for field testsof a type of improved spiral, referred to asa K_spiral. The first problem is that thespirals selected as test sites have shapes thatare so far from the original design shapesthat it would not be feasible during routinetrack lining to bring them back either to theiroriginal design shapes or to thecorresponding simple K_spiral shapes. Thisproblem has been solved by a generalizationof the K_spiral design method. Illustrationsare given of generalized K_spiral shapesthat are close enough to the existing shapesso that they can be achieved during routinetrack lining. The second problem was foundby computer simulation of movement of anAcela vehicle over a generalized K_spiral.Simulation at curve balancing speedpredicts that dynamic response to thegeneralized K_spiral will be much betterthan dynamic response to the correspondingtraditional spiral. But, simulation with thevehicle’s speed raised to give 9 inches ofcant deficiency predicts that dynamicresponse to the initial choice of generalizedK_spiral will be worse than dynamicresponse to the traditional spiral. Thegeneralized K_spiral can be adjusted to giveperformance at 9 inches cant deficiency thatis comparable to the performance of acorresponding traditional spiral.

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TECHNIQUES OF ADVANCEDDESIGN OF RAILWAY TRACKGEOMETRICAL LAYOUTS

Professor W Koc Faculty of Civil [email protected] Professor E MieloszykFaculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics,Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 G.Narutowicza Str., PL 80-952 Gdansk, Poland

Keywords: Railway track, geometricallayouts, design methods, symbolcalculation technique, numericalcalculation technique.

The paper systematizes the currently in usedesign methods of railway track geometricallayouts. The methods have been dividedinto two basic groups: those based on thedesign of the curvature, and the method ofdirect determination of the system ordinates.From the point of view of the calculationtechnique applied to each of these groupsthere have been distinguished symbolcalculation technique and numericalcalculation technique.

In analyzing the methods related todesign of the curvature of the system,particular attention was concentrated on thedifferential equation method as the mostuniversal one. There has been carried outan analysis of the incorrectly determinedsystem ordinates resulting from theoperation of a simplified curvature formulato the symbol calculation technique. In thiscase a significant improvement the accuracywas possible by taking advantage of theoperational calculus. In the numericalcalculation technique attention was drawnto the use of genetic algorithms.

The methods of direct determination ofthe system ordinates by use of the symbolcalculation technique are based on findinga solution in the form of explicit functiony(x). An identification of the problem has

been presented by means of differentialequations. The problem of monotonicity canbe explained either by searching for aparametric family solution or by an analysisof parameters of full solution. There havebeen pointed out some constraintsconnected with the application of solutionsbased on higher order polynomials. In thenumerical calculation technique attentionhas been paid to the determination of thegeometrical layout ordinates by use ofevolutionary programming.

UNDER ENGINEERING FORAFFORDABLE RAILWAYS

Professor Lewis LesleyLiverpool JM University, 98 Mount Pleasant,Liverpool L3 5UZ, [email protected]

Keywords: Mass produced products, shortlife assets, technology transfer, highwayengineering philosophy, short lineoperation, automatic operation.

Mass produced products applied to rail usewould reduce the need for long life systemswhich are obsolete in the market long beforetechnical obsolescence. The separation oftrunk and secondary lines, as on the highwaynetwork, with different systems ofownership and maintenance, could help tomaintain and expand a national system, withlower costs. Finally full automation wouldjustify economically the replacement oflineside signals by a radio based system, andat last enable rail to offer a service of HGVsize consignments at competitive prices andsuperior service. This would open newfreight markets to increase rails share from7% in the UK, towards the 44% achievedin the US.

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A SYSTEMS APPROACH TOMONITORING ASSETRELIABILITY

Dr CR BellCDS Rail, 1570 Parkway, Solent Business ParkFareham, Hampshire PO15 7AG, UK

Keywords: Rail, monitoring, asset,condition, reliability.

Any system obtaining useful information onthe state of remote assets needs to performthe following functions:• Collecting the relevant data.• Collating data from many different, and

often geographically separated, sources.• Reducing the data to useful information.• Transmitting this information to where

it can be used.• Displaying the right information to the

right people.This paper outlines some of the issues

involved in taking a whole system approachto produce successful asset monitoringsystems for the rail environment.

Monitoring systems are not signallingsystems, and many of the safetyrequirements for vital signalling equipmentapply, but equally many do not, makingsafety approval challenging. Monitoringsystems can produce vast quantities of datain remote outside locations whereconventional IT equipment cannot be usedfor data reduction. This problem iscompounded by the low bandwidthcommunications links generally available.

Information about an asset is frequentlyof interest to different parts of theorganisation. Monitoring S&C can provideinformation about physical movement,interlocking with the signalling system andheating in cold weather. System design andoperation must cover the differingrequirements of all these interest groups.

PREDICTING TRACK INSPECTIONMAINTENANCE AND RENEWALREQUIREMENTS USINGDECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Dr Christian RobertsFaberMaunsell Ltd, Imperial House, 31 TempleStreet, Birmingham B2 5DB, [email protected]

Keywords: Decision support, assetmanagement, track, maintenance,deterioration modelling.

This paper discusses the development andapplication of a repeatable modellingcapability for predicting work volumes onthe national rail network in the UK. Thework constituted the major component of aproject referred to as the Track InspectionMaintenance And Renewal Review(TIMARR), which provided Railtrack (nowNetwork Rail) with a configurablecapability for their review of work volumesfor Regulatory Control Periods Two andThree.

A “bottom-up” process has beendeveloped which predicts unconstrainedrenewal work volumes and the inspectionand maintenance activities for all plain-lineand switch and crossing (S&C) assets forthe Control Period’s to 2010. The resultingwork volumes were designed to contributeto the track-engineering component ofRailtrack’s business plan. The work wasconducted on a national basis and hasincluded the modelling of some 20,000miles of track and 20,000 S&C units.

The systems described in the paperprovided the toolset to deliver the TIMARRmodelling capability but in itself did notdeliver the solution. Supporting theapplication and execution of the toolset wasa well-defined and coherent methodology,providing a robust and repeatable process.The work conducted is considered a majorstep forward for strategic planning and

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economic estimations for the UK railindustry and is an integral part of Railtrack’sasset management strategy.

The paper concludes by establishingwhat future steps are now possible andshould be taken, through the IT solutionsand processes implemented in this work.

APPLICATION OF AKNOWLEDGE-BASEDINTELLIGENT SAFETYPREDICTION SYSTEM TORAILWAY INFRASTRUCTUREMAINTENANCE*

Dr M AnEngineering Design Research Centre, Schoolof Engineering, Coventry University, [email protected]

Keywords: Design and maintenance forsafety, safety assessment, railway safety,safety.

The Railway (Safety Case) Regulations2000 requires railway operators to preparea comprehensive safety case to demonstratesafety by design, by management and bymaintenance, to describe operationrequirements for continuing safetyassurance by regular review and to set outthe arrangements for emergency response[8]. Railway infrastructure controllers mayuse various safety assessment approachesto study all safety-critical elements of trainsand infrastructures, operation managementand maintenance to optimize safety. Thismay encourage railway safety analysts todevelop and employ novel safetyassessment approaches and to make moreefforts to deal with railway safety problems.This paper presents a knowledge-basedintelligent safety prediction system for raildesign and maintenance.

EFFICIENT POSSESSION USE ANDCONTINGENCY PLANNING

Eur Ing Stephen R MundaySMC Rail Ltd, 12 The Wharf, Bridge StreetBirmingham, B1 2JS, [email protected]

Keywords: Contingency planning,possession, route capacity.

There are several software packagesavailable which purport to model routecapacity. They each use slightly differentlogic and would therefore each givepotentially slightly different answers to thesame problem.

Before SMC invested in the packagethat I am about to demonstrate, weresearched the market in depth beforechoosing OpenTrack to be what weconsidered was the most versatile packagefor operations simulation. OpenTrackidentifies what we have come to refer to as‘real route capacity’, as opposed to‘timetable capacity’. By this I mean that itthinks and re-acts like real signalmen andreal drivers and does not restrict its logic tothe theoretical rules that underpin theconstruction of a traditional timetable.

Train Operators want this type ofmodelling software for two principalreasons. Firstly to identify and model whereand how they might improve the timetableby the introduction of additional train pathsor other minor changes, and secondly, totry and predict the consequences of‘perturbations’; that wonderfully railwayindustry word for what the public call‘chaos’ – or worse!

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MONITORING TRACK OBJECTSIN THE NETHERLANDS

FR Redeker & DE BrugmanStrukton Railinfra, P.O. Box 1025, 3600 BAMAARSSEN, The [email protected]@strukton.com

Keywords: Track, monitoring systems,The Netherlands.

Availability of the railway network is gettingmore and more crucial. This makes itincreasingly important for maintenancecontractors to prevent failures at the railinfrastructure that disturb the train service.In addition to this, improving maintenanceefficiency remains an important point ofinterest.

Monitoring crucial track objects is anindispensable tool in this context. To do so,Strukton Railinfra has developed its ownmonitoring system and has been using thiswithin its Services organisation since 1999.

This system has now been developedinto a universal monitoring shell around theobjects of the track: POSS, the PreventiveMaintenance and Failure Diagnosis System.

INSITU TESTS FOR ASSESSMENTOF TRACKBED QUALITY &PERFORMANCE

MR Horsnell, PA Jacobs & KC LawFugro Engineering Services, Brunel House,Basingstoke RG21 6XR, UKEmail: [email protected]

Keywords: Track, insitu testing,geotechnics, stiffness, soil strength, ballast.

Trackbed quality and performance aregoverned by geotechnical processes andconsiderations. Invariably, the charac-teristics of the ballast, sub-ballast and sub-grade influencing theses processes arehighly variable beneath any section of track.

Despite the acceptance of this variability,the rail industry tends to adopt methods ofinvestigation which provide only a limitedunderstanding of the extent of the problem.Trackbed designed on poor quality data willinevitably prove to be expensive. If overdesigned, the overspend will be up front, ifunder designed the overspend will occurthroughout the lifetime of the track in termsof remediation measures. This paperpresents the Authors’ experience of the useof high quality insitu test data for optimisingtrackbed quality and design.

TRACK-SUBSTRUCTUREINVESTIGATIONS USING GROUNDPENETRATING RADAR ANDTRACK LOADING VEHICLE

A Smekal & E BerggrenSwedish National Rail Administration,Technical Department, SE-781, 85Borlänge, [email protected]@banverket.seK HrubecGImpuls, Pøístavní 24, 170 00 Prague 7, TheCzech [email protected]

Keywords: Track-substructure investiga-tion, ground penetrating radar, trackloading vehicle, track stiffness.

Upgrading of existing railway lines forhigher axle loads and speeds requires newmodern methods for in situ investigation.Combination of measurements of trackirregularities, continuous track stiffness andnon-destructive geophysical methods likeGround Penetrating Radar (GPR) can be agood example of how important informationabout the status of existing railways can beobtained. GPR and Track Loading Vehicle(TLV) have been tested on the SwedishWestern Main Line where subsoil of very

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soft clays under the track has caused a lotof problems. Results from investigations aregoing to be used for mitigation of excessivesettlements, slides and especiallyenvironmental vibrations. Track stiffnesswas measured several times along the trackwith different excitation frequencies andtravelling speed with Banverket’s TrackLoading Vehicle. Track irregularities havebeen measured twice a year for severalyears. The GPR measurement was based onverified measurements that have been donefor the Czech Railways. The GPR recordswere processed into the form of longitudinalsections to the depth of 3 m. Statisticmethods have been applied for studies ofrelations between the parameters measuredby the GPR and Track Loading Vehicle.

GEOPHYSICS & THE PERMANENTWAY: CURRENT PRACTICE - NEWDIRECTIONS

D Carpenter, SCJ Dawson & PJ JacksonIMC Geophysics Limited, PO Box 18,Huthwaite, Sutton-in-Ashfield, NG17 2NS, [email protected]

Keywords: Geophysics, GPR, electricalimaging, geosynthetics.

Efforts to improve the safety and efficiencyof the rail industry have generated interestin both new technology, and the transfer ofproven technology from other industrysectors. Geophysics has long beenacknowledged as a significant contributorto economic success in the energy andminerals industries, and has achieved anincreasing level of acceptance in theengineering and environmental sectors.Recent years have seen the introduction ofgeophysical techniques to the rail industrysuch that permanent way geophysics seemslikely to become an entirely new discipline.

This paper describes the current range

of geophysical techniques available to therail industry, discusses concepts underdevelopment and examines the potential ofother methods in the railway environment.

One particular focus of interest has beenthe development of ‘intelligent’geosynthetics for permanent wayapplications, particularly for use inconjunction with GPR. PW5 radardetectable geosynthetics [1] incorporate areflective stripe which generates diffractionhyperbolae (Figure 1) which provide ballastradio wave velocity and can be used fortrackbed condition monitoring. Someresults of the use of PW5 are presented,together with other novel geosyntheticbased monitoring concepts.

USING GPR ON RAILWAYS TOIDENTIFY FROST SUSCEPTIBLEAREAS

T Saarenketo & M SilvastRoadscanners Oy, Tampellan esplanadi 8B,FIN-33100 Tampere, [email protected]@roadscanners.comJ NoukkaSCC Viatek Oy, Aleksanterinkatu 21 A, FIN-33100 Tampere, [email protected]

Keywords: Railway, ground penetratingradar, ballast, frost susceptibility.

In January 2002, testing was conducted ona 154 kilometres long section of railwaybetween the cities of Tampere and Jyväskyläin Finland. The goal of the study was todefine the thickness of the frost-resistantlayers between Tampere-Jyväskylä forballast rehabilitation project and to locaterailway sections with the potential fordamage resulting from frost heave. Due tothe introduction of new high-speedpassenger trains, which are more sensitive

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to irregularities in the tracks, railwayauthorities need more detailed informationon areas with a risk of developingdifferential frost heave. One potential toolfor quick non-destructive surveys of railwaystructures and subgrade is groundpenetrating radar (GPR).

The other goal of the project was to testthe suitability of different GPR antennas forrailway surveys. Tests were carried outusing GSSI and Radar Team Swedenantennas of different frequencies. The planwas to use high frequency antennas to obtaindetailed information from upper railwaystructures and low frequency antennas tocollect information to the depth ofmaximum frost penetration (3-4 m).

The GPR data, digital video and GPScoordinate data, collected from the railwaywas processed using Road Doctor software.Ground truth and profile data from therailway section was also linked to the initialdata using the same software. Thisintegrated data was then analysed andinterpreted using multiple parametersspecifically selected for the purpose oflocating frost susceptible areas andstructures.

This paper will present the key resultsfrom the survey and discussions concerningthe suitability of different GPR systems andcollection techniques for collecting railwaydata.

SAFE RAIL TRACK BEDINSPECTION BY HIGH SPEEDRADAR

Giuseppe Staccone Ground Control GmbH, Dachauer Strasse,37D-80335 Munich, [email protected] de HaanGrontmij Maunsell ICS bv, Postbus 203, NL-3730 AE De Bilt, The [email protected]

Keywords: Track bed, inspection, radar,high speed.

This paper describes a new train-bornetechnology for a continuous inspection ofthe geotechnical conditions of railwaytracks. It is based on ground penetratinghigh speed radar (GPR). The basicprinciples of the technology are explainedwith particular reference to the railwayspecific tasks. The paper outlines the majordifferences of the GPR technologycompared to the investigation methods ofthe past. It describes the advantages of thenew method in terms of quality and costbenefit. To date, more than 6000 km ofrailway tracks have been surveyed indifferent European countries.

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COMPARISON OF MULTIVARIATELINEAR REGRESSION ANDNEURAL NETWORKALGORITHMS FOR GROUNDPENETRATING RADAR (GPR)ESTIMATION OF TRACKMODULUS

Dr RM Narayanan, Dr RN Machavaram& Dr SEG EliasCollege of Engineering and Technology,University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0502, [email protected] Dingqing LiTransportation Technology Center, Inc.,Pueblo, CO 81001-0130, [email protected]

Keywords: Railroad track monitoring;ground penetrating radar; GPR; modulusmeasurement.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive and non-invasive technologythat has recently been applied to assess theintegrity of track substructure, includingestimation of track modulus. A singleelectromagnetic pulse of energy at anappropriate frequency is launched into theground, and reflections from varioussubsurface layers are recorded. The timingof the reflected pulses provides informationon the depth of the layers, while the pulseamplitude yields information on the type ofanomalies and subsurface characteristicscausing the reflections. In order to performsubsurface imaging, a sequence of suchpulses is launched as the system is towedover the surface. There exists a definiterelationship between the composition of thetrack substructure (e.g., layeringcharacteristics, heterogeneities, materialmigration, etc.) and the GPR image. Thetrack substructure composition also impactsthe strength and thus the track modulus.Thus, GPR image characteristics are related

to track modulus, and this relationship canbe established based upon coincident GPRand modulus measurements. Using GPRreflectivity values at specific depths, wehave developed two models to predict thetrack modulus within a value of 3.4 MPa(500 lbs/in/in). The first is a multivariatelinear regression analysis model and thesecond is a neural network model.A comparison between the two methodsreveals that the neural network techniqueperforms better than the linear regressiontechnique for predicting actual trackmodulus. However, the former iscomputationally more intensive than thelatter. Both models can be used to predictthe track modulus from the GPRmeasurements and would considerablyreduce the time and expense of operationaltrack maintenance strategies.

REVIEW OF GPR AS A TOOL FORTHE CHARACTERISATION OFBALLAST

Dr MR ClarkTRL Limited, Old Wokingham Road,Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6AU, [email protected] DM McCann & MC FordeCarillion Chair, University of Edinburgh,School of Engineering & Electronics, King’sBuildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JN, [email protected]

Keywords: Ballast, deterioration, radar,GPR, investigation, trackbed.

The work is the initial process of an ongoingresearch project investigating the possibilityof uniquely fingerprinting the GroundPenetrating radar (GPR) signal of railwaytrackbed ballast.

In the last five years (GPR) has becomean accepted method of in-situ ballast defectmonitoring. Modern GPR systems are

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portable and do not require a large numberof operators - thus enabling large costeffective surveys to be undertaken.

This paper will review aspects of thecurrent state of research into theinvestigation and characterisation of railwaytrackbed ballast.

TIME-FREQUENCY TECHNIQUESAPPLIED TO TOFD FOR THEAUTOMATION OF RAIL-TRACKINSPECTION

O Zahran, S Shihab & W Al-NuaimyDepartment of Electrical Engineering andElectronics, University of Liverpool, BrownlowHill, Liverpool L69 3GJ, [email protected]

Keywords: NDT, Rail track inspection,TOFD.

Time-Of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) is arecent innovation in the non-destructivetesting field and has proved a highlyversatile and valuable technique for theautomatic inspection of welds. TOFD canbe used for automatic inspection of rail-track particularly the fishplate and weldsareas of the track, which are considered highfailure-rate places. Novel Time-Frequencyanalysis is applied to characterise the TOFDsignals and classify defect type. Combiningthese features with an artificial neuralnetwork classifier can provide fullautomation of the defect detection process.The results of a preliminary study arepresented and discussed.

GEOPHYSICAL ASSESSMENT OFRAILWAY ASSETS – A PRACTICALVIEW

Simon Brightwell & Mark ThomasAperio Limited, Focal Point, Newmarket Road,Bottisham, Cambridge CB5 9BD, [email protected]

Keywords: Geophysical surveys, costsavings.

Railway engineers face a difficult task inmaintaining and improving the network inthe face of pressures to reduce the numberof people working on the tracks and increasethe number of trains running on them. Railmanagers have been asked to build a betterrecord of the condition and construction oftheir assets so that maintenance andmodernisation budgets can be spentefficiently. Geophysical surveys are playinga key role in fulfilling these objectives.

Geophysical surveys provide conditionand construction information quickly andwithout significant disturbance or damageto the assets under investigation. Surveysare quick and use highly portableequipment, making for safer work practicesthan ‘traditional’ methods such asexcavation. The results can provide a ‘bigpicture’, based on continuous rather thanpoint measurements, to enable more costeffective decision-making and bettermanagement of railway assets.

It is clear that geophysics offers manyexisting and potential benefits to the railengineer – but is it affordable and is itreliable?

A trial hole in a railway trackbed givesinformation from circa 500mm length oftrack and might cost £1000. Two such holesmight be made by a team in a typicalovernight possession. A GPR surveyconducted in the same possession mightcover 500m of track and cost £3000. Onthe basis of some ‘back of an envelope’

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sums, the trial holes cost £1000 per metreand the GPR £6 per metre.

Geophysics does not just win on cost.Annual tunnel inspections typically includea hammer tapping survey to detect hollowsounding or ‘drummy’ masonry. Thesecannot get deeper than the first or secondbrick ring, give different responses withvarying moisture levels or brick types, areprone to human error, typically cover justone line along the tunnel and are generallyrecorded in an ad hoc manner. GPR surveyscan cover a wide sweep over the arch, thefull depth of the lining, have provenrepeatability to remove the human error arepositionally correct to within 0.5 of a metre.Yet still hammer tapping is used.

MONITORING ANDQUALIFICATION OF A NEWTRACK: LONG-TIME DATAACQUISITION CAMPAIGN ANDDATA SAVING STRATEGIES

M Bocciolone, M Vanali, E ZappaPolitecnico di Milano, Department ofMechanics, Campus Bovisa, Via La Masa, 3420156 – Milano, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, superstructure,monitoring.

When a new kind of track is designed andbuilt, an accurate monitoring of quasi-staticand dynamic behaviour of the system isrequired, due to the need of trackcharacterization and for safety andmaintenance reasons.

An ad-hoc acquisition procedure hasbeen developed, able to perform triggeredacquisition in user definable time windowsduring the day, select and save only recordscharacterized by some planned conditionson RMS value, peak value etc.

The measurement set-up allows to

monitor the displacement (28 measurementpoints) and acceleration (14 measurementpoints) of some track elements (rails,sleepers, slabs, tunnel floor and walls), inaddition to 4 light barriers able to triggerthe acquisition and give information abouttrain speed and location.

The measurement campaign was 6months long, producing a big amount ofdata. Essential was to select a proper datastorage strategy, in order to keep the mostsignificant information without saving thewhole data. Two approaches were adopted:full data (complete time histories of eachchannel) and concise data file (onlymaximum, minimum, mean and RMS valesof each channel were stored) saving.

TOTAL ROUTE EVALUATION ONECML FREIGHT PRIMARY ROUTE 3

R J Armitage, Dr M J Brough & Dr P SharpeScott Wilson Pavement Engineering, 9/10Faraday Building, Nottingham Science andTechnology Park, University Boulevard,Nottingham NG7 2QP, [email protected]

Keywords: Trackbed, site investigation,ballast life, track quality, routeenhancement.

Freight Primary Route 3 (FPR3) is apotential diversionary route located to theeast of the East Coast Main Line (ECML)which, if upgraded, could release existingtrain paths on ECML for the use ofpassenger traffic, or provide an increase incapacity for through freight traffic. Thispaper describes the trackbed investigationrequired to develop the work scope toprovide a fit for purpose, 25 tonne axle loadfreight route. Trackbed anomalies neededto be identified, along with suggestedremedial treatments, taking into account thepotential for re-use or continued

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maintenance of the existing trackbed.Trackbed investigation comprised a

desk study, Ground Probing Radar (GPR)Survey, Walkover Survey, and AutomaticBallast Sampling (ABS). Further testingcomprised ballast particle size distributionsand wet attrition values, which were usedto determine residual ballast life and ballastcleaning potential. The information wassummarised in Total Route Evaluation(TRE) Plots along with HSTRC (HighSpeed Track Recording Coach) data.Subsequent interpretation produced asummary of trackbed condition, followedby suggested maintenance and renewalsoptions. These were optimised for eachsection of track, such that maximum use ofthe existing infrastructure could beachieved.

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PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF ASYSTEM TO MEASURE TRACKMODULUS FROM A MOVINGRAILCAR

Chris Norman, Shane Farritor, RichardArnold, SEG EliasCollege of Engineering and Technology,University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE,68588-0656, [email protected]

Keywords: Track modulus, stiffness, fieldtests.

Track failure is a major factor in manyrailroad accidents. Track modulus, orstiffness, is an important parameter in trackquality. This paper describes the preliminarydesign of a system for on-board, real time,non-contact measurement of track modulus.

Measurement of modulus from amoving railcar is non-trivial because of thelack of a stable reference for themeasurements. The proposed system isbased on measurements of the relativedisplacement between the track and thewheel/rail contact point. Low modulus trackwill have a higher deflection under theweight of a passing railcar when comparedto stiff track. A laser-based vision systemis used to make the measurements.A mathematical model is then used toestimate the track modulus from this data.A mathematical analysis has beenperformed to determine the best locationand minimum amount of data required todetermine the track modulus. The fullsystem has been tested in a dynamicsimulation and in a laboratory setting. Fieldtests have also been performed on astationary railcar under various loadingconditions.

Future work will include railcar-mounted higher speed tests in various trackconditions

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THE LUBRICATION OF HIGHSPEED CURVES

J RastallInterfleet Technology, Interfleet House, PrideParkway, Derby DE24 8HX, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, lubrication, rollingcontact fatigue, RCF, remote conditionmonitoring, RCM.

After the incident at Hatfield in October2000, Railtrack (now Network Rail) set upa programme to examine and develop anumber of initiatives. The increased use ofrail lubricators to improve the frictioncharacteristics on curves was identified asan important way to manage and reduce theincidence of Rolling Contact Fatigue onhigher speed curves.

At the end of 2001, Network Railpurchased forty electric track lubricatorsfrom three manufacturers to be used in atrial to judge their effectiveness andefficiency. Interfleet Technology Ltdassisted Network Rail in the assessment ofthese units by on-site monitoring andanalysis of the data obtained.

For more than a year, Interfleet hasmonitored the performance of thelubricators installed under differentconfigurations for the trial. Theeffectiveness of the deposition of greaseonto the gauge corner of the rail has beenassessed under different route and trafficconditions and five types of lubricant havebeen included.

An important benefit from the study hasbeen the identification of the feasibility ofsignificantly reducing the number ofconventional lubricators in use on therailway network whilst improving theeffectiveness of curve lubrication. Althoughthe capital costs of the electric lubricatorsare significantly higher, they can replace anumber of traditional devices in certain

circumstances and show a positive financialbenefit within one or two years. Added tothis benefit is their improved reliability andthe ease with which they can be maintainedand adjusted.

GRINDING RAILS TO COMBATSURFACE FATIGUE – ARE THERELIMITS?

Dr Wolfgang SchoechSpeno International SA, 26, Parc Chateau-Banquet, CH - 1211 Geneva 21, [email protected]

Keywords: Grinding, headcheck grinding,shallow curves, gauge corner cracking.

A new form of rail care is gaining groundin Europe. Often referred to as headcheckgrinding, the activity aims at eliminatingsurface cracks on the gauge corner,particularly on high rails in shallow curves.The application now appears routinely inrail grinding programs.

The technical and economic frameworkof headcheck grinding is still incomplete,but it is considered attractive, because lessrisky than doing nothing and less costly thanchanging rail. In the absence of fullknowledge of rolling contact fatigue andhow it should be treated, current practicalquestions concern the amount of metal tobe removed, the optimal transverse profileto be achieved and the acceptable tolerancesof that profile. Major point of interest iswhether headcheck cracks should beremoved completely, or can be left partly-treated.

This paper summarizes the currentpractice of rail grinding to counter surfacefatigue with particular emphasis on the roleof optimal wheel to rail contact. It also dealswith potential risks and negative sideeffects. It closes with an outline of furtherdevelopment designed to optimise theresults of this type of intervention.

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GOOD PRACTICE LUBRICATIONOF THE WHEEL RAIL INTERFACE

JC SinclairInterfleet Technology Limited, Interfleet House,Pride Parkway, Derby, DE24 8HX, [email protected]

Keywords: Lubrication, friction modifiers,wheel rail interface, rail wear, wheel wear,rail RCF.

The friction conditions at the wheel railinterface are critical for effective railwayoperations. Lack of adequate lubricationcauses rapid wheel / rail wear andintroduces operational problems. Anenduring uniform film of lubricant is neededon the gauge corner along the high rail ofcurves. Only trace amounts of lubricant arerequired on the top of the rail. Over-lubrication should be avoided as it has thepotential to cause SPADs and otheroperational problems. Some railways applyfriction modifiers to the top of the rail toprovide moderate friction levels, whilstfriction enhancers are used to increasefriction levels at low adhesion sites. Thispaper provides good practice guidance onthe use of lubrication and friction modifiers.

“Good practice” friction managementneeds to:• Be a fully integrated element within the

overall wheel rail interface managementprocess

• Use lubricants and friction modifiersthat: have the required frictionalproperties for the expected range ofoperating conditions; are compatiblewith their delivery system; do not leadto the ineffective operation of vehicle,track or trackside equipment; and do notintroduce unacceptable health, fire orenvironmental risks

• Use applicators that are well engineeredto provide high levels of functionality,reliability, inspectability and maintain-

ability. This is most likely to be achievedby solid lubricant or “intelligent” greasespray vehicle-mounted applicators or byelectric track-mounted applicators.Vehicle-mounted applicators arepreferred to track-mounted applicatorsbecause they reduce staff risk exposure,offer a better maintenance environmentand avoid the unproductive travellingtime to each track location. However, alimited number of track-mountedapplicators are still needed to protectcritical track locations, like small radiuscurves.

• Ensure that all applicators receiveregular inspections and diligentmaintenance by motivated staff that aretrained and accredited as competent toperform their duties.

• Use monitoring techniques to provideearly identification of applicator faultsand allow timely actions to beperformed to reintroduce an effectivefriction management regime.

INSTALLATION AND TESTING OFPANDROL VANGUARDBASEPLATES ON MTRC, HONGKONG

SJ CoxPandrol Rail Fastenings Ltd, Addlestone,Surrey, KT15 2AR, [email protected]

Keywords: Vibration, noise, railways,baseplates, fasteners.

This paper describes the installation andtesting of the Pandrol Vanguard railfastening system at a depot on the MTRCsystem in Hong Kong. The PandrolVanguard system is designed to reduce thelevel of vibration transmitted from the railinto the ground. The fasteners were installedon each of three slab track test sections in

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turn in place of the existing rail fasteners.On each slab, measurements of deflectionand vibration of the track were made undera test train both before and after the newfasteners were installed. Direct comparisonsof the vibration levels on the track base slabcan therefore be made. The measurementsshow that substantial reductions in base slabvibration were achieved when the PandrolVanguard fasteners were installed.

INFLUENCE OF TRACKIRREGULARITY & RUNNINGPART DEVIATION COMBINATIONTO FREIGHT CARS DERAILMENT

Doc-Ing Boris Kharitonov, DSc(Techn)& Doc-Ing Mikhail Levinzon PhDAll-Russian Scientific-Research Institut ofRailway Transport (VNIIZHT),3-Mytitschinskaya st 10, Moscow, [email protected], [email protected]

Keywords: Derailment, empty freight cars,track irregularity.

In the paper make analysis freight carsderailment conditions on Russian railways.Describe results theoretical and practicalresearches on interaction freight cars andtrack with irregularity. Make a recom-mendation about regulation trackirregularity combination.

THERMAL LOAD TESTING OFSOLID WHEELS AT THE SERBIAAND MONTENEGRO RAILWAYS

Dr D MilutinovicRailway Transport Company “Belgrade”Nemanjina 6, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia [email protected] A RadosavljevicInstitute of Transportation CIP, MechanicalEngineering Dept, Nemanjina 611000Belgrade, Serbia & [email protected] V LucaninUniversity of Belgrade, Faculty of MechanicalEng, 27.marta 80, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia [email protected]

Keywords: Railway vehicle, solid wheel,thermal load, long down-grade,longitudinal profile, test.

Basic objective of the solid wheel thermalload testing is to test wheel characteristics,which are important for its thermal loadresistance. These characteristics are, aboveall, wheel temperature and stress state ontrains formed of block-braked wagonsrunning on long down-grade lines in JZnetwork. All tests were carried out onregular trains running on the Belgrade–Barline. Obtained results were used to estimatewheel rim residual stress level and wheeltread cracks occurrence probability due tothermal loads in operation on JZ network.The following measured values wereregistered during testing: brake blocktemperatures, train running speed, trainacceleration and deceleration, brakecylinder pressure and brake block activatingforce. Beside these values, contactthermometers were used to measure treadtemperature of the wheels with brake blockshaving temperature measuring transmitters(in stations after long middle- and sharpdown-grades) and wheels of neighbouring

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testing car wheel-set and in terminal stations(Belgrade and Bar) inside wheel surfacedistances on wheel-sets (buckling) on whichthe temperature was measured near thecontact between the wheel and the brakeblock. The paper gives results of changesin registered measuring values, dependingon time and distance on selectedcharacteristic section (braking in order tomaintain constant running speed on longdown-grades, braking to stopping after longdown-grades, etc), determining maximumand minimum of the measuring values andstating basic comments and decisionsregarding the completed tests. For thepurpose of calculating the braking powerdistribution on the line and compare testresults with calculations it was necessaryto simulate train traction. This simulationwas based on the longitudinal profile of theline (characteristic section with longdowngrade is shown) and a specialdeveloped programme package at theInstitute of Transportation CIP for traintraction simulation. Calculations oftemperature and stress states at thecharacteristic section were done by the finiteelement method (FEM).

GENERAL TRACK ANDOPERATIONAL FEATURERELATIONSHIPS TO ROLLINGCONTACT FATIGUE ON THEBRITISH RAILWAY SYSTEM

SL ClarkTransportation Technology Center, Inc.55500DOT Road, Pueblo CO 81001, [email protected] CareOve Arup & Partners International Ltd, 13Fitzroy Street, London W1T 4BQ ,[email protected]

Keywords: Rolling contact fatigue, wheel-rail interface.

A significant amount of data was collectedand analysed during the year 2000 and 2001investigating the causes of and solutions torolling contact fatigue (RCF) on the Britishrailway system. In the course of theinvestigations, a number infrastructurefeatures were considered in relationship toRCF. These included:• Track Curvature• Line Speed• Cant Deficiency• Gradient• Rail Age• Rail Type

Within each of these features, data wascollected and analysed under a programmeof work commissioned by Railtrack,managed by Arup/TTCI, and carried out bythe efforts of Railtrack, Arup/TTCI, AEAT-Rail, Corus Rail Technologies, BakerailServices, and others. The data presented inthis paper reflects only a part of what wasfound during that investigation, and notnecessarily what would be found on therailway today.

While data was collected on majorBritish railway main lines, this paperpresents only data from the Fast Lines ofthe East Coast Main Line (ECML) and West

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Coast Main Line (WCML). The intent is toprovide a general illustration of the effectsthat the factors listed above were seen tohave on the generation of RCF. To presentthe data from all the routes is beyond thescope and intention of this paper.

It should be noted that the analysespresented in this paper were focused on thetrack and were absent of factors associatedwith traffic mix, traffic density and vehicletype. There has been a perspective that RCFis a problem with the infrastructure, and thatthrough adjustments to the infrastructure,it can be solved. This is important becausethrough the analysis of track factors, itbecame apparent that no clear conclusionsor solutions could be drawn looking solelyat the infrastructure.

Experience from other railway systems,and further research and investigation onthe British railway system show that RCFis not solely an infrastructure problem, buta railway system problem, and includesfactors on both sides of the wheel-railinterface. This paper shows that whenlooking solely at the infrastructure, there areno clear answers.

DEVELOPMENT OF ROLLINGCONTACT FATIGUE MODELS FORAN EFFECTIVE PREVENTATIVEGRINDING STRATEGY

Dr S Jaiswal, Mr S Blair, Mr A PriestCorus Rail Technologies, Swinden TechnologyCentre, Moorgate, Rotherham S60 3AR, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, rolling contact, fatigue,grinding, preventative strategy.

The development of a control strategy forthe management of rail degradation fromRolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) requires athorough understanding of the factorsaffecting the initiation and growth of RCF

cracks, so that a reliable, predictive modelcan be developed. This will facilitate thetimely mobilisation of preventative controlmeasures such as grinding and lubrication.Clearly, the development of such models hasto marry the science governing thedevelopment of RCF cracks with thepractical observations under a wide rangeof operating conditions. Corus RailTechnologies (CRT) has employed thisapproach during the development of theirRCF models that form part of a suite ofTrack System Models. CRT has beenmonitoring a large number of sites bothwithin the Network Rail network, and someother railways, and the data gathered overa three-year monitoring period has beenused to evaluate the RCF models developed.The following two approaches have beenused to model the development of RCFcracks:

A detailed analytical derivation of theprincipal stresses within the contact patch,that are then used to calculate the damageper cycle, based on the fatigue life at thecalculated equivalent stress determinedfrom laboratory derived S-N data. Theprimary inputs to the RCF analytical modelare the wheel load, wheel and rail geometry,traffic density, and fatigue properties of thematerial established using torsion testing.The model may be used as an ‘on-line’support tool by the track engineer and willprovide rail life predictions for given trafficand track conditions almost instantly. Themodel is being further developed toincorporate an additional module to predictfatigue crack growth rates. Once the modelhas been thoroughly assessed againstobserved site data, its simplicity and rapidresponse make it ideal for undertakingscenario analysis and the development ofpreventative grinding strategies.

A detailed 3D Finite Element (FE)analysis of the rail-wheel contact provides

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the stress inputs to FE-SAFE, acommercially available fatigue initiationsoftware package. This approach wasinitially used in combination with a 2D FEmodel of the laboratory Twin-Disc test tocalculate the contact stresses, and theposition and orientation of maximum shear,and thus crack initiation. The number ofcycles to initiation was predicted usingfatigue material property data andconventional damage summation ruleswithin FE-SAFE. Comparisons betweenFE-SAFE predictions and laboratorytesting, based on two rail grades, showedgood agreement. The method was extendedto 3D rail-wheel contact to assess thecontact stress conditions for a number ofsites in the UK network. Unfortunately, theFE approach is time consuming andultimately does not support the trackengineer in making real time decisions onpreventative maintenance. Therefore the FEapproach is being used to support thedevelopment of the analytical based RCFmodel.

The RCF analytical model is continuallyundergoing development, evaluation andsubsequent improvement. Once the modelhas achieved a state of readiness it can beapplied to allow the scheduling ofpreventative measures, such as High SpeedGrinding, to ensure that the fatiguedmaterial on the head of the rail is removedbefore cracks become a serious threat totrain safety, reliability and availability.

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ASPHALT WITH RUBBER GRAINSAS ANTI-VIBRATING SUB-BALLAST

A BuonannoInvestment Direction – Civil Engineering, RFIspa (Italian Railways), P.za della Croce Rossa,1, 00161 [email protected] D’AndreaDept. of Hydraulics Transportation and Roads,Univ. of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Eudossiana,18, 00184 [email protected]

Keywords: Sub-ballast, rubber granulate,dry process, damping properties, complexmodulus, railway track, loss factor, visco-elastic behaviour.

A wide integrated research has been carriedout by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana spa and theRome University “La Sapienza” to assessthe suitability of a new hot mix asphalt(HMA), containing crumb rubber (particlesize 2-5 mm), as sub-ballast layer in railwaytrackbeds. In constructing new Italianrailway tracks, a 12 cm bituminous concretesubballast is normally used, to protect theunderlying layers or the embankment andto obtain a more performing platform forthe ballast. The proposed new mix may besuitable for reducing the vibrations, due totrain transits, and to help rubber recycling.The first part of the research has concerned:1. characterization of involved materials,

with particular attention to crumb rubberproperties;

2. design of four bituminous mixes withdifferent kind and content of rubber;

3. evaluation of mechanical properties,included Marshall Stability, indirecttensile test, dynamic complex modulusand fatigue damage;

4. detection of visco-elastic parametersand derivation of master curve, Blackdiagram and loss factor.

The results obtained and the comparisonwith traditional HMA show that this newbituminous mixture could really be effectivein damping vibrations. The next step willpoint in tri-dimensional dynamic models,for the assessment of the new materialbehaviour in railway tracks.

KENTRACK: A STRUCTURALANALYSIS PROGRAM FOR HEAVYAXLE LOAD RAILWAY TRACKBEDDESIGNS

Prof Jerry G. Rose & Bei SuOH Raymond Building, University ofKentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0281,[email protected]@yahoo.comW.B. LongUS Army Corps of Engineers, 801 Broadway,Nashville, Tennessee 37202-1070, [email protected]

Keywords: Hot mix asphalt underlayment,railroad trackbed support, trackbedstructural design, layer thickness, asphalttensile strain, subgrade bearing capacity.

The KENTRACK computer program fordesigning and analyzing various railroadtrackbed structural systems is described andutilized throughout this paper. The updatedversion presented herein contains a user-friendly windows based Graphical User’sInterface. The program is applicable for all-granular trackbed designs and for layeredtrackbed designs containing a cemented(asphalt-bound) granular layer. Hot mixasphalt (HMA) material has beensuccessfully used as a trackbed supportlayer (underlayment) in the United Statesfor over twenty years. This paper featuresthe HMA underlayment design and analyzesthe components of a typical HMA trackbedwhile accessing the significance of them totrackbed design and performance. The finite

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element method and multi-layered theoryare used to analyze trackbed stresses andstrains. Measurements from instrumentedtest and revenue traffic trackbeds are alsopresented. The effects of various variableson trackbed design and evaluation, asdetermined and predicted by the computerprogram, are presented. Subgrade modulus,ballast/HMA thickness and axle loadrepresent three variables that havesignificant effects on the predicted railroadtrackbed service life. Sample calculationsusing the KENTRACK design program arepresented.

SUSTAINABLE CLEANING OFRAILWAY BALLAST FORRECYCLED AGGREGATE

Dr P Anderson, C J Cunningham,R Hearnden & Prof DA BarryCLARRC, School of Engineering andElectronics, University of Edinburgh,Edinburgh EH9 3JN, Scotland, [email protected] J. C. PhilpCLARRC, School of Life Sciences, NapierUniversity, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, Scotland,UK

Keywords: Railway ballast,contamination, cleaning, optimisation,environmental impact

Spent railway ballast is a source of recycledaggregate. Recycling of aggregatescontributes to sustainable development byreducing the volume of construction wastegoing to landfill, reducing transportationand by reducing the impact of primarymineral extraction supplying primaryaggregates. Railway ballast is renewedwhen it loses its geotechnical properties andis no longer able to adequately support thetrack and provide drainage. Alternatively,ballast is removed from locations where

contamination, primarily by diesel, isunsightly and adds to the characteristicsmell of a UK railway station. In this caseballast must first be cleaned before reuseas aggregate. Track mounted systems existto remove the ballast by vacuum andreturning it to the track after processing. Off-site systems are similar to traditional soiland gravel washing plant. An optimisedcleaning system can represent savings inboth time and money, producing less wastefor processing and disposal and returningmore materials to the marketplace. Such anapproach is in keeping with the overallthrust of sustainable engineering. In thisstudy, the primary factors of contact time,cleaner concentration and abrasive actionwere investigated for a surfactant-basedcleaning agent (Biosolveâ), applied tocontaminated railway ballast using alaboratory-scale cleaning system. It wasfound a 15 minute wash cycle incorporatinga 1% surfactant solution concentration withabrasive action, gave the optimum cleaningefficiency, reducing contamination by 86%from 17510 ± 445 to 2525 ± 345 mg kg-1.Several batches of contaminated ballastcould be cleaned before significantreduction in cleaning efficiency wasobserved. Potential environmental impactsof surfactant and hydrocarbon residues wereconsidered and the biodegradability ofwastewaters generated with respect to theBiochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) inwash water, rinse water and leachatesproduced.

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TESTS ON A TWO LAYEREDBALLAST SYSTEM

Dr P Claisse & C CallaSchool of Science and the Environment,Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, [email protected]@coventry.ac.uk

Keywords: Ballast specifications, trackquality, track maintenance.

Considerable evidence suggests that, ballastis the main cause of uniform and non-uniform settlement of railway track,provided the subgrade is adequatelyspecified. Over a period of time unevensettlement of the ballast will cause voids toform under the sleepers leading tounacceptable ride quality of track. Regularmaintenance is required to keep trackgeometry within acceptable limits and tomaintain ride quality of the track.

The two layered ballast system proposesto replace the crib ballast by stone of smallersize. The aim is to fill the voids beneath thesleeper as soon as they becomeunacceptably large and to maintain ridequality of track without use of tamping orstone-blowing. Preliminary model testshave been carried out on the proposedsystem which indicate good potential for it.The results of the model tests have beenvalidated by full scale tests in the laboratory.The tests have shown that by replacing cribballast by stone of smaller size a voidbeneath the sleeper will be filled up to lessthan, the void size minus the averageparticle size of crib ballast. The system isself maintaining and keeps track verticalprofile within tolerable limits without useof Stone blowing or Tamping machines.Full scale live track trials on the proposedsystem are planned for, later this year.

APPLICATIONS AND LONG-TERMPERFORMANCES OF ASPHALTUNDERLAYMENT TRACKBEDS ATSPECIAL TRACKWORKS

Jerry G Rose, PEProfessor of Civil Engineering, 261 OHRaymond Building, University of Kentucky,Lexington, KY 40506-0281 [email protected] M. TuckerGeneral Manager of Standards & IndustrialEngineering, CSX Transportation, 4901 BelfortRoad, Suite 130, Jacksonville, FL 32256, [email protected]

Keywords: Hot mix asphalt, asphalttrackbeds, railways, special trackworks,tunnel floors and approaches, bridgeapproaches, crossing diamonds,crossovers, turnouts, rail/highwaycrossings, track design, track maintenance,railway track construction.

Since the early 1980s in the United States,CSX Transportation (and its predecessorlines), the other three large Class I railroads,and numerous smaller railroads have beenactively involved in utilizing hot mix asphalt(HMA) underlayment during track structurerehabilitation of literally thousands ofspecial trackworks. Typically, specialtrackworks are more capital intensive topurchase, install, and maintain and thedocumented life expectancies are manytimes only a fraction of that obtained onequivalent lengths of open track sections.It is often difficult to obtain and maintainadequate drainage in the vicinity of specialtrackworks. The added impacts stemmingfrom track geometric deviations, railirregularities, and vertical track stiffnessvariations tend to shorten their service lives.

The majority of the special trackworksunderlain with HMA underlayment hadpreviously required abnormally intensivemaintenance at the specific locations to

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continuously maintain conformance to thespecified track geometric parameters for theparticular class of track. These maintenanceexpenses not only strain engineeringbudgets, but also have a negative impact onoperating efficiencies on the major line haulroutes. Documented cost savings fromnumerous installation sites indicate theminimal increase in initial costs to installHMA underlayments is often recovered inless than a year.

Numerous types of special trackworkinstallations are described. These include:1) tunnel floors and approaches; 2) bridgeapproaches; 3) railroad crossing diamonds,crossovers, and switch turnouts; and 4) rail/highway at-grade crossings. Significantdetails are provided relative to the uniqueconditions and situations associated witheach type of special trackwork. Briefdescriptions are presented for representativeprojects.

BEHAVIOUR OF RECYCLEDRAILWAY BALLAST BASED ONLARGE-SCALE TRIAXIAL TESTS

D Ionescu, MIEAust, CPEngLa Trobe University, Dept of Physical Sciences& Engineering, PO Box 199, Bendigo VIC3552, [email protected] B Indraratna, MIEAust,CPEngUniversity of Wollongong, Faculty ofEngineering, Northfields Avenue, WollongongNSW 2522, [email protected]

Keywords: Deformation, degradation,railway ballast, recycled ballast, settlement,strength.

The findings of a series of monotonictriaxial compression tests conducted at lowconfining pressures were used to predict theshear strength and deformation and

degradation characteristics of modelfractions of recycled railway ballast. Theeffect of particle size distribution, shape andmaximum principal stress ratio on thedeformation and degradation behaviour ofrecycled material was studied. It wasobserved that if the unwanted fines wereremoved, the recycled aggregates exhibitedquite acceptable mechanical propertieswhen compared with fresh ballast. It mightbe possible that recycled ballast could beused for the construction of railway tracksand in this way keep the maintenance costto a minimum. It is however necessary toestablish the behaviour of the recycledballast under similar loading conditions asthose encountered in the track. For thispurpose, a unique testing device wasdesigned and built in-house in order toperform cyclic triaxial tests on fresh andrecycled ballast, including simulation of thefield load and boundary conditions. Thispaper deals with the findings of this testingprogram that shed further light on the waytowards cost-effective maintenance ofrailway tracks.

VIBRATION BEHAVIOUR OFRAILWAY TRACKS FOR NOISEAND DAMAGE PREDICTION

Drir. AP de ManEdilon B.V., P.O. Box 1000, 2003 RZ Haarlem,The [email protected]

Keywords: Railway track, vibrations,dynamics, recording, design, assessment.

A railway track is the object, which isnecessary for the support and the guidanceof a railway vehicle. The use of a railwaytracks by a railway vehicle causes dynamicloading, which generates vibrations in theinteracting systems of train and track. Thevibration behaviour of the railway track inthe mid- and high-frequency range (40-400

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Hz and 400-1500 Hz respectively) can actas an indicator for its performance withrespect to sound radiation, vibrationsensitivity and wheel-rail interaction forces.These aspects should get more attention ofrailway track managers, on the conditionthat a well qualified and - even better - awell-quantified performance indicator isavailable. A suitable guiding instrument,providing such an indicator for track designand track maintenance, has been developedin the course of the research projectDynatrack (De Man, 2002), and it has beenused in an increasing number of cases. Thisarticle will pay attention to some basicperformance examples of various railwaytracks in the field of vibrations. Recordingsand simulations will be presented and theeffects of various component properties willbe illustrated. The performance, which isexpressed in integral values, is easilycompared for the various track types,components, designs and conditions.

PERFORMANCE OF SHELL-TYPETIES UNDER RAILWAY TRACKS

Dr A Hanna & Dr M Abdel-RahmanConcordia University, Dept of Building, Civil& Environmental Engineering, 1455 DeMaisonneuve west, Montreal, PQ Canada,H3G [email protected]@civil.concordia.caN Peters, PEng, CNSystem Manager, 10004-104 Avenue,Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T5J 0K2 [email protected]

Keywords: Railways; tracks; shell-typeties; flat-bottomed ties; experimentalinvestigation.

Railways constitute the largest and the mostexpensive project governments or privateentities undertake. The deterioration of theirtracks represents a major and outstanding

problem for railways and transportationaround the world. Railway tracks consist ofties (sleepers) equally spaced, on a well-compacted granular material (ballast).These ties are usually made of uniformwood or reinforced concrete sections withflat bottom. This design persists in spite ofthe high cost of maintenance andreplacements. A possible improvement tothe design of ties is to implement theconcept of shells. This design willsignificantly improve the performance ofthe tracks, in terms of higher bearingcapacity, lesser settlement and accordinglyless maintenance costs as compared to theconventional flat ties.

This paper presents the results of anexperimental investigation on prototypemodels of shell-type and flat-bottomed ties.The study was directed to determine thegeotechnical performance of these ties, interms of bearing capacity and settlementcharacteristics. Based on the results of thisinvestigation, prestressed concrete shell-type ties may be easily adopted to railwaytracks. Such a design, will lead toeconomical ties that utilize the concrete andthe supporting material more effectively andaccordingly reduce their maintenance costs.

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MANAGING THE RAILWAYEARTHWORKS ASSET

DTJ ReidCarl Bro Group, 7-15 Dean Bank Lane,Edinburgh, EH3 5BS, [email protected]

Keywords: Earthworks, asset, management.

Railway infrastructure is complicated andmany of the assets are interrelated. Themaintenance of the earthworks involvesmaintenance of the associated assets. If theyare properly looked after, then theearthworks will require little or nomaintenance. This paper discusses theinterrelationship of the different assets andthe benefits of adopting a fully co-ordinatedapproach to maintenance and assetmanagement.

EARTHWORKS ASSETASSESSMENT USING REMOTESENSING

Chris DuffellHighways Agency, Sunley Towers, PiccadillyPlaza, Manchester M1 4BE, [email protected] Rudrum & Matt WillisArup, 13 Fitzroy Street, London, W1T [email protected]@arup.com

Keywords: Remote sensing, highways,earthworks asset management,infrastructure earthworks, Airborne LaserScanning (LiDAR), pilot scale trial ofremote sensing techniques, earthworkscondition assessment.

The Highways Agency (HA) in the UnitedKingdom is responsible for managing 9,760km of the motorway and trunk road networkin England on behalf of the Department forTransport, (DfT). The most recent figuresavailable indicate that the Highways

Agency is spending upwards of £12m perannum on ‘reactive’ slope repair and thatyear on year costs are increasing almostexponentially. This together with therequirement to increase capacity andreliability of the existing network have ledthe Highways Agency to institute a ‘pro-active’ earthworks management strategy.

One of the key requirements for thedevelopment of such a ‘pro-active’ assetmanagement strategy is the regular supplyof current detailed asset inspection /condition data. Helicopter and fixed wingaircraft borne laser scanning (LiDAR)offers the opportunity of rapidly obtainingdetailed digital ground survey data of largelengths of the highway asset, with the abilityto survey some 100km of linear asset perday.

The key product of the laser scanning isa detailed ground survey and this providesthe potential for using advanced ‘changedetection’ techniques to digitally comparesurveys and ‘automatically’ identify areasof noteworthy earthworks deterioration.This would potentially allow more focussedground inspections, with benefits in termsof speed and the reduction in exposure ofstaff to the hazards of working on livehighways.

With substantial areas of the network toreview on a regular basis, an HA researchprogramme has been initiated to evaluatethe potential for LIDAR systems to identify‘condition features’ and the practicality of‘automated change detection’.

This paper will describe the results froma trial on 20km of the M25 Motorway andoutline the potential for rapid population ofearthworks asset condition databases usingremote sensing techniques.

Various operators of other infrastructurenetworks such as London UndergroundLimited, Railtrack Great Western Zone andthe British Waterways Board have been

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closely involved with the research,recognising that similar techniques will haveapplication in areas such as Railways, FloodDefences, Canals, Dams etc.

RAIL ROCK SLOPE RISKAPPRAISAL

P McMillanWA Fairhurst and Partners11 Woodside Terrace, Glasgow, UK;G ManleyNetwork Rail, Piccadilly, Manchester, UK

Keywords: Railways, rock slopes, stability,risk, appraisal, management.

Effective management of earthworks ontransport infrastructure networks requiresknowledge of their number, location and ofthe risk posed to the infrastructure and users.Network Rail (formerly Railtrack) has beenworking to improve pro-active managementof earthworks on the rail network. As partof these improvements Network Rail, WAFairhurst and Partners and Babtie enteredinto a joint venture to develop an improvedrisk based approach to managing rockslopes – the Rail Rock Slope Risk Appraisal(RRSRA). The general approach adoptedin development of this system is based onthe logic of the TRL Rock Slope Hazardindex and Quarry Rock Slope Hazard Indexas published by McMillan and Matheson1995, 1997, McMillan, Nettleton andHarber 1998 and McMillan and Nettleton,2000.

The RRSRA is based on rapid fieldsurveys that record essential data ongeotechnical conditions of the rock, rockslope geometry and track alignment andexposure to hazard. These data are then usedto derive parameter values that are in turnused to calculate the RRSRA value via astandard calculation path based upon eventtree risk assessment logic. This RRSRA

value is used to determine the conditionstatus of the rock slope as:• Serviceable• Marginal• Poor

These condition assessments are thenused in prioritising further action and repeatmonitoring surveys. The system has beenused in a trial implementation in the NorthWest Region where it has been used tosurvey all rock slopes in the Region (approx.1800).

This paper will describe the basicprinciples behind the approach employedin the RRSRA and report the preliminaryfindings of the North West Region trial.

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RE-ALIGNMENT OF RAILWAYTRACK TREBOVICE –RUDOLTICE (CZECH REPUBLIC),TUNNEL OR OPEN CUT, ANALYSISOF GEOTECHNICAL HAZARDS

RNDr František KrestaStavební geologie – Geotechnika a.s., branchOstrava, Klicperova 6, 709 00 Ostrava –Mariánské Hory, Czech [email protected]

Keywords: Geotechnical, realignment,clays.

Track section Trebovice – Rudoltice on theborder between Bohemia and Moravia andEuropean watershed is one of the mostcomplicated sections in Czech republicfrom the geotechnical point of view. Maindifficulties in that area result from expansiveclays with high plasticity. Swelling of theseclays caused destruction of the Trebovicetunnel built in 1842-1845. This tunnel wasrestored after great difficulties in 1932.

Modernisation of railway track in thatarea was solved by re-alignment of existingtracks. Crossing through the soils with theworst mechanical properties (highly plasticexpansive clays) was designed as cut-and-cover double-track tunnel protected bydiaphragm walls with invert.

Contractor that won the tendersuggested solution with open cut andproclaimed significant reduction of costs.

Stavební geologie – Geotechnika a.s.was asked to analyse geotechnical hazardsof both solutions from short and long termpoint of view. At the first stage it wasnecessary to prepare open cut solution onthe same level as tunnel design to makecomparison of them.

Due to time shortage a limited siteinvestigation was carried out and limitednumerical analysis (FEM) was made.Results of this stage were summarised instatement that open cut is not possible to

construct without additional technicalmeasures (retaining walls, stabilisation ofsoils, dewatering).

Suggested measures were integratedinto design that was analysed in comparisonwith tunnel one. All main geotechnicalhazards – expansive clays, saturated sandson the top of clays, removing off significantamount of material without subsequentcompensation, crossing with existing tunnel,etc.- were solved by both designs.

Comparing of life cycle costs of bothsolutions it was found out that open cutsolution is less favourable than tunnel.

Final solution (tunnel or open cut) hasnot been selected yet (February 2003).

STABILISATION OF EMBANK-MENT WITH DIFFICULT ACCESSAT BELFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND

SA SoleraHyder Consulting (UK) Ltd, Firecrest CourtCentre Park, Warrington WA1 1RG, [email protected]

Keywords: Embankment, railways,stabilisation, duckbill anchors, difficultaccess.

A 130m long section of the Belford Upsideembankment runs at the crest of a disusedquarry. The embankment is up to 7m highwith variable slope angles from 35º to 40º,and was constructed using cohesive glacialtill. The over-steepened slopes have led tosignificant ballast movement, resulting inundermining of cable troughs, leaningfences, inadequate cess width and requiringregular tipping of ballast to preventundermining of the track. The ballast hasextended into the quarry outside the railwayproperty boundaries. Stability analysisindicated that the embankment slope wasunstable. The remedial works consisted ofthree to four rows of duckbill type anchors

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to stabilise the embankment. The top rowof anchors provided stability to a gabionretaining wall required for cess widening.The duckbill anchors were chosen becausethe difficult access, as the works could onlybe entered from one end of the embankment.The anchors were driven using lightweightskid mounted equipment. During proofloading, the upper and middle rows ofanchors showed a capacity lower than thatrequired by the design and previouslyconfirmed by load testing. A limited numberof additional anchors were installed. Thepaper discusses the choice of anchorsbearing in mind the access restriction, thepreliminary trials and their subsequentinstallation and testing.

SOIL-NAIL TRIAL ATLEOMINSTER HEREFORDSHIRE –A CASE STUDY

S Konstantelias, DGS Ghataora, ABStirling, Prof KB MadelinThe University of Birmingham, CivilEngineering Department, The RailwaysResearch Group, Edgbaston, BirminghamB15 2TT, [email protected]@[email protected],[email protected]

Keywords: Ballast, formation, groundimprovement, settlement, soil nails,subgrade stiffness.

With increasing pressure for higher linespeeds, heavier axle loads and the need toreduce maintenance costs there is anecessity to develop in-situ groundimprovement techniques that can be appliedbetween sleeper cribs or through the ballastshoulder. This paper describes a full-scaletrial of the soil nail technique undertakenon a live track at Leominster, Herefordshire.

There is discussion on how this techniquewas used to improve the stiffness of therailway subgrade without removing any ofthe track components, on its ease ofapplication, and its effectiveness. This trial,which is funded by the governmentapproved EPSRC LINK programme,formed part of an ongoing research projectcalled Improving the Stiffness of ExistingRail Track (ISERT).

LEDBURN JUNCTION: A CASESTUDY OF RAILWAYEMBANKMENT STABILISATION

F Loveridge & I DuncanMott MacDonald Ltd, St Anne House,Wellesley Road, Croydon CR9 2UL, [email protected] FitchCementation Foundations Skanska, MapleCross House, Denham Way, Maple Cross,Rickmansworth WD3 9AS, [email protected] ArmondWatford Bletchley Alliance, 401 Grafton GatesEast, Milton Keynes MK0 1AQ, UKJ HarmsNetwork Rail, Midlands Region, The Mail Box,100 Wharf Side Street, Birmingham B11 1RT

Keywords: Embankment stabilisation,piling, temporary works, partnering, Gaultclay, earth structure remediation, railways.

As part of the West Coast RouteModernisation a new high speed junctionhas been constructed immediately south ofTrain Robber’s Bridge at Ledburnembankment. The embankment has proveda historically high maintenance structureand consequently stabilisation of theembankment has been integrated with themodernisation.

Instability of the embankment wasindicated by deformation of the track andservices and by the irregular slope profiles.

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Extensive ground investigation followed bygeotechnical modelling was carried out toidentify failure mechanisms and allowdesign of both the remedial measures andthe foundations for new overhead gantries.Shear surfaces in the embankmentfoundation with a low residual strength werekey to the observed deformations.

The low factor of safety of theembankment required a structural solutionand piling was chosen. Special measureswere required to ensure safe constructionwithin the railway environment. Theassociated buildability and safety problemswere solved by utilising the strengths of thewhole team, for example this enabled thetemporary works to be incorporated into thepermanent earthworks. This integratedapproach to design and constructionrequired close Client-Designer-Contractorworking relationships and this was reflectedin the ability to meet the tight programmewhilst adapting to on site conditions.

INNOVATIONS IN EROSIONCONTROL ON RAILWAY STEEPSLOPES (BATTERS)

Y Gyasi-Agyei & T McSweeneyCentre for Railway Engineering, CentralQueensland University, Rockhampton 4702,[email protected] NissenQueensland Rail, Infrastructure ServicesGroup, 320 Murray St, Rockhampton 4700,Australia

Keywords: Erosion control, steep slopes,batters, drip irrigation, railway.

Research into cost-effective strategies forerosion control (HEFRAIL Project) onrailway earthworks steep slopes (batters) inCentral Queensland, Australia, hasestablished that 100 % grass cover reduces

erosion by over 90 % compared with thebare scenario. The strategies are centred onamelioration of the largely dispersive, sodic,saline and extreme pH in-situ or borrowedsubsoil of the earthworks, provision of acheap mulch (waste ballast or erosioncontrol blanket) to protect grass seeds/ seedlings and ameliorants from washout byrainfall events, and development of a cost-effective drip irrigation system. This paperpresents innovations of the cost-effectiveerosion control strategies demonstrated atselected field trial sites throughout CentralQueensland. Although the erosion controlstrategies have been developed for semi-arid environments, it is believed they havepotential in humid environments as well.

SOIL SLOPE HAZARD INDEX AS ATOOL FOR EARTHWORKSMANAGEMENT

Gerard ManleyNetwork Rail, Rail House, Store Street,Manchester, [email protected] HardingBabtie Group, 35-37 London Road, Preston,PR1 [email protected]

Keywords: Slope, hazard, index,earthworks, management.

Network Rail has a £multi-billion asset atthe heart of its operations – the earthworkson which the permanent way is founded.Management of this asset is fundamental tothe safe and efficient operation of thenetwork. The consequences of failure areserious with disruption of operationsprobable and in extreme circumstances canlead to complete loss of support to the lineand serious injury to staff and passengers.

In past decades asset management hastended to be more in response to failures.

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In recent years Railtrack/Network Rail hasmoved to a strategy of proactivemanagement. This has been achievedthrough the assessment of earthworksstructures and the use of alliancepartnerships for physical improvements ina systematic manner.

Network Rail has commenced a phasedreview of their entire earthworks asset tofurther improve the level of proactivemanagement of the asset. The approachadopted in the NW Zone is to produce aSoil Slope Hazard Index (SSHI) for everyearthworks structure. This will providebaseline data for future cyclical inspectionsand provide a guide to current performance.The SSHI is derived from basic data and isintended to provide a method for comparingthe relative condition of each earthwork andfor monitoring changes to individualstructures. It is intended to provide a logical,ordered and repeatable system formanagement of the earthwork asset.

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USE OF THE MEGASCAN™IMAGING PROCESS IN THEINSPECTION OF RAIL BRIDGESAND OTHER MAJOR STRUCTURES

KD BrownMaterial Measurements Ltd, Inspection House61 Albert Road North, Reigate, SurreyRH2 9RS, [email protected]

Keywords: Megascan, NDT, bridges,concrete, inspection, radiography, railways.

This paper reviews the Megascan™Imaging Capture System, which is aradiographic technique used by MaterialMeasurements Ltd (MML) in theinvestigation and assessment of railway andother civil engineering structures. Referenceis made to the key role that the Megascan™ Imaging Capture System currently playsin post-construction inspection andassessment.

STRAIN MEASUREMENT, CLYDEVIADUCT

R McGlynnFugro Structural Monitoring, 1 Queenslie CourtSummerlee Street, Glasgow G33 4DB, [email protected]

Keywords: Bridges, strain, monitoring

Fugro Structural Monitoring (FSM) wasrequested by Mowlem (under the directionof Babtie Group Ltd) to perform strainmonitoring on a bridge over the River Clydenear Crawford, Scotland. The purpose ofthe exercise was to examine the strains atvarious locations on the four main girders,due to trains passing over the structure, anddetermine whether the bridge could beconsidered as a continuous structure ratherthan comprising discrete elements.Monitoring of the bridge was performed inMay 2001.

NOTES ON THE ASSESSMENT OFRAILROAD MASONRY RETAININGWALLS

Dr MR ClarkTRL Limited, Old Wokingham Road,Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6AU, [email protected] BatchelorHolequest Ltd, Winston Road, Galashiels,Selkirkshire, UKProfessors DM McCann & MC FordeCarillion Chair, University of Edinburgh,School of Engineering & Electronics, King’sBuildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JN, [email protected]

Keywords: Masonry, retaining walls,defects, NDT, standards.

This paper covers non-destructive testing(NDT) techniques suitable for theinvestigation of retaining walls. Eachmethod is considered and evaluated as toits suitability for the investigation ofproblems associated with retaining walls.A series of possibilities for numericalmodelling of the NDT retaining walls isconsidered.

Recommendations are made as topossible strategies are made. A case studyis given of a retaining wall investigation.

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DEFECTS, INVESTIGATION ANDREPAIR OF A THREE-SPANMASONRY ARCH BRIDGE

AD MacfarlaneNetwork Rail, General Offices, WaterlooStation, London SE1 [email protected]

Keywords: Bridge, masonry arch, repair.

The three span masonry arch described inthis paper was constructed in 1837 andcarries an unclassified road across the twotrack railway just North of Merstham.Originally built as a private access road fora local landowner Sir William Jolliffe, theconstruction of the M25 and M23motorways surrounding the village ofMerstham means this railway crossing isnow an important link for local traffic.

This paper describes the discovery ofunusual structural defects and subsequentrapid deterioration in the condition of oneof the piers. Vertical fractures extendingfrom below mid height towards ground levelwere observed to grow quickly in length andwidth accompanied by local crushingfailures. Investigation into the causes of thedefects is discussed along with the optionsfor repair. The final remedial works had tobe implemented with utmost care in orderto avoid further distress to the deterioratingpier.

Utilising a mixture of modern andtraditional monitoring techniques therailway was allowed to remain fullyoperational during the delicate repairoperation. Investigation, design, temporary,and permanent repairs were completedwithin just 32 weeks and the road openedto traffic incorporating new featuresdesigned to enhance the safety of road usersand the railway.

CASE STUDY: TEMPLE MILLSVIADUCT AT STRATFORD CTRLINTERNATIONAL STATION

Dr Julia MartinOve Arup and Partners Ltd, The Arup Campus,Blythe Gate, Solihull B90 8AE, [email protected] Esad PorovicRLE and Arup, Ove Arup and Partners Ltd, 13Fitzroy Street, London W1T [email protected]

Keywords: Curved integral reinforcedconcrete structure, soil-structureinteraction, multi-disciplinary design.

Stratford International Station is beingconstructed as part of the Channel TunnelRail Link. A connection, located at StratfordStation, is required from the CTRL mainlines to the site of a nearby maintenancedepot for CTRL trains. Within the stationthis link, Temple Mills Viaduct, starts atCTRL grade, rises through a centraldomestic platform, curves over the threedown lines and international down lineplatform and connects to a retained cutoutside the station structure. The mainstructure is an integral reinforced concreteportal, supported on piled foundations toone side and directly connected todiaphragm wall panels on the other. Thispaper will discuss the constraints involvedin the concept design of the viaduct, theinterfaces between the various disciplinesinvolved in the design and construction ofa major new railway station and the mainissues affecting the detailed structuraldesign and construction.

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INSTALLATION OFLONGITUDINAL TIMBERS ONGLEANN VIADUCT

T BarberCarillion Rail, Glasgow, [email protected] LawrieCorus Rail Consultancy, York, [email protected]

Keywords: Railway, bridge, longitudinaltimbers.

This paper describes design developmentand installation of a track support systembased on longitudinal timbers, at a remotesite on the Glasgow to Fort William railwayin western Scotland. The provision oflongitudinal timbers, in place of theballasted track bed previously present onthe bridge, achieved a sufficient reductionin weight to permit the continued passageof freight traffic, without recourse to theextensive reconstruction which wouldotherwise have been necessary. Theremoteness of the site and the difficultiesof access presented particular challenges toexecution of the project.

LOW PROFILE RAILROADBRIDGE DESIGN

Steven K Jacobsen, PE & Mark AHoltkampNNW, Inc., 316 E. College St., Iowa City, IA52240, [email protected]@nnw-inc.com

Keywords: Bridges, steel, low profile.

Through-girder bridges have been used formany years as a low profile between the railsand the bottom of the girder. However, toconstruct today requires a great deal oflabor-intensive steel fabrication. While theprice of steel has not risen in recent years

the cost of fabricating steel bridges has risensignificantly. We decided to try to minimizethe fabrication costs while maintaining alldesign requirements.

We designed a unique low-profile steelbox girder section which has low fabricationcost and minimizes required maintenance.A 100 foot span was designed with a depthbetween bottom of girder and top of railsof 5’-4” which meets the stiffnessrequirement of AREMA (live loaddeflection limit of L/640).

The box girder consists of three-cellswith steel bottom and web plates compositewith a folded concrete deck. The foldeddeck forms the trough for the railroadballast. Expensive diaphragm fabrication isavoided due to the inherent torsionalstability of the box section. The proposedbridge was successfully built at a substantialsavings over a traditional through-girderbridge.

STRENGTHENING OF RAILWAYUNDERBRIDGE D141 ATBROMLEY-BY-BOW

Bala Sukumaran & TMD SilvaInfraco Sub Surface Limited, 30 The SouthColonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 [email protected]@infracossl.com

Keywords: Bridge, strengthening, steel.

Bridge D141 consists of two 60m span steelthrough truss bridge located east ofBromley-By-Bow Station. It carries theeastbound and westbound District lines overthe River Lea and Bow Creek. The bridgewas constructed in 1889.

Inadequate maintenance of the bridgehad resulted in extensive corrosion of thedeck, the truss members and the windbracing. In addition severe wheel unloadingwas recorded on the bridge and a speed

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restriction of 15mph was imposed on theeastbound track. The bridge was assessedin 1995 and found to have insufficientstrength to carry the full RL loading.

Following an extensive feasibilitystudy, the bridge was refurbished andstrengthened by replacing the rail bearers,and the wind bracing. Plates were weldedto the cross girders where these werecorroded. The whole track system wasreplaced using flat bottom rails fixed ontostandard timber sleepers embedded intransverse troughs. The whole bridge wasblast cleaned and repainted.

The strengthening was carried out over18 no 52 hour and 4 no 27 hour weekendpossessions allowing the bridge to beopened to normal traffic during weekdays.

As a result of refurbishment andstrengthening works the life of the bridgehas been extended by another 100 years.

CONTINUITY EFFECTS INCOMPOSITE STEEL – CONCRETERAILWAY BRIDGES

F Giussani, F Mola, A PalermoDept. of Structural Engineering, Politecnico diMilano, P.za Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20131Milan, [email protected]@[email protected]

Keywords: Composite bridges, cracking,tension stiffening, creep, shrinkage,stresses, deflections.

The structural analysis of continuouscomposite steel-concrete bridge beamssubjected to instantaneous and sustainedloads is presented. In the first part of thepaper the non linear effects due to concretecracking in the zones with negativemoments are investigated by deriving themoment – curvature relationships, taking

into account tension stiffening and concretecreep. Then the general compatibilityequations governing the structural analysisaccording to the Force Method are deducedand a general non-linear algorithm for theirsolution is proposed. In the second part ofthe paper, referring to continuous beams forwhich the imposition of downwardsdisplacements of the internal supports canprevent cracking, the long term structuralanalysis is developed in detail. A case studyregarding a two-span bridge is finallydiscussed, pointing out the basic aspects ofthe non-linear behaviour of crackedcontinuous composite steel – concretebridge beams and the advantages that canbe obtained by introducing downwardsdisplacements at the inner supports.

RECONSTRUCTION OFUNDERBRIDGE NO. 122 (NAJ2)CHEARSLEY

Jakir SufianBirse Rail Limited, Lyndon House, 58-62Hagley Road, Edgbaston, BirminghamB16 8PE, [email protected]

Keywords: Reconstruction, bridge,railway, girder, abutment.

Bridge deck renewals are frequently carriedout throughout the railway network duringvery finite timescales. Quantitative RiskAssessments (QRA) are undertaken in orderto manage the risks involved and avoidover-running. This results in theincorporation of contingencies built intoprogrammes to allow for the unforeseen andmethod statements are produced in orderto clearly sequence the operations to bedone.This paper describes the establishment ofthe Structures Framework Contract and thengoes on to describe the conception, design,

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fabrication and installation of UnderbridgeNo. 122 on the Chiltern Line betweenNeasden and Aynho Junctions at 32 milesand 1282 chains; a typical reconstruction.A twin standard box girder superstructurewith the retention of the substructure hasreplaced the existing structure, whichcomprised a half-through arrangement ofriveted plate girders.

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VIDEOGRAMMETRY AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING OFVICTORIAN RAILWAY TUNNELS

G DeakinHaswell Consulting Engineers, Equipoint,1506-1508 Coventry Road, BirminghamB25 8AQ, [email protected]

Keywords: Masonry, survey, non-destructive, tunnels.

Haswell Consulting Engineers have recentlyinspected two Victorian brick lined railwaytunnels – Silvertown Tunnel in London’sDocklands, and the Central GasworksTunnel at King’s Cross.

In order to obtain a completephotographic record of Silvertown tunnel,a 3-dimensional videogrammetrical surveywas undertaken. This not only produces acomplete photographic historical record ofthe tunnel, but also allows the viewer to‘walk-through’ the tunnel on their computer.Because the images are taken from knownlocations, measurements can be taken fromthe images on a computer and downloadeddirectly into a CAD drawing system toproduce survey drawings. If enhanced detailis required on a particular structure, thensecond or subsequent visits to the tunnel arenot required, because all of the informationis obtained within the images.

Ground probing radar, together withbrick coring and testing, were utilised onthe Central Gasworks Tunnel at King’sCross to determine if any delamination, orvoiding was present within the brick rings.This very quick method of investigationensured that one wall of the 485m longtunnel could be examined within one 6-hournight time possession.

A NOVEL SYSTEM TO MEASURERAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

H Miller, SF Turner & DM JohnsonLaser Rail Ltd, Fitology House, Smedley StreetEast, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3GH, [email protected]

Keywords: Rail, track, structure, tunnel,bridge, gauging, laser, optical, vehicle, landrover.

There are around one hundred thousandstructures on the UK’s rail network. Eachof these structures needs to be measured atfrequent intervals to check that clearancesare sufficient to allow the safe passage ofrail vehicles. Laser Rail have developed anovel, non-contact system to measure theinternal profiles of railway structures atspeed. Currently the measurement systemis mounted on a road-rail Land Rover.

The measurement system consists oflasers mounted around the body of thevehicle to provide an illuminated slice oflaser light, and nine digital cameras whichview and measure the image. This methodof optical triangulation has the advantageof producing continuous cross-sectionaldata as opposed to the helix shape createdby scanner systems. Seven cameras are usedto view the profile and two are used to viewthe rails. A composite profile is built up bystoring the nearest points to the vehicle foreach camera over distances of 1m or 5m.

The two rail cameras provide a close upview of the running edge of the rail. Railwear and condition of the rail can bedetermined from this data. This paper willdiscuss the data produced by the system,the accuracy of the data, the limits of thesystem and future applications.

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INVESTIGATION OF CONCRETETUNNEL LINING: IN-SITUCONCRETE EXAMINATION USINGA SHEAR WAVE ULTRASONICTECHNIQUE

P Shaw, J RasmussenFORCE Technology, 345 Park Allé, 2605Brøndby, [email protected], [email protected]

Keywords: Concrete, NDT, tunnel lining,UPE, GPR, ultrasonic pulse echo.

A rapid ultrasonic pulse echo technique hasbeen used with great effect to scan theconcrete lining of two railway tunnels. Theinstrument used was the A 1220 from MSIASpectrum, Russia. Working side-by-sidetwo engineers from Force Technology wereable to make a full and detailed survey ofthe concrete thickness and homogeneityalong 1300 m of tunnel. To our knowledgethis survey is the first of its kind worldwidethat can show such high resolution over anarea covering some 10.000 sq. meters.

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EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONON EFFECTIVENESS OFREDUCTION OF TRANSMITTEDVIBRATION, DUE TO TRAINTRANSITS, OF DIFFERENT TRACKSYSTEMS IN UNDERGROUNDAPPLICATIONS

A Cigada, A Collina, D RocchiPolitecnico di Milano, Mechanical DepartmentCampus Bovisa, Via La Masa, 34, 20158Milano, [email protected]

Keywords: Vibration attenuation, tracksystems, wheelset-track interaction.

In this paper, the effectiveness in vibrationattenuation due to different track systemsis experimentally evaluated by means ofvibration measurements, on several sites inMilan underground. The vibrationmeasurements performed in the tunnel, atthe ground level and in the buildings nearby,enable to obtain the attenuation transferfunctions between all these differentlocations. The same transfer functions canbe used to evaluate the variation in thedisturbance level into buildings, guessing achange of the track system typology.A results interpretation is also carried out,with a simple analytical model of wheelset-track interaction.

NEW SUBWAY AT KINGSBURY

NCJ Reynolds BSc C Eng MICEBirse Rail Ltd, Lyndon House, 58 62 HagleyRoad, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 8PE, UKEmail: [email protected]

Keywords: Railways, possessions,planning, bridges, sliding, undergroundservices.

Network Rail’s (formerly Railtrack’s) CrossCountry Route Modernisation (CCRM)Project was conceived to enhance existing

railway infrastructure to enable the latestgeneration of trains fulfil their performancepotential. In order to achieve the desired linespeed increases, many at grade pedestriancrossings needed to be replaced withfootbridges or subways to comply withhealth and safety guidelines. Network Railcontracted the provision of new structuresin Midlands Zone to Birse Rail Ld via theStructures Framework Contract. When theCCRM Project is complete Birse will haveinstalled 23 new footbridges and 3 newsubways.

The subject of this case study will beRangeway subway, which now carries apublic footpath under the Derby toBirmingham line near Kingsbury in NorthWarwickshire. The subway consists of a 3metre wide reinforced concrete box withintegral wing walls and approach slab. Itwas constructed 55 metres from the railwayprior to the embankment being excavatedand it being slid into position using theBrambles system during an Outside RulesOf The Route (OROR) possession. Theslide path crossed the route of a mediumpressure oil pipeline from the nearbyKingsbury Oil Depot.

The case study will include the planning,design and construction aspects of thescheme. During the planning and designstages, possession and track removal/reinstatement requirements wereestablished and Her Majesty’s RailwayInspectorate (HMRI), Local Authority, oilpipeline owner’s and Environment Agencyrequirements were all addressed. As themain possession approached a contractualissue with one of the pipelines threatenedto compromise the project. Birse Rail’sconstruction management team thereforerevised their programme to ensure thechanges were accommodated withoutcomprising safety, quality, the environmentor the OROR possession.

Documents

RailEng Abstracts.pdf