Railway Transition Curves: A Review of the State-of-the-Art and Future Research

Tanita Fossli Brustad,Rune Dalmo

doi:10.3390/infrastructures5050043

Tanita Fossli Brustad, Rune Dalmo

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures5050043

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Journal: Infrastructures	Publication Date: May 18, 2020
Citations: 11	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Abstract

Transition curves are a useful tool for lateral alignment of railway segments. Their design is important to ensure safe and comfortable travel for passengers and cargo. Well designed transition curves can lead to reduced wear of tracks and vehicles, which is beneficial from a maintenance point of view. Extensive studies have been performed through decades to find transition curves that can replace existing railway segments for the purpose of enhancing certain properties. Those studies seek to form curves that satisfy desired evaluation criteria, which are often connected to geometric continuity between the curve segments, and vehicle dynamics, to secure a smooth ride. This research topic is still ongoing and active at present. Recent results and findings are in line with the developments on the topic of vehicle dynamics and within the railway industry. For this reason it is appropriate to collect and discuss the latest work, since there are no up-to-date detailed literature reviews available. This paper explores the present state-of-the-art of railway transition curves, and identifies some of the research challenges and future research opportunities in the field.

Highlights

IntroductionThe two main types of segments, namely, straight lines and circular arcs, are connected together via transition curves
Most railways are described in terms of piece-wise curves
In the recent research on transition curves in railway, the main topic revolves around finding and analyzing curves that may be suitable as transition curves

Summary

Introduction

The two main types of segments, namely, straight lines and circular arcs, are connected together via transition curves. The utilization of suitable transition curves is crucial in the processes of constructing new and refurbishing existing railways. This is, in particular, important to facilitate safe and comfortable train travel, and to reduce the need for maintenance [1,2]. The advent of high speed trains and the development in heavy haul railways have triggered new requirements for transition curves. One such requirement, identified in [4], is lateral change of acceleration (LCA). The LCA function combines curve properties and vehicle parameters, to give an evaluation criterion that includes both geometry and vehicle dynamics constraints, since both are important when analysing transition curves

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