Vertical Track Stiffness as a New Parameter Involved in Designing High-Speed Railway Infrastructure

Abstract

The criteria currently employed for the design of railway infrastructure on ballasted track are based on the elements of the superstructure, traffic, and bearing capacity of the subgrade. In high-speed railway, the elements of the superstructure are relatively well defined because they are based on existing experience. The category of traffic is a variable that has an influence from the point of view of the number of axles, weight per axle, and speed; i.e., it is determined a priori, depending on the operating characteristics of the line in question. The third and last point refers to the quality of the subgrade that is based on the values of the California bearing ratio test. The quality of the subgrade has a considerable influence on the behavior of the track that manifests itself in the value the deformation and settlement takes, which is caused to the rail on the passage of traffic. This is attributable to the relationship between the vertical track stiffness and the quality of the subgrade. In turn, ...