Comparison of the dynamic response and environmental impact between traditional and innovative railway track systems

Railways employ a range of different railway track forms. Here, a ballasted track design is compared to three different slab track solutions. The track designs are compared using both a life cycle analysis (LCA) and a methodology for simulation of three-dimensional vertical dynamic vehicle–track interaction, which has been verified versus field measurements. The interaction between vehicle and track is simulated in the time domain using an extended state-space vector approach. For the investigated load cases involving representative wheel and track irregularities, it is concluded that the maximum stress in the concrete parts is, for all designs, below the maximum flexural tensile strength. From the LCA, it is concluded that the production of steel and concrete cause most CO2 emissions, while the CO2 emissions due to maintenance activities such as tamping and rail grinding are only a small part of the overall emissions