Performance of canted ballasted track during curving of high speed trains

Description/Abstract

Super elevated track, where one rail is placed higher than the other, is used to reduce the acceleration, im-parted on passengers, to acceptable levels as a train travels round a curve.

This causes both vertical and lateral forces to be applied to the track. The level of cant is a function of the speed, and on mixed lines is optimised for all train speeds. On existing multi-use lines the need to reduce journey times through increased train speeds, has led to the introduction of tilting trains where the body rotates to maintain passenger comfort with the increased curving speed.

This may lead to an overall increase in forces applied to the track, either verti-cally or laterally. This paper therefore reports on a study undertaken to assess the behaviour of canted track during the passage of high speed tilting trains and compares the observed behaviour to that from normal line speed trains.