Selection of railway track superstructure design: Modern outlooks

The paper analyses the reasons for the current opinion that a higher mass of superstructure elements is necessary for railway track sections with higher traffi c density, speed and axial loads. With the help of known theories and the new one developed by the author that takes into account the time factor, it is proved that in terms of all the most signifi cant technical indicators the best solution within the realistic limits is to use lower-mass rails and reinforced concrete sleepers. The most essential argument in favour of the smaller mass of rails per unit length is the increased track stability produced by longitudinal compressive forces in rails. A reinforced concrete sleeper of a smaller mass has been proposed and tested that increases the resistance to shear in ballast across the track axis at least two times. For stable pressing of rails to sleepers by intermediate fasteners, elastic clips should be made of plate steel instead of bar steel. It is proposed to make a plate clip shaped as a ‘fish-bellied beam’. Specific examples of the proposed solutions for rails, reinforced concrete sleepers, and intermediate fastenings are given.