A Concrete Way to Build Track

This article describes the cost benefits of using concrete slab track instead of the traditional ballasted track. In Japan where concrete has been used for more than 30 years, maintenance costs of slab track has been only one-quarter that of ballasted track on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line. Although slab track is more expensive initially, engineers in the U.S. are testing it because of the increasing use of heavy axle load freight cars and possibility of higher speed passenger rail. The Portland Cement Association created the Cooperative Concrete Slab Track Research and Demonstration Program to test slab track and found that it satisfies Class 9 tolerances. The author describes in detail how the test section was constructed and how testing was conducted.