EC Urban Track Research Project: Innovative Track Systems and Fast Installation Methods

The aim of this four year urban track project is to develop, test and validate innovative products for urban rail track infrastructure with a vision of high capacity, reliability, comfort, safety and easy access, with as ultimate goal a reduction in life cycle costs (LCC) of 25%. This reduction can be achieved through higher track availability: more tracks installed at a faster pace and at a lower cost, less track possession for maintenance, maintenance incorporated in the design, modular track. In addition, faster delivery and more attractive tracks that produce low noise and vibrations will make the project more acceptable to local residents. This paper presents the various innovative track systems under development in this project: removable embedded rail systems in tunnel, green tram light rail transit (LRT) tracks, alternatives for floating slab: resilient rail fasteners (Metro), booted sleepers (Metro) and load distribution plates (LRT), prefabricated modular tracks (LRT). The removable embedded rail system in tunnel ensures that 18 m of rail can be replaced in the typical 4 hour time frame of a night closure without any disturbance to the concrete surrounding the rail. The green tram tracks must remain green under all circumstances, thus the vegetation must be able to survive the normal climatological changes and can only demand minimum attention. The three floating slab alternatives under development are designed to eliminate or significantly reduce the need for floating slab. The performance of the booted sleeper system will be compared to that of the floating slab on the Taipei metro. The load distribution plates for LRT at grade are expected to convert the low frequency high amplitude vibrations of the ballasted track into medium range frequency small amplitude vibrations before they enter the soil, thus significantly reducing the low frequency vibration impact. Prefabricated modular tracks not only offer the benefit of rapid installation, but also better construction quality. This culminates in the introduction of a prefabricated floating slab module. The LCC benefits will be calculated for all systems before and they will be installed in the networks of the participating operators.