Performance Assessment of Existing Railway Track Subjected to Varying Train Speed

With increasing population growth and rapid urbanization, a faster and heavier train network is being planned in India, aiming to reduce the travel time without compromising the passenger comfort. Since construction of new railway tracks for the intended high-speed trains involves economic, social, and other land acquisition related feasibility issues. Therefore, it is preferable to evaluate the existing tracks and recommend possible upgrades as a solution, given the aforementioned factors. The major objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the existing railway track in terms of differential settlement when subjected to trains moving at varying speeds. The significance of varying speed of train is to assess the response of the track to accommodate mixed traffic conditions and high-speed trains. A two-dimensional finite element model has been developed in PLAXIS to simulate the rail-track-subgrade system subjected to the moving load. A full-scale rail-track in Rohtak-Gohana line located in the Northwestern region of India is considered as a case study for evaluation of the train-track system for varying train speeds. The developed model is validated with the field data available from the literature. The results show that the vertical settlement of the track gradually reduces with the inclusion of transition slab as the train moves from softer side to stiffer side. Furthermore, the densely compacted embankment shows a similar trend of vertical rail displacement for varying speed of the train.