New third rail implementation system for conventional railroad tracks in service

• Published in: KSCE journal of civil engineering Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 622 - 628
• Main Authors: Domingo, Laura Montalbán, Martín, Clara Zamorano, Real Herráiz, Julia I., Gómez del Rey, Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korean Society of Civil Engineers 01-02-2018; Springer Nature B.V; 대한토목학회
• Subjects: Civil Engineering; Concrete; Concrete blocks; Engineering; Finite element method; Gauges; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Interoperability; Lines; Mathematical models; Numerical models; Railroad Engineering; Railroad ties; Rails (railroad); Railway tracks; Solutions; Stiffness; Traffic models; 토목공학; Spain; numerical methods; railroad infrastructures; Finite Element Method (FEM); structural design; simulation
• ISSN: 1226-7988; 1976-3808
• DOI: 10.1007/s12205-017-0251-4

Two track gauges coexist in Spain, the Iberian gauge (1668 mm) and the international gauge (1435 mm). Solutions applied on the track were considered to improve the interoperability in Spain. First solution proposed was tracks with two-gauge-ready sleepers. This solution allows changing the gauge from Iberian to International gauge or from International to Iberian gauge. The need of two gauges evolved this solution to the third rail system with two-simultaneous-gauge sleepers. In this paper, a new third-rail track solution is proposed. This solution is a novel system based on the introduction of special concrete blocks between the existing sleepers to fasten the third rail. Thus, the conventional railroad track becomes in a double-simultaneous-gauge lines without needing change existing sleepers and make long traffic interruptions of the track like in common third-rail systems. In the present study, threedimensional numerical models are generated using finite-element method. The analysis of the vertical displacements of the top head of the rails, vertical stresses transmitted to the substructure layers and vertical track stiffness, demonstrate the good vertical performance of the new system compared to the conventional lines with dual-gauge-ready sleepers and the common third rail tracks.