Design of track structure for corridors of heavy- train traffic

Abstract

The topical issues of the development of heavy-train traffic along the Central Siberian Main from the “Altaiskaya” station to the “Irtyshskoe” station of the West Siberian Railway are considered in this paper. For this purpose, the rational design of the track structure for increased axial loads and side forces was selected and analyzed, and measures to expand the operating domain of the continuous welded rail track by improving the design of sleepers and intermediate rail fasteners without changing the plan and profile of the track were considered. Adjusting the track gauge by surface and line is a critical task. The paper discusses the issues of ensuring the widening of the track gauge in curved sections with a radius of less than 350 m as one of the constraints to the development of the operating domain of the continuous welded rail track on the railways of JSC “Russian Railways” and on the West Siberian Railway. Two main ways of ensuring the widening of the track gauge are considered: by changing the structure of sleepers and by means of additional structural elements of intermediate rail fastenings, or a combination of both. This ensures the smoothness when guiding the rolling stock in the curve section of the track, improves the interaction in the wheel-rail system, reduces wear, and complies with requirements of existing regulatory documents. All this reduces the dynamic load on the track, including the subgrade, and extends the service life of the track structure in conditions of heavy-train traffic.