RAILWAY

DESIGN
AND
PAVEMENT
 MEMBERS
Bendita, Glendon John

Eso, Shella Mae

Llasos, Jun Jericho

Marcos, Arjelyn
I. Overview of Structural Design of Railways and Pavements
q Major Bridge Components
q Bridge Deck
q Open Bridge Decks

TOPICS
Requirements for Ties
q Ballasted Decks
Ballast
q Structural Design Considerations
Bridge Loading
Dead Load
q Composite Design
q Bridge Design Assumptions and Constructability
q A Procedure for Design and Optimization of a Railway Track Structure
q Railway Track Design
q Alignment Design
q Track Modelling

II. Pavement Materials and Design

Pavement Design: The Role of Stabilization
STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RAILWAYS AND PAVEMENTS
Railway structures encompass a wide array of construction intended
to support the track itself or house railway operations.

TRESTLES
BRIDGE VIADUCTS

Track Carrying Structures

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RAILWAYS AND PAVEMENTS

CULVERTS INSPECTION PITS

Track Carrying Structures

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RAILWAYS AND PAVEMENTS
DRAINAGE STRUCTURES RETAINING WALLS TUNNELS

SNOW SHEDS LOADING DOCKS PASSENGER PLATFORM

Common Ancillary Structures

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RAILWAYS AND PAVEMENTS

WHAT is DEAD LOAD and LIVE LOAD?

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF RAILWAYS AND PAVEMENTS

Once the designer has established the first pass at the load
environment for the subject structure, the primary difference between
a highway structure and a railway structure should become obvious.
In the typical railway structure, the live load dominates all of the other
design considerations. For the engineer accustomed to highway
bridge design, where the dead load of the structure itself tends to
drive the design considerations, this marks a substantial divergence
from the norm. Specifically, the unacceptability of high deflections in
railway structures, maintenance concerns and fatigue considerations
render many aspects of bridge design common to the highway
industry unacceptable in the railway environment. Chief among
these are welded connections and continuous spans.
 MAJOR BRIDGE COMPONENTS
TIMBER CONCRETE STEEL

- Economical - Economical - Expensive

- Strength limitations - Strength to weight - Strength to weight

ratio is poor ratio is good
- Life limitations
 MAJOR BRIDGE COMPONENTS
The point where one form of construction with a certain type of material becomes
advantageous over another is a matter of site conditions, span length, tonnage
carried and railway preference. While initial cost of construction is a major point in
the decision process, the engineer must keep in mind such additional factors as
construction under traffic and the long-term maintainability of the final design.
The nature of the obstacle being crossed will drive most superstructure design
decisions with the ultimate goal to achieve the least overall lifecycle cost for the
structure. For short (height) structures, trestle construction is favored due to the
economies of pile bents. Conversely, taller structures over good footing are likely to
be viaducts with longer spans supported by towers. Where there is insufficient
clearance over navigable waterways, moveable spans may be necessary. The
addition of longer or moveable spans to clear main channels does not significantly
affect the design of the balance of the structure. However, as the structure
becomes taller, the economies of pile bents are diminished due to the need to
strengthen the relatively slender components.
 MAJOR BRIDGE COMPONENTS
The alternative to conventional trestle construction is trestle on towers,
otherwise known as viaducts. Trestle on towers can offer a significant
reduction in footprint for only a moderate increase in span
requirements. It is customary for the spans to be of alternating lengths,
with the short span over the tower equal to the leg spacing at the top
of the tower. This ensures that each span remains a simple span with
full bearing at the ends of the span. Of course, trestle construction
represents the typical site conditions. More demanding site conditions
may require exotic solutions.
Very tall, very short (length) conditions may lend themselves to arch
construction, whereas for transit operations, very long main span
requirements may lend themselves to suspension type construction
and some trestles on towers may be better constructed as a series of
arches.
BRIDGE DECK
The bridge deck is that portion of a railway bridge that supplies a
means of carrying the track rails.

TYPES OF BRIDGE DECK

Open Deck - the rails are anchored directly to timber bridge ties
supported directly on the floor system of the superstructure.
Ballast Deck - the rails are anchored directly to timber track ties
supported in the ballast section. The ballasted bridge decks require a
floor to support the ballast section and such floors are designated by
their types, such as timber floors, structural plate floors, buckle plate
floors or concrete slab floors, all of which transfer loads directly to the
superstructure.
BRIDGE DECK

Figure 1. Open Deck Structure Figure 2. Open Deck Bridge

- Courtesy of Canadian National - Courtesy of Metra
BRIDGE DECK
Variations from the two general types of bridge deck construction consist of track
rails anchored directly to steel or concrete-slab superstructures (direct fixation) and
the several types of concrete-encased beam spans or concrete-filled steel-trough
superstructures on which the ballast section is placed. The latter types of structures
have many examples still in service today, but are not generally cost-effective for
new construction.
Open-deck construction establishes a permanent elevation for the rails. Normal
surfacing and lining operations, particularly in curves, eventually result in line swings
leading into the fixed bridge. The grade frequently is raised to the extent that the
bridge eventually becomes low. The bridge dumps are of a different modulus than
the rigid deck. Thus, it becomes difficult to maintain surface off of the bridge as well.
This equates to extensive maintenance costs that shortly will surpass the first cost
savings gained by installing an open deck bridge over a ballast deck bridge.
BRIDGE DECK

REMEMBER!
In welded rail, tight rail conditions can occur
at the fixed ends of an open deck bridge,
thus requiring an increased level of
surveillance in hot weather.
BRIDGE DECK

Requirements for Ties

For ballast deck structures, bridge ties are no different than those
found in traditional track construction. However, in track constructed
with concrete ties, the track is often times transitioned to timber ties
before crossing the structure. Some railway companies and agencies
have had difficulty with fouled ballast, track alignment and deck
surface damage resulting from the use of concrete ties on bridges.
Individual railway fastened with metal straps to the bottoms of bridge
ties to bring all ties to the required surface.
BRIDGE DECK
A ballasted deck provides a better riding track. The track modulus is
consistent on the dumps of the bridge as well as across the bridge.
Thus, one is unlikely to have surface runoff problems on the bridge
dumps. Surfacing and lining operations can continue across the
bridge unimpeded.
BRIDGE DECK
Ballasted decks, irrespective of the type of bridge floor, afford a
considerable measure of protection to the steel floor system against
damage from derailed car wheels traveling across the bridge. Over
roadways, vehicles and the public are protected from dropping
ballast and material off of the cars.
BRIDGE DECK
Ballast

The depth of ballast contributes to the satisfactory functioning of ballasted decks

on railway bridges. It is generally agreed that 6 inches to 12 inches of ballast under
the ties is adequate and that more than 12 inches is undesirable because of the
potential of overload involved, except when provision is made in the design for a
greater load. Many designers calculate the dead load on the basis of 18 inches to
24 inches of ballast to accommodate future raises.
 STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Highway structures
typically have a
practical service life of
50 to 75 years, often
facing challenges
around the 30-year
mark due to increased
traffic or safety
standards.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Railway bridges, designed for longevity, often endure for around 100 years. Railway
designs emphasize a need for extended service, but proposed solutions may face
rejection due to operational impact and expense concerns. Unlike highways, railway
structures require greater consideration of longitudinal loading due to the
concentrated weight of trains and continuous rail surfaces, leading to unique
challenges in fatigue considerations for railway bridge design.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Bridge Loading
Designing a structure involves considering diverse load types like dead load, live load, wind,
weather, and seismic forces. AREMA, ACI, AISC, and AASHTO, outlines guidelines for allowable
stress in steel and load factor design for concrete in railway structures. Distinctions arise from
railway-specific demands and practices evolving over 150 years. Structures with multiple
materials require referencing throughout the design process.

Caution is advised as the Manual for Railway Engineering undergoes constant revision. The
provided information is current as of this publication date, but referencing the latest manual is
essential before initiating any design work.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Dead Load
Dead load includes the estimated weight of structural members, tracks, ballast, and railway
appendages (signals, electrical, etc.). Track material weight is considered 200 pounds per
lineal track foot, ballast at 120 lbs per cubic foot, and treated timber at 60 lbs per cubic foot.
Waterproofing weight is actual and Designers should account for additional ballast depth for
future adjustments (typically 8i-12i). Ballasted deck bridges assume the roadbed section is full
of ballast to the tie's top without volume reduction.
COMPOSITE DESIGN

The design and use of composite steel and concrete spans for railway bridges is
addressed of the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering. This type of superstructure
comprises a steel beam or girder and a concrete deck slab. The connection
between the two materials is designed and constructed to transfer adequate shear
force, such that the two materials behave as a single, integral unit under load.
COMPOSITE DESIGN
The theory of composite design, governing the recommendations in the AREMA
Manual for Railway Engineering, is very similar to that found in the working stress
method in AASHTO and allowable stress methods in various building codes. Some of
the important issues include:

• Selection of the effective flange width of the concrete as a function of slab

thickness, steel beam spacing or span length;
• Proportioning of the cross-section by the moment-of-inertia method;
• Application of the dead load forces to the non-composite or composite section,
depending on construction sequencing and methods;
• Considering the effect of creep due to long term dead loads acting on the
composite section.
Bridge Design Assumptions and Constructability Issues

In railway structure planning, a crucial consideration is track time,

driven by operational needs. As an aging infrastructure faces
increased traffic demands, track time becomes a premium resource.
Railway priorities include balancing time for operations, maintenance,
repair, and new construction. Designers face the challenge of creating
plans and specifications for optimal structures within tight time
constraints.
A Procedure for Design and Optimization
of a Railway Track Structure
Track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is
the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast,
plus the underlying subgrade.

For a long time design of railway tracks has been a matter of learning
from experiences. New insights and new techniques are now able to
change this way of doing into a more sophisticated approach, which
allows to come to a balanced and even optimum track design.

It is evident that the design of a track structure on the drawing board

and in models has to comply, in the best possible way, with the
situation in which this structure will be used in the field. The variety of
track structures is very large as the field situations are rather different:
 Different axle loads
o Different operating speeds Curved and straight lines
o Urban and rural areas
o Tracks in transitions
o Tracks in level crossings
o Tracks on bridges, in tunnels or in another way integrated
in major engineering structures
o Tracks on specific types of soil

The number of types of track structures which are used nowadays, is mainly reduced for
reasons of:
o Constructability
o Maintainability
o reliability
This deals with the fact that standardization in track design and track works reduces costs
and possible mistakes. Moreover tracks are generally designed and built with a large reserve
in order to avoid a possible failure during operation, or to meet new operational needs in
the future. Most track structures, however, are still based on experiences and empirical
relations instead of a fundamental study of track behavior using numerical simulation and
optimization techniques.
Railway Track Design
One way to perform a study focusing on the track behavior is
outlined below, first in theory and later by means of an example. First
two steps in studying the behavior are schematizing the structure and
collecting the necessary parameter data from field or laboratory
experiments. These two steps are closely related as schematized
structures cannot contain more than the available data, while in
some of the advanced schematized structures only a part of the
available data will be used

In order to reduce the complexity of the track design, only the

vertical behavior in straight track is considered in the numerical
model. Another assumption is linear elastic behavior of the applied
materials. To perform a full track simulation (which will be discussed in
the one-but-next section) the following data is needed:
The vertical track stiffness, comprising stiffness's of all flexible components
like rail pads, elastic compounds, ballast, etc. expressed in:
q(Quasi-) static values
qDynamic values
qLoad-dependent values
qTemperature dependent values
qLife-service dependent values
qAny combination needed for most realistic calculations.
qVertical damping values or loss-factors of railpads, ballast, etc.
qType of support system, e.g. block, sleeper or slab
qBending and shear stiffness of beam elements such as rails, sleepers or
slabs
qGeometry and masses of components such as rails, sleepers or slabs
qLoading situations ranged from a simple unit impulse to a moving train
qProperties of the rail surface collected in a geometry file
qVehicle parameters including the configuration in dimensions, masses,
springs, in dampers, etc.
Some of these parameters can be achieved by performing widely applied testing
methods for track structures. They are therefore described in international standards.
One very important parameter is the vertical stiffness of the track structure. The stiffness
value depends on loading conditions. Therefore different stiffness values should be
determined in specific test methods. These stiffness values and methods are:

• A static stiffness value is determined from the load-displacement diagram. This

diagram is obtained by applying a load slowly increasing from zero till the operational
static wheel-load value. The stiffness value is important for static or low speed
simulations to analyze the structural strength of the track;
• Quasi-static stiffness values are determined for several harmonic loading cases (1-25
Hz). These values (or an average value) may be of interest for high-speed train
simulations;
• A dynamic stiffness value of an unloaded track structure is determined using the
impulse excitation method. This method gives a frequency response function,
indicating resonance frequencies of the tested track (or track sample). Especially the
resonant frequency describing the vertical vibration is suitable for deriving the
dynamic track stiffness, vibrating mass and damping values, as given in next figure.
Dynamic stiffness and damping values are used for analysis of free vibrations of the
track, which cause acoustic noise and vibration hindrance.
In some cases, test methods give more data than just a stiffness value.
For example creep, hysteresis and damping parameter values can be
obtained from the static, quasi-static and dynamic tests respectively.
On the other hand test methods should also provide stiffness values as a
f u n c t io n o f l i f e - s e r v i c e ( s e v e r a l m i l l i o n s o f l o a d i n g c y c l e s ) o r
temperature.

The route upon which a train travels and the track is constructed is
defined as an alignment. An alignment is defined in two fashions. First,
the horizontal alignment defines physically where the route or track
goes (mathematically the XY plane). The second component is a
vertical alignment, which defines the elevation, rise and fall (the Z
component).
 Alignment considerations weigh more heavily on railway design versus highway
design for several reasons. First, unlike most other transportation modes, the operator
of a train has no control over horizontal movements (i.e. steering). The guidance
mechanism for railway vehicles is defined almost exclusively by track location and thus
the track alignment. The operator only has direct control over longitudinal aspects of
train movement over an alignment defined by the track, such as speed and forward/
reverse direction. Secondly, the relative power available for locomotion relative to the
mass to be moved is significantly less than for other forms of transportation, such as air
or highway vehicles. Finally, the physical dimension of the vehicular unit (the train) is
extremely long and thin, sometimes approaching two miles in length. This compares,
for example, with a barge tow, which may encompass 2-3 full trains, but may only be
1200 feet in length.
qThese factors result in much more limited constraints to the designer when
considering alignments of small terminal and yard facilities as well as new
routes between distant locations

qThe designer MUST take into account the type of train traffic (freight,
passenger, light rail, length, etc.), volume of traffic (number of vehicles per
day, week, year, life cycle) and speed when establishing alignments. The
design criteria for a new coal route across the prairie handling 15,000 ton coal
trains a mile and a half long ten times per day will be significantly different
than the extension of a light rail (trolley) line in downtown San Francisco.

qCurves as D (degrees per 20 meter arc). However, there does not seem to be
any widespread incorporation of this practice. When working with light rail or
in metric units, current practice employs curves defined by radius.
qAs a vehicle traverses a curve, the vehicle transmits a centrifugal force to the rail at
the point of wheel contact. This force is a function of the severity of the curve, speed
of the vehicle and the mass (weight) of the vehicle. This force acts at the center of
gravity of the rail vehicle. This force is resisted by the track.

qThis force is resisted by the track. If the vehicle is traveling fast enough, it may derail
due to rail rollover, the car rolling over or simply derailing from the combined
transverse force exceeding the limit allowed by rail-flange contact.

qThis centrifugal force can be counteracted by the application of (or banking), which
effectively raises the outside rail in the curve by rotating the super elevation track
structure about the inside rail. (See Figure 5) The point, at which this elevation of the
outer rail relative to the inner rail is such that the weight is again equally distributed
on both rails, is considered the equilibrium elevation. Track is rarely super elevated to
the equilibrium elevation. The difference between the equilibrium elevation and the
actual super elevation is termed underbalance.
Figure 5. Effects of Centrifugal Force

Though trains rarely overturn strictly from

centrifugal force from speed (they usually
derail first). This same logic can be used to
derive the overturning speed. Conventional
wisdom dictates that the rail vehicle is
generally considered stable if the resultant of
forces falls within the middle third of the track.
T h i s e qu a t e s t o t h e m id d l e 2 0 i n c h e s f o r
standard gauge track assuming that the wheel
load upon the rail head is approximately 60-
inches apart. As this resultant force begins to
fall outside the two rails, the vehicle will begin
to tip and eventually overturn. It should be
noted that this overturning speed would vary
depending upon where the center of gravity
of the vehicle is assumed to be.
The transition fro m l e v e l t r a c k o n t a n g e n t s t o c u rv e s c a n be
accomplished in two ways. For low speed tracks with minimum super
elevation, which is commonly found in yards and industry tracks, the
super elevation is run-out before and after the curve, or through the
beginning of the curve if space prevents the latter. A commonly used
value for this run-out is 31-feet per half inch of On main tracks, it is
preferred to establish the transition from tangent level track and
curved super elevated track by the use of a spiral or easement curve.
A spiral is a curve whose degree of curve varies exponentially from
infinity (tangent) to the degree of the body curve. The spiral completes
two functions, including the gradual introduction of super elevation as
well as guiding the railway vehicle from tangent track to curved track.
Without it, there would be very high lateral dynamic load acting on the
first portion of the curve and the first portion of tangent past the curve
due to the sudden introduction and removal of centrifugal forces
associated with the body curve.
Figure 6. Overbalance,
Equilibrium and Underbalanced

There are several different types of

mathematical spirals available for
use, including the clothoid, the
cubic parabola and the
lemniscuses. Of more common use
on railways are the Searles, the
Talbot and the AREMA 10-Chord
spirals, which are empirical
approximations of true spirals.
Though all have been applied to
railway applications to
 Alignment Design
The classic railway location problem
where a route between two points
must be constructed.

OPTION 1: to construct a shorter (Pilatus Bahnen)

route with steep grades.

OPTION 2: to build a longer route

with greater curvature along gentle
sloping topography.
In today’s environment, the designer must
also add to the decision model:
• environmental concerns
• Politics
• land use issues
• Economics
• long-term traffic levels
• other economic criteria far beyond what has
traditionally been considered.
The designer must take the basic
components of:
• Alignments
• Tangents
• Grades
• horizontal and vertical curves
• spirals
• super elevation
• construct an alignment
The application of these guidelines
will suffice for approximately 75% of
most design situations. For the
remaining situations, the designer
must take into account how the
track is going to be used (train type,
speed, frequency, length, etc.)
 Though AREMA has some general guidance for alignment
design, each railway usually has its own design guidelines,
which complement and expand the AREMA recommendations.

Sometimes, a less restrictive guideline from another entity

can be employed to solve the design problem.

Other times, a specific project constraint can be changed to

allow for the exception.

Other times, it is more complicated, and the designer must

understand how a train is going to perform to be able to make an
educated decision.
A freight train is
most commonly
comprised of power
and cars. The power
may be one or
several locomotives
located at the front
of a train. The cars
are then located in
a line behind the Occasionally, additional power is placed
at the rear, or even in the center of the
power. train and may be operated remotely
from the head-end.
• It is not unusual for a train to be
in compression over part of its
length (negative longitudinal
force) and in tension (positive)
on another portion.
• These forces are often termed
ëbuffi (negative) and ëdraftí
(positive) forces.
•Trains are most of ten
connected together with
couplers.
If one considers that a long train of
100 cars may be 6000' long, and
that each car might account for six
inches of slack, it becomes
mathematically possible for a
locomotive and the front end of a
train to move fifty feet before the
rear end moves at all.
Figure 7. Force Applied Throughout the Train –
ATSF Railroad Technical Manual – Courtesy of
BNSF
Chain is pulled in a straight the remainder of the chain follows an
line identical path.

the middle portion of the chain

As the chain is pulled around
wants to deviate from the initial
a corner
path of the front-end.

On a train, there are three things preventing this from occurring:

First, the centrifugal force, as the rail car moves about the curve, tends
to push the car away from the inside of the curve. When this fails, the
wheel treads are both canted inward to encourage the vehicle to
maintain the course of the track.

The last resort is the action of the wheel flange striking the rail and
guiding the wheel back on course.
Track Modelling
For structural analysis of the track, a
number of computer packages is
available. Especially programs based
on finite element method can
perform very detailed analysis of
displacements, stresses and strains of
track components. However such a
modelling of a track structure requires
a vast amount of elements, especially
under loading condition
corresponding to a moving train or
under other conditions causing wave
propagation.
At Delft University of Technology a finite element program for railway track
analysis RAIL has been developed. In this program different types of track
structures (sleeper, block or continuously supported) are modelled using
beam, mass, spring and damping elements (Figure 8). They can be subjected
to several types of load:

o Static load
o Harmonic load
o Impulse load
o Step load
o Static vehicle
o Moving vehicle and complete train
o User-defined time dependent load

Other feature of this program is that a whole train can be modelled as a

composition of separate bodies, bogies and wheels.
In the numerical examples presented here (track analysis and optimization)
two loading cases in the RAIL program will be considered, namely the
impulse load and the moving vehicle. In these two cases the results of
dynamic load test are used.

Figure 8. Modelling of vehicle and track structure in RAIL

PAVEMENT MATERIALS AND DESIGN
In order to carry out design of final stage pavements or pavement
rehabilitation, the existing pavement condition must be evaluated.
Such an evaluation usually involves the:
q assessment of the existing pavement structural adequacy
q surface distress
q Roughness
q Rutting
q and to lesser extent
q skid resistance.
The design of final stage pavements may only involve the assessment of
pavement structural adequacy because the first stage pavement is
usually not old enough to exhibit distresses related to traffic loading and
the environment.
Pavement evaluation techniques differ between
different highway agencies.
q Within AT&U, emphasis has been placed on carrying out
structural evaluation pavements using non-destructive deflection
testing.
q Another consideration which should be recognized is that
AT&U was one of the first highway agencies in North America to
develop and implement a Pavement Management System (PMS).
q The AT&U PMS database provides a wealth information about
the pavement network and individual pavement section
performance.

This information should not be overlooked during the pavement

evaluation stage of pavement rehabilitation design.
At present AT&U is maintaining the following pavement
performance data:
q structural strength information
q roughness information
q visual distress data
q rut data

This information is collected to provide input for:

q final stage pavement and rehabilitation design
q the review of the structural and functional performance of various
pavement sections
q operational research
q the Pavement Management System
q Rehabilitation Programming.
 AT&U’s current Pavement Management System uses Riding
Comfort Index (RCI), Structural Adequacy Index (SAI), Visual
Condition Index (VCI) and Pavement Quality Index (PAI) to
measure, monitor and predict the condition of highway
network. The Pavement Quality Index (PQI) is a composite
index that incorporates RCI, SAI and VCI into one index in the
following relationship.

PQI=1.1607+0.0596 (RCI x VCI) +0.4264 (RCI x log10SAI)

 All four indices are scaled from 0 to 10; 0 being very poor to
absolute minimum, and 10 being very good to near perfect.
AT&U’s PMS uses minimum acceptable levels (also known as
critical levels) of these indices to flag sections needing
rehabilitation or treatment. The values for minimum
acceptable levels are:

PQI 4.7
RCI 5.5
SAI 3.0
VCI 3.5
Stabilized pavement materials can be
classified as:

q Plant mixed stabilized materials

q Insitu stabilized materials
q Sub grade stabilized materials

Further information on the use of these types of

materials in a range of pavement types as well as
binder types suggested for various applications.
Pavement Design: The Role of
Stabilization
Pavement materials include a combination of coarse
and fine aggregates with a proportion of smaller
clay/silt sized particles. The objective is to ensure a
final grading matrix that will allow maximum
compaction of the product with the least voids
present.
Figure 9: Typical Pavement Configurations Incorporating Stabilized
Materials
Figure 9: Typical Pavement Configurations Incorporating Stabilized
Materials
Figure 9: Typical Pavement Configurations Incorporating Stabilized
Materials
Insitu Recycled Pavement New Stabilised Pavements

Subgrade Stabilization