JKR Railway Introductory Course (Oct 2013): Supplementary Reading

Comparison between Ballasted track and Ballastless track

No.
1.

DESCRIPTION

BALLASTED TRACK

BALLASTLESS TRACK

3.

Elasticity.

Frequent maintenance & nonuniform degradation

Relatively low construction costs
but higher life cycle cost.
High elasticity due to ballast.

Less maintenance for geometry.

2.

Maintenance
Input.
Cost comparison

4.

Riding Comfort.

Good riding comfort at speeds up

to 250 280 kmph.

5.

6.

Life expectation
Stability.

7.

Lateral resistance

8.

Noise.

Poor Life expectation. (15-20 yrs)

Over time, the track tends to
float, in both longitudinal and
lateral directions, as a result of
non-linear, irreversible behaviour
of the materials.
Limited non compensated
lateral acceleration in curves,
due to the limited lateral
resistance offered by the ballast.
Relatively High noise

9.

Churning up of
Ballast.

10.

Construction cost
of Bridges
&Tunnels
etc.

11.

Construction
Depth.

12.
13.

Availability of
Material(Granite)
Permeability.

14.

Dust pollution.

15.

Maintenance
possession

Ballast can be churned up at high

speeds, causing serious damage
to rails and wheels.
Ballast is relatively heavy, leading
to an increase in the costs of
building bridges and viaducts if
they are to carry a continuous
ballasted track.
Depth of Ballasted track is
relatively high, and this has direct
consequences for tunnel
diameters and for access points.
Limited in some countries
Reduced permeability due to
contamination, grinding-down of
the ballast and transfer of fine
particles from the sub grade.
Release of dust from the ballast
into the environment thus causing
environmental pollution.
More possession time for routine
maintenance

Relatively high construction cost but

lower life cycle cost.
Elasticity is achieved through use of
rubber pads and other artificial
materials.
Excellent riding comfort
even at speeds greater
than 250 kmph.
Good Life expectation.(50-60 yrs)
No such problem.

High lateral resistance to the track

which allows future increase in
speeds in combination with tilting
coach technology.
Relatively low noise and vibration
nuisance.
No such damage to rails and
wheels.
Less cost of construction of bridges
and viaducts due to lower dead
weight of the ballast-less track.

Reduced height. Require smaller

structure gauge.

No problem of material.
High impermeability

Less environment pollution.

Less possession time but major

repair will take substantial time

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JKR Railway Introductory Course (Oct 2013): Supplementary Reading

Slab track used around the World:

Project

Country

Track form

Shinkansen

Japan

Shinkansen

Duerne

The
Netherlands

Embedded Rail

Best

The
Netherlands

Embedded Rail

Crewe-Kidsgrove

UK

BBEST Embedded Rail

High Speed Line HSL-Zuid

The
Netherlands

Rheda 2000

Cologne-Frankfurt High Speed Line

Germany

Rheda Zblin

Hibel & Prestbury Tunnels

UK

Rheda 2000

Nuremberg-Ingolstadt High Speed

Line

Germany

Rheda 2000FF-Bgl

Taipei and Kaohsiung High Speed

Rail

Taiwan

Rheda 2000

Eje Atlantico

Spain

Rheda 2000

Perpignan-Figueras

Spain

Rheda 2000

Guadarrama Tunnel

Spain

Rheda 2000

Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway

China

Rheda 2000

TGV Mditerrane

France

Sateba booted sleeper

Channel Tunnel

UK/France

Sonneville block

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Phase II

UK

Booted sleeper

Gotthard Tunnel

Switzerland

Booted sleeper

St. Pancras

UK

Resilient baseplate

Docklands Light Railway

UK

Resilient baseplate

Athens Attiko Metro

Greece

Booted sleeper

Hong Kong MRT

Hong Kong

Resilient baseplate Floating track

slab

Kuala Lumpur Star LRT

Malaysia

Resilient baseplate

London Underground

UK

Resilient baseplate

Tramway de Grenoble

France

Booted sleeper

Nottingham Express Transit

UK

Embedded Rail

Sheffield Supertram

UK

Embedded Rail

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