PCA
is administrating the Cooperative Concrete Slab Track Research
and Demonstration Program for Shared Freight and High-Speed Passenger
Service for development of slab track in the U.S. The program,
which began in December 2000, involves expert representatives from
the Federal Railroad Administration, consultant engineering firms,
railroads, Amtrak, and CTL. The goal is to design, construct, and
test two concrete slab track systems that will maintain strict vertical
and horizontal tolerances required by high-speed rail trains while
tolerating the heavy axle loads imposed by heavy freight traffic.
The two systems being researched are the direct fixation slab track
(DFST) and the individual dual block track (IDBT) commonly referred
to as low vibration track. The program involves the following milestones:
•
Research existing state-of-the-art slab track systems throughout
the world
• Analysis and design of slab track for lab and field tests
• Laboratory testing of slab track to 3 million cycles
• Construction and instrumentation of slab track for tests
• Field testing of slab track under heavy-axle loading
• Field testing of slab track under high-speed train
• Life cycle cost study comparing slab track to conventional
track systems
• Mainline installation of slab track
The first stages of the study have been completed. The slab track
systems are now undergoing field tests at Transportation Technology
Center, Inc. (TTCI), on the federal government’s high-tonnage
loop in Pueblo, Colorado. There, fully loaded 70-car trains (each
car weighing 315,000 pounds) will operate over the track for a two-year
period, accumulating a total of 100 million gross tons. The tests
will evaluate the long-term performance of concrete slab track.
Among
the many potential benefits of slab track is increased durability
and adaptability; slab track is capable of accommodating heavy-loaded
freight cars and high-speed passenger trains with reduced maintenance.
Most importantly, slab track has the inherent strength to resist
lateral buckling during hot weather. The data gathered from this
work will establish design precedents for future slab track installations
and improve our knowledge about how a concrete slab, opposed to
traditional ties and ballast track, can resist the destructive forces
of heavy loads, high speeds, and nature and lead to a lower-cost
and safer track system.