A Review Study on Assessing the Sustainability of Design and Maintenance of Slab Track Systems for Turkey

Abstract

Many railway companies around the world offer slab track (ballast-less track) rail products and solutions. In particular, different types of slab track rail systems are implemented in Japan, Europe and North America. The use of these systems provides railway operators with significant advantages in terms of RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety) and life cycle cost. In addition, these systems are preferred in railway lines under heavy train traffic, because it significantly shorten maintenance duration. The biggest disadvantage of ballast-less railway lines is that the initial application cost is 30% to 50% higher than ballast railway applications. In recent years, manufacturers of these systems have introduced innovations that reduce both maintenance and life cycle costs. When these innovations are added to the existing advantages in the design phase in tunnels (reduction of the height) and bridges (reducing dead loads), the applicability of slab track systems increase even more. In addition, maintenance and repair activities have to be carried out in limited time in heavily used railway lines such as high-speed railway lines, which causes slab track systems to be preferred. By the construction of high Speed rail lines in Turkey, the passengers and freight rail transport has gained importance. Increasing rail traffic, maintenance-repair costs and limited maintenance duration have led to the need to step changes on the conventional ballasted railway lines. Within the scope of this study, the slab track systems, which have already utilized in the world are examined and the sustainability of these systems that can be applied in Turkish railways is examined in terms of design and maintenance.