Articles

Recent Research of Track

Technology Division
The Track Technology Division is engaged in railway track
research and development to make their outcomes available
for commercial use to enable “social implementation.” This
is to ensure that our technology is widely adopted in the
operations of railway companies.

Our track development initiative starts with fundamental

research. It brings our technology up to the level wherein
Dr. Yoshitsugu Momoya test installation is performed in some commercial lines to
Director,
Head of Track Technology Division introduce the technology to many railway operators.

The public does not directly use track-related technologies;

however, many passengers indirectly use them via railway
operators that use them. This paper describes track
technologies that our division applied in developing and
introducing certain technologies already in commercial use
and implemented in society or in a transition phase from
trial installation to social implementation, as well as the ones
currently under development for future implementation.

Track technologies that have been 5-meter concrete slabs that directly sup- structed with high-quality subgrade and
1)
implemented in society port rails in the structure. concrete roadbed (Slab track on earth
For the Tokaido Shinkansen line, a ballast- structure ) .
Since ballasted tracks become deformed ed track system was used, but later, a slab Furthermore, since the 2000s, an integrat-
under the stress of train load over time, track system was introduced in earnest for ed RC roadbed has been developed, which
periodic repair work is required. To prevent Shinkansen lines including Sanyo Shinkan- combines the roadbeds of double tracks,
this, slab track (Slab track ) that does not sen and the subsequent Shinkansen lines. making it possible for slab tracks to be laid
2)
considerably deform under stress was de- Slab tracks, however, have no tolerance on relatively soft ground (Integrated RC
veloped by the Research and Development for large subsidence, and this limited their roadbed（Before a track slab is laid) ).
Institute of the former Japanese National use to only viaducts or tunnel sections un- Commissioned by the Japan Railway
Railways (JNR), the predecessor of the Rail- til the 1980s. Construction, Transport and Technology
way Technical Research Institute (RTRI). Since the 1990s, the slab track structure Agency, the RTRI was involved in a project
A slab track consists of approximately has been laid on earth structures con- for the technological development of slab

Ascent No. 13 September 2023 17

 Articles

Track slab

Rail

Rail fastening system

Circular stopper Filling layer

(a) Slab track structure (b) Example of a slab track being laid

Slab track

5)
tracks applied to earth grounds and con- by a concrete track bed. version (Solid-bed track equipped with
tributed to their implementation in society. A structure called B-type solid-bed track resilient sleepers using the shear-key ) . The
In the 1980s, the slab track system was equipped with resilient sleepers 3) is laid as S-type track system has been adopted for
constructed in conventional lines. Howev- the track structure for the Shinkansen line public work projects launched in the vicin-
er, railway noise became an issue in urban between the sections of Ueno to Omiya ity of the Nagasaki or Matsuyama stations,
areas, as the noise levels were higher when station. In the 1990s, RTRI developed a D- where multiple existing level crossings
a train ran on slab tracks than when it ran type track system, wherein the elastic ma- were replaced with overhead crossings.
on ballasted tracks. To address this issue, terial beneath the sleepers is replaceable 4). This is another practical case, and we be-
the former JNR's research institute devel- Various railway operators in Japan and lieve this technology is a step closer to be-
oped a track system equipped with resil- overseas have widely used the D-type track ing implemented in society.
ient sleepers (sleepers fitted with under system. In the latter half of the 2010s, fur- Meanwhile, in a track management field,
sleeper pads). This system reduces noise ther improvements were made to stream- a waveform data processing tool called
6)
via an elastic rubber material installed un- line the concrete track bed as a cost-cutting LABOCS was developed by the former
derneath the sleeper, which is supported effort, and it was upgraded to an S-type JNR’s research institute. LABOCS has since

Track slab
Slab track Concrete trackbed

Circular stopper
Reinforced concrete plate

Integrated RC roadbed
Concrete roadbed
Subgrade（embankment）

Well-graded crushed stone

Slab track on earth structure Integrated RC roadbed（Before a track slab is laid）

18 September 2023 No. 13 Ascent

 Conventional structure (D-type)
Sleeper end
Lateral load

Resistance
Shear key
(Projections on sleeper sides)

S-type

Connection bar
with viaduct

Solid-bed track equipped with resilient sleepers using the shear-key

Mirror/Servomotor Two-axis displacement sensor

Two-axis
Laser displacement displacement
meter sensor Rail

Displacement Velocity Acceleration

Temporal differentiation Temporal differentiation
v = dx a = d x2
2
X Track measuring device using the inertial mid-chord offset method
dt dt
Temporal integration Temporal integration
(b) Installation example of track measuring device using
(a) Measuring principle of inertial mid-chord offset method inertial mid-chord offset method

Track measuring device with the inertial mid-chord offset method

7)
evolved, focusing on track irregularity chord offset method since the 1990s Track technologies shifting from
management, and since the 1990s, it has (Track measuring device with the inertial test installation in commercial lines
been adopted by many railway operators. mid-chord offset method ). This method to social Implementation
In recent times, upgrading effort with new enables the downsizing of a track measur-
technologies is underway to incorporate ing device such that it can be mounted on One technology moving toward social
features such as correcting the distance commercial railway vehicles. This technol- implementation is a scheme of widening
discrepancy of the data measured by a ogy enables track irregularity monitoring sleeper spacing, which some railway op-
track recording vehicle using cross-corre- at high frequency by commercial vehicles. erators have adopted 8).
lation methods or predicting the displace- Thus, a more flexible track maintenance Ballasted track sleepers are generally laid
ment amount of floating sleepers. management is achieved according to at a space of approximately 60 cm. Increas-
As for track measurement research, we track conditions. ing this space as wide as 1 m would help
have been developing the inertial mid- reduce the number of sleepers installed,

Ascent No. 13 September 2023 19

 Regular sleeper spacing Widened sleeper spacing

Wooden sleeper
PC sleeper
Spacing widened by
combining 2 wooden sleepers
Rail fastening system
Rail
Ballast

Widening of sleeper spacing

Drill a hole and

pour repair material Mix repair material and
ballast and stabilize
by tamping

Powdery repair material

Low-strength stabilization method

contributing to cost reduction efforts (Wid- lower cost. mitigated by grouting a super-fine particle
ening of sleeper spacing ). A low-strength stabilization method 9) has cement (SFC) fluid into the ballasted track.
Widening sleeper spacing has been been developed to stabilize ballasts. In this Some railway operators are also adopting
achieved after carefully verifying factors method, repair material comprising of ul- this technology, and it is expected to be
such as track subsidence property, track trarapid hardening cement and polymeric socially implemented soon.
lateral stability, and track material safety material is mixed with deteriorated ballasts Moreover, we have several other devel-
during our research. and tamped at the repair work site (Low- opments that are a step closer to being
Meanwhile, ballasted tracks have a limi- strength stabilization method ). implemented in society, including the
tation wherein crashed or refined ballast A pilot run of this method has been con- railhead crack repair method using the
11)
particles may cause the bearing capacity of ducted on several commercial lines, and thermit welding technology , a dynamic
ballast to decrease during rainfall, resulting we are now working to expand the applica- track measuring device for gauge and twist
in a large subsidence. For a general reso- tions aimed at social implementation. that costs less than the inertial mid-chord
12)
lution, those deteriorated ballasts must We have also developed a technology to offset track measurement device (Dy-
be replaced. However, because ballast help improve labor efficiency in ballasted namic track measuring device for gauge
replacement entails a relatively high cost, track maintenance and management. In and twist ) or an image analysis system
an alternative method has been sought this “Ballastless track with super-fine par- for detecting obstacles within a structure
10)
to prevent ballasted track subsidence at a ticle cement ,” track subsidence can be gauge of railroad track 13).

20 September 2023 No. 13 Ascent

Track technologies under This turnout allows streamlining of the solid-bed track system equipped with resil-
development aimed at future social structure by incorporating the switching ient sleepers (Anti-vibration slab track ).
implementation device into a sleeper. It also enables con- In this track system, a concrete track bed
trolling and monitoring of the switching equipped with resilient sleepers is support-
An intelligent turnout is an example of a force at all times to eliminate the labor of ed by low-elastic antivibration materials
product under development for future so- the operator’s inspection work. such that the track support spring coeffi-
cial implementation (Intelligent turnout ). In addition, we have developed a floating cient is significantly reduced, which would

On-board PC
for measurement

Controller
GNSS antenna

Fix using steps

Sensor unit

0.9m

Dynamic track measuring device for gauge and twist

Switching device

Intelligent turnout

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 【Equipped with resilient sleepers】
⇒Prevent outer rail corrugation
help mitigate noise and ground vibration. ・Reduce noise and vibration
・Reduce labor of track maintenance work
Conclusions

This paper introduced the status of the

social implementation of track technolo-
gies being developed by RTRI. To achieve
this, accurately understanding the needs of
railway operators and setting the direction
of research and development are critical.
The Track Technology Division will con-
tinue to develop technologies that contrib-
ute to the innovative operations of railway 【Low-cost anti-vibration material (PUR or EPDM)】
companies. ⇒Reduce construction cost and ensure durability and
weather resistance

Anti-vibration slab track

References
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2018
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