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Pasi Lautala, Michigan Tech University Tyler Dick, HDR, Inc

This document provides an overview of key considerations for railway alignment design and geometry, including horizontal and vertical geometry, turnout design, structures and loading. It discusses topics such as degree of curve, superelevation, spiral transition curves, grades, vertical curves, turnout layout, track clearances, and bridge loading criteria. The document aims to outline the basic principles, criteria and critical issues for designing the alignment, geometry and structures for rail lines.

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jason mr.perfect11
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120 views33 pages

Pasi Lautala, Michigan Tech University Tyler Dick, HDR, Inc

This document provides an overview of key considerations for railway alignment design and geometry, including horizontal and vertical geometry, turnout design, structures and loading. It discusses topics such as degree of curve, superelevation, spiral transition curves, grades, vertical curves, turnout layout, track clearances, and bridge loading criteria. The document aims to outline the basic principles, criteria and critical issues for designing the alignment, geometry and structures for rail lines.

Uploaded by

jason mr.perfect11
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Railway Alignment Design and Geometry

Pasi Lautala, Michigan Tech University


Tyler Dick, HDR, Inc.

Topics
•Horizontal and
Vertical geometry
•Clearances
•Turnout design
•Structures and loading
1
REES Module #6 - Railway Alignment Design and Geometry 1
Horizontal Geometry – Degree of Curve
• Arc (Roadway and LRT) • Chord (Railroad)
– Angle measured along the – Angle measured along
length of a section of curve the length of a section of
subtended by a curve subtended by a
100’ arc 100’ chord
100’
100’
DR
DR
D/360 = 100/2(pi)R
R = 50/sin(D/2)
– 1-deg curve, R= 5729.58’
– 1-deg curve, R=5729.65’
– 7-deg curve, R=818.51’
– 7-deg curve, R=819.02’
REES Module #6 - Railway Alignment Design and Geometry 4

Horizontal Geometry –
Curves

Criteria Highway Railroad


- Design speed -Design speed
-Allowable superelevation

Typical values Freeway: Main lines:


- 60 mph, R=1,340, -High speed: R > 5,729,
D=4.28 - 70 mph, D<1 -Typical: R >2,865,
R=2,050, D=2.79 D<2 -Low speed: R>1,433,
D<4 Industrial facilities:
- R>764, D<7.5

6
REES Module #6 - Railway Alignment Design and Geometry 6

Horizontal Geometry –
Superelevation
Expressed Highway Railroad
by… “e” expressed as cross- “E” is inches of elevation difference
slope in percent between “high rail” (outside) and
Function of… “low rail” (inside)
Vehicle speed, curve Function of design speed, degree
radius and tire side of curve
friction E = 0.0007V2D – Eu
(0.01e + f) / (1 – 0.01ef) Where Eu is unbalance (1-2” typical)
= V2/15R
Max. values 6-8% Freight: 6-7”
Light Rail: 6”
Rotation point Centerline “Inside rail”
Transition Runoff (2/3 on tangent, 1/3 Spiral
in curve)7

REES Module #6 - Railway Alignment Design and Geometry 7


Spiral Transition Curves
TS (Tangent to Spiral)

SC (Spiral to Curve)

Railways use the higher length of


two formulae: •To limit unbalanced
lateral acceleration acting on
passengers to 0.03 g per second:
L = 1.63 Eu V Eu = unbalanced
elevation (in.) •To limit track twist to
1 inch in 62 feet:
L = 62 Ea Ea = actual elevation (in.)9
Critical Issues with
Horizontal Curves

a) Too short tangent


between reversed
curves
b) “Broken back” curve
c) Curve within turnout
d) Additional
horizontal clearance
required
Vertical Geometry - Grades
Rail – rarely exceeds 1%
(2-2.5% for industry lines)
Highway – 4% common
6% on ramps
Up
to 8%
on
county roads LRT –
maximum 4 to 6%
Up to 10% for short
sections
Design Grade for Railways

• Ideal maximum for railway


grade:
• Trains can roll safely down
0.3% grade without
wasting energy on brakes
• <0.1% for tracks for
extensive storage • Railway
vertical curves – old
formula:L = D / R
D = algebraic difference of grade (ft. per 100-ft.
station) R = rate of change per 100-ft. station
• 0.05 ft. per station for crest on main track •
0.10 ft. per station for sag on main track •
Secondary line may be twice those for main
line

New Shorter Vertical Curves

• Old railway formula developed in 1880’s for “hook and


pin” couplers in those days
• Present day couplers can accommodate shorter vertical
curves
• New formula developed in recent years:
L = 2.15 V2 D / A
V = train speed in mph
D = algebraic difference of grade in decimal
A = vertical acceleration in ft./sec2
0.1 ft./ sec2for freight, 0.6 ft./ sec2for passenger
or transit

Critical issues with Vertical Curves


a) Overlapping vertical
curves
b) Avoid lowering
existing tracks
c) No vertical curves
within turnouts
d) Provide additional
clearance in sag
curves
e) No vertical curves
within horizontal
spirals

Railroad Turnouts
Railway turnout is a mechanical device that used to guide the
trains from one rail track to another. As an important part in rail construction,
turnout helps to enable the trafficability of the rail.

• Allows diverging from one track to another • Identified by “frog


number”
Designing a Turnout in
Plans
• Need to know:
• PS to PI length (B)
• Angle (C)
• PS to LLT (A)
• Draw centerline of
each track
• Good to mark PS &
LLT
• No curves and/or Legend:
PS = Point of Switch PI = Point of
adjacent turnouts intersection LLT = Last long tie
between PS and LLT Angle C = Turnout angle
Track Clearances

• Specific clearances
necessary for safe
operations
• Size of car clearance
envelope is based on
dimensions of:
– Locomotives
– Cars
– Potential large loads
• Requirements set by
several agencies
Horizontal Clearance
Vertical Clearance

• Constant on tangent track


• Additional clearance:
– In sag vertical curves
– In superelevated tracks
– For specialized equipment (double-deck
cars)
– To provide threshold for future track
maintenance and equipment changes

REES Module #6 - Railway Alignment Design and Geometry 25

Typical Section - Railroad


• Subgrade top width of 24’ to 30’ for single track

Typical section - multiple tracks


•Track centerlines minimum 13’ apart
•Roadbed sloped to drain
•Sometimes wider shoulders for
maintenance purposes

Bridge Loading - Railroad


• Cooper E-80 railroad loading

• Developed in 1890s
• “80” refers to 80kip driving axle load on steam locomotive

Bridge Loading – Railroad (cont.)

• Impact Loading
– The following percentages of Live Load, applied at
the top of rail and added to the axle loads (E-80
Loading)
For L ≤ 14 ft: I = 60
For 14 ft < L ≤ 127 ft: I = 225/√L
For L> 127 ft: I = 20
L = Span Length in ft
Grade Separations – Road over Rail • 23’
vertical clearance, plus future track raise • Allow for
maintenance road and future second track • Collision
protection for piers within 25’ of rail centerline • Do not
drain roadway on to tracks!
• Other details vary by specific railroad

Grade Separations – Rail over Road


• Steel preferred structure type as it can be
repaired
• Concrete bridges - “sacrificial beam” or “crash
beam”
• Depth of structure increases rapidly with span
length under railroad loading
– Decreases clearance or increase required railroad fill
– Need to minimize skew and span lengths

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