Dynamic properties of railway track and its components: recent findings and future research direction

Rail track is a fundamental part of railway infrastructure. Its components can be classified into two main categories: superstructure and substructure. The most observable parts of the track such as the rails, rail pads, concrete sleepers and fastening systems are referred to as superstructure, while the substructure is associated with a geotechnical system consisting of ballast, sub-ballast and subgrade. The dynamic testing of railway track and its components, particularly concrete sleepers and rail pads, can lead to the dynamic model updating for numerical analysis and an alternative experimental set-up to get a better insight into rail track behaviour. The new results obtained can be used as a benchmark for health monitoring of a modern railway track and its components.