Concrete pavements for railway tracks

During the last three decades major steps ahead were done in the field of high-speed railway tracks based on the implementation of proven road pavement technologies. Some modifications and adaptations were needed with respect to the requirements of railway tracks especially on high speed lines. Different ballastless track systems were developed and tested and are in use for high speed links worldwide as well as for urban transportation networks. Main feature of ballastless track structures is an elastic connection between rails and treated layers. The following designs have been used: (1) Sleeper panels connected to a concrete or asphalt pavement or sleeper panels monolithically embedded within a concrete slab; (2) Prefabricated, prestressed slabs or frames connected to a treated base by an intermediate layer; (3) Discrete rail seats on Jointed Reinforced Concrete Pavement (JRCP) or embedded rails on Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavements (CRCP). High quality railway tracks based on concrete pavement technology will show increasing applications worldwide. The research activities on concrete pavements have to strengthen synergetic effects between road and railway looking for new applications and steady improvements.