Current state of practice in railway track vibration isolation: an Australian Overview

Inevitably, train and track interaction generates a travelling source of noise and vibration along the railway corridor. Railway noise is generated in various forms and spectra. The undesirable railway sound and vibration include rolling noise, impact noise, curve noise, mechanical noise, airborne noise, wheel/rail noise, structure- and ground-borne noises. The noise that is carried through the vehicle body mainly affects ride quality, customer experience, and structural integrity of the rolling stocks, whereas the vibration that is transmitted from the rails to the supporting structure of the track plays a main role in rapid track degradation and potentially affects the surrounding structures. This paper highlights the practical guidelines for track vibration isolation resulting from the operation of railways. Its emphases are placed on the contemporary vibration mitigation methods used in existing and aging railway infrastructures (so-called ‘brown field project’). Its aim is to provide the overview and lessons learnt for the future development of new vibration isolation strategies in practice.