Preliminary study of shaping the railway track geometry in terms of their maintenance costs and capacity

Abstract

In Poland, due to the increase in investments made by railways in recent years, and thus the increase in the replacement value of transport infrastructure, the need for expenditure on infrastructure maintenance will increase in the next 30 years, or the development of the developed transport network will degrade. As part of the overall discipline of resource management, subdiscipline has emerged - infrastructure asset management. As part of the management of railway transport infrastructure, the demand for cheaper maintenance costs will grow. The cost reduction of infrastructure maintenance is possible through meticulous assessment of its condition, rational selection of locations and scope of repairs at the assumed risk level, as well as at the stage of preparation of new construction or modernization projects taking into account aspects of later maintenance. For some time, we have been observing the accumulation of knowledge (methods, programs, procedures) in the country and abroad enabling optimization of infrastructure condition assessment and programming of its maintenance. The implementation of these solutions may result in a more rational use of funds for infrastructure maintenance and not disturb its smooth functioning in operation. The article discusses aspects that should be considered in the design process of railway infrastructure. Particular attention was paid to the durability of steel components of the railway superstructure, maintenance costs as well as aspects related to the capacity of the track node. An example of dependence of selected values of radial arcs depending on their durability and maintenance costs was presented. It was proposed to change the track layout at the Warszawa Srodmiescie passenger stop planned for reconstruction. Calculations of kinematic parameters for various configurations of railway turnouts were performed. Also, calculations of the capacity for the existing track system solution as well as the proposed track system after reconstruction of the analysed Warszawa Srodmiescie railway station were also carried out.