Rubber Modified Ballasted Track Systems for Low Noise and Low Vibration

Ballasted railways are among the most commonly used forms of track infrastructure. However, their primary drawbacks include track stability issues due to ballast degradation over time, as well as increased noise levels and high maintenance costs. A novel low-noise and vibration railway ballast track design is needed to address these concerns. This paper presents an innovative solution developed within the European project LIAISON-HORIZON-CL5-2022-D6-02-06 framework that combines modified railway ballasted track systems with recycled tires, geosynthetics, low-height ballast walls, and noise barriers. The study investigates the use of recycled waste tire rubber chips to enhance shear modulus and mitigate vibrations within the ballast layer. Large-scale cyclic simple shear tests conducted on the rubber-mixed ballast material demonstrate improved shear modulus and damping ratio. Additionally, the paper briefly examines prototype testing and performance evaluations of the modified ballast wall arrangement in conju