Abstract
A sharp curved ballasted track on earthwork that was connected with a direct fixation slab track on steel box railway bridges have been deformed and damaged despite the frequently maintenance by a restoring force of sharp curved rail and track-bridge interaction forces such as axial forces and longitudinal displacement of continuous welded rail(CWR) owing to their structural characteristics, calling for alternatives to improve the structural safety and track irregularity. In this study, the authors aim to prove a cause of deformation for the sharp curved ballasted tracks to enhance the structural safety and track irregularity of ballasted track in service. A track-bridge interaction analysis and a finite-element method analysis for the sharp curved ballasted track were performed to consider the axial force and longitudinal displacement of CWR, the temperature and the effect of restoring force of sharp curved rail. From the results, the deformation of the sharp curved ballasted track with adjusted sleeper spacing from 833mm to 590mm were significantly reduced.