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MÓSTOLES CURVE
Support, maintenance and assessment
PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
The Railway Infrastructure Administrator (Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias, hereinafter ADIF).
Consulting company INECO-TIFSA, S.A., group of companies integrated within the Group of the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Fomento) via ownership of their shares which falls on the largest public entities of the transport industry.
Our company Sujeciones de Vía, S.L.
BACKGROUND
Acoustic emission and inmision levels resulting from traffic transit detected in the urban environment of the curve of 220 m. of radius between Móstoles and Móstoles/El Soto, in commuter train line C-5, have moved ADIF to implement an Action Plan that, besides renewing the railway, has entailed the installation of set of acoustic dampening systems.
The reference limit thresholds of acoustic emission and in mission levels have to be established based on the classification of the railway environment with respect to a acoustic zoning of the area. This classification is envisaged by Decree 78/1999 of the Community of Madrid for this particular area.
The characteristic features of the Curve, and basically the undulating wear, forced ADIF to channel the actions with the purpose of granting greater elasticity to the railway superstructure and to improve rolling conditions (by grinding the rail and applying a friction modifier that acts on the wheel-rail interface). Thus, acoustic emissions were reduced, preserving the railway superstructure in proper conditions (both aspects are related) for a longer period of time.
Given the extremely complex and noise emission favoring conditions of this unique Curve, in order to achieve a greater level of efficiency, in the sense of increasing the periods of time during which acoustic and rail conditions are acceptable, the efficiency of the implemented measurements will be studied, along with the possibility of applying new concepts or developments.
Sujeciones de Vía represents PORTEC RAIL PRODUCTS INC. in Spain, a company specializing in friction control in the wheel-rail interface. Permanent contact with this company, as well as the successive seminars and projects in which it has been involved, allow us to guarantee a level of expertise and knowledge of our technical workers in aspects related with these issues.
PURPOSE
The philosophy applied to this particular case entails the intention to preserve the rail surface in acceptable conditions during a relatively lengthy period of time, thus allowing to limit traffic noise emissions at certain frequencies.
In reduced radius curves such as this, rail surface preservation is achieved by means of successive rail grinding operations and/or the application of friction condition modifiers on each wheel/rail interface.
Four friction modifier liquid dispensing systems have been installed at the Móstoles curve, distributed in a way such that proper dissemination of the liquid is guaranteed throughout the whole curve.
The activities undertaken in the conduction of this project have included the maintenance, and verification, control and analysis of eventual anomalies detected in system components, or in their operation, making recommendations on the measures to adopt in order to have them solved. Likewise, a support and management effort is made regarding supply of the required elements or spare parts.
Fulfillment of these tasks has allowed to reduce acoustic emission levels to values which, in as far as possible, have reduced the acoustic impact of railway traffic on the adjacent dwellings, in compliance with the decree establishing the limit reference thresholds for acoustic emission and inmission levels. |
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