The factors associated with the management of combined rail/wheel roughness to control groundborne noise and vibration from the UK’s crossrail project

Abstract

Crossrail is currently Europe’s largest infrastructure project. The route runs over 100 km from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through new tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. In addition to the re-configuration and upgrade of surface railway in existing corridors, the scheme consists of the construction of 21 km of twin bored tunnels beneath the heart of London. The Project is the first in the UK to accommodate a combined rail/wheel roughness limit for the purposes of controlling groundborne noise and vibration in overlying buildings from trains operating in the tunnels. The roughness limit is intended to be complied with during the entire operational life of the railway. This paper presents: background on the issues associated with roughness in the wavelength range of interest; the findings of the early work undertaken to identify the risks associated with the limit imposed; roughness data associated with the track designs proposed; and the methods for measuring roughness in the relevant range of wavelengths. This paper has been prepared by the Alstom TSO Costain Joint Venture, the contractor responsible for the system-wide track and fit-out of the central London section of the project, in collaboration with Crossrail Ltd.