Analysis of Track Vibration for Metro Rail

Abstract

Buildings located near surface Metro and surface trains are subjected to mechanical vibrations induced by their motion. High-precision instruments in laboratories nowadays are very much sensitive to external vibrations which affect their performance. It is thus imperative to measure amount of vibration and noise transmitted from the railway track to ground. In this paper, frequency content and amplitude of vibration levels are measured on the metro rail track. Track vibrations were measured at a point on track for three different positions of metro from that point, while it was in motion. Amplitude and frequency content were found when (a) train was some distance away from the point of observation, (b) train was passing above the point and (c) train had left the point by some distance. This experiment was carried out near Khapri metro station, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. These experimental results are studied and discussed in this paper. Further, these results can be compared with limits given by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to ensure human comfort and safety of nearby structures.