Capability Statement

The heavy structures laboratory (part of the TSRL), with its rigid floor and large hydraulic test rigs, undertakes leading research into railway systems. Researchers are studying the behaviour of railway sleepers and ballast, to underpin design and maintenance practices for modern, high speed, heavily trafficked railways. We can simulate three million passes of a 20 tonne axle, representing perhaps a year on the UK West Coast Main Line, in about twelve days. We have also used the apparatus to investigate the effects of sand ingress on the performance of ballasted track in connection with a proposed desert railway.