Abstract
This report was prepared as part of the Improved Track Structures Research Program sponsored by the Office of Rail Safety Research of the Federal Railroad Administration. The report presents an experiment plan and a correlation methodology through which the long-term performance of concrete tie track will be evaluated.
The experiment plan defines test segments, instrumentation and measurement procedures for a comprehensive evaluation, over a two-year period, of three concrete tie test sections and one wood tie control section, all of which are installed on revenue service track. This evaluation is to be correlated with similar track performance data from the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST). Formats for FAST data to be requested from the Transportation Test Center are summarized. Finally, the methods of direct comparison, regression and analytical simulation, by which track performance at FAST and on the revenue service will be compared, are defined.