The dynamic effect of the moving trains on the railroad rails and propagation of excited vibrations

The report deals with the opportunities for the implementation of the EU “Rail Baltica” study project, evaluating the fulfillment of acoustical requirements for the railway route. The paper considers the causes of excited vibrations and noise. The railway has always been one of the most important transport means, which ensures the quality of the rail freight. Propagation of vibrations, excited by the moving train, to the environment and their evaluation is significant problem. Conducted research work will be used in laying out the new railroad line from the West to Central Europe. It will provide the possibility to improve the quality of the railroad route as well as reduce vibrations and noise generated by the trains. It was established that the transport moving along the railways caused many serious problems from the ecological point of view, noise and vibration being among the most important issues. Heavy train moves along the metal railway on its metal wheels i.e. rolling-stocks. This is one of key sources of noise and vibration: it produces audible low-frequency noise as well as non-audible noise - infrasound. The influence of the infrasound on the environment and human health has not been thoroughly investigated, yet there are plenty of means for reducing it. The research performed in this area indicates many cases when infrasound is far more harmful in comparison to the audible sounds. It is a costly and complicated process to eliminate infrasound from the aforementioned sources therefore the companies and private owners, as well as state institutions do not adopt relevant measures to solve this problem. Moreover, the audible sound would also decrease in such a case. In the paper the author treats the problem on the basis of practical tests and research conducted by different scientists as well as proposes approaches for solution of the considered problem