Example 13.

1 Calculate the superelevation and the maximum permissible

speed for a 2 o BG transitioned curve on a high-speed route with a maximum
sanctioned speed of 110 km/h. The speed for calculating the equilibrium
superelevation as decided by the chief engineer is 80 km/h and the booked
speed of goods trains is 50 km/h.
 
Solution

Simplified method of calculating permissible cant and speed

 
Often a simplified method is used for calculating the permissible cant and the
maximum permissible speed in the field. This simplified method is applicable to
most cases except those involving very flat curves.
 
Step 1 Calculate the cant for the maximum sanctioned speed of the section,
say, 110 km/h, using the standard formula C = GV 2 /127R . This is C110.
 
Step 2 Calculate the cant using the same standard formula as for the slowest
traffic, i.e., for a goods train which may be running at, say, 50 km/h. This is C50.
To this add cant excess. This becomes C50 + Ce.
 
Step 3 Calculate the cant for equilibrium speed (if decided) using the same
standard formula. Let it be 80 km/h. This value is C80.
 
Step 4 Adopt the lowest of the three values obtained from the preceding steps
and that becomes the permissible cant (Ca). The three values are C110, C50 + Ce,
and C80. Step 5 Taking this cant value (Ca), add the cant deficiency and find the
maximum permissible speed using the Eqn (13.10).

Example 13.2 Calculate the superelevation, maximum permissible speed,

and transition length for a 3 o curve on a high-speed BG section with a
maximum sanctioned speed of 110 km/h. Assume the equilibrium speed to be
80 km/h and the booked speed of the goods train to be 50 km/h.
Example 13.3 Calculate the maximum permissible speed on a curve of a
high speed BG group A route having the following particulars: degree of the
curve = 1 o , superelevation = 80 mm, length of transition curve = 120 m,
maximum speed likely to be sanctioned for the section =160 km/h.

Example 13.4 Calculate the maximum permissible speed on a 1 o curve on

a Rajdhani route with a maximum sanctioned speed of 130 km/h. The
superelevation provided is 50 mm and the transition length is 60 m. The
transition length of the curve cannot be increased due to the proximity of the
yard.
 
Example 13.5 A BG branch line track takes off as a contrary flexure through
a 1 in 12 turnout from a main line track of a 3 o curvature. Due to the turnout,
the maximum permissible speed on the branch line is 30 km/h. Calculate the
negative superelevation to be provided on the branch line track and the
maximum permissible speed on the main line track (when it takes off from a
straight track).
Transition Curve
 
As soon as a train commences motion on a circular curve from a straight line
track, it is subjected to a sudden centrifugal force, which not only causes
discomfort to the passengers but also distorts the track alignment and affects the
stability of the rolling stock. In order to smoothen the shift from the straight line
to the curve, transition curves are provided on either side of the circular curve
so that the centrifugal force is built up gradually as the superelevation slowly
runs out at a uniform rate (Fig. 13.10). A transition curve is, therefore, the cure
for an uncomfortable ride, in which the degree of the curvature and the gain of
superelevation are uniform throughout its length, starting from zero at the
tangent point to the specified value at the circular curve. The following are the
objectives of a transition curve.
 
 
(a)  To decrease the radius of the curvature gradually in a planned way from
infinity at the straight line to the specified value of the radius of a circular
curve in order to help the vehicle negotiate the curve smoothly.
(b) To provide a gradual increase of the superelevation starting from zero at
the straight line to the desired superelevation at the circular curve.
(c)  To ensure a gradual increase or decrease of centrifugal forces so as to
enable the vehicles to negotiate a curve smoothly.

 
1 Requirements of an Ideal Transition Curve
 
The transition curve should satisfy the following conditions.
 
(a)  It should be tangential to the straight line of the track, i.e., it should start
from the straight part of the track with a zero curvature.
 
 (b) It should join the circular curve tangentially, i.e., it should finally have the
same curvature as that of the circular curve.
 
(c)  Its curvature should increase at the same rate as the superelevation.
 
(d) The length of the transition curve should be adequate to attain the final
superelevation, which increases gradually at a specified rate.
 
 
 
2 Types of Transition Curves
 
The types of transition curves that can be theoretically provided are described
here. The shapes of these curves are illustrated in Fig. 13.11.

Euler's spiral       This is an ideal transition curve, but is not preferred due to
mathematical complications. The equation for Euler's sprial is

 
Cubical spiral      This is also a good transition curve, but quite difficult to set
on the field.                                      

Bernoulli's lemniscate In this curve, the radius decreases as the length

increases and this causes the radial acceleration to keep on falling. The fall is,
however, not uniform beyond a 30 o deflection angle. This curve is not used on
railways.
 
Cubic parabola Indian Railways mostly uses the cubic parabola for
transition curves. The equation of the cubic parabola is

In this curve, both the curvature and the cant increase at a linear rate. The cant
of the transition curve from the straight to the curved track is so arranged that
the inner rail continues to be at the same level while the outer rail is raised in
the linear form throughtout the length of the curve. A straight line ramp is
provided for such transition curves.
 
The notations used in Eqns (13.13) to (13.15) are as follows: f is the angle
between the straight line track and the tangent to the transition curve, l is the
distance of any point on the transition curve from the take-off point, L is the
length of the transition curve, x is the horizontal coordinate on the transition
curve, y is the vertical coordinate on the transition curve, and R is the radius of
the circular curve.
 
S-shaped transition curve In an S-shaped transition curve, the curvature
and superelevation assume the shape of two quadratic parabolas. Instead of a
straight line ramp, an S-type parabola ramp is provided with this transition
curve. The special feature of this curve is that the shift required ('shift' is
explained in the following section) in this case is only half of the normal shift
provided for a straight line ramp. The value of shift is

Further, the gradient is at the centre and is twice steeper than in the case of a
straight line ramp. This curve is desirable in special conditions-when the shift is
restricted due to site conditions.
 
The Railway Board has decided that on Indian Railways, transition curves will
normally be laid in the shape of a cubic parabola.
 
 
3 Shift
 
For the main circular curve to fit in the transition curve, which is laid in the
shape of a cubic parabola, it is required be moved inward by a measure known
as the 'shift' (Fig. 13.12). The value of shift can be calculated using the formula
where S is the shift in m, L is the length of the transition curve in m, and R is the
radius in m.
 

The offset (in centimetres) from the straight line to any point on the transition
curve is calculated using the equation.
y = 16.7 x2/LR
where y is the offest from the staight line in cm, x is the distance from the
commencement of the curve in m, L is the length of transition in m, and R is the
radius of curve in m.
 
 
4 Length of Transition Curve
 
The length of the transition curve prescribed on Indian Railways is the
maximum of the following three values:

where L is the length of the curve in m, Ca is the actual cant or superelevation in
mm, and Cd is the cant deficiency in mm.
Formulae (13.19) and (13.20) are based on a rate of change of a cant or cant
deficiency of 35 mm/sec. Formula (13.21) is based on a maximum cant gradient
of 1 in a 720 or 1.4 mm/m.
 
Other provisions made to meet the requirements of special situations are as
follows.
 
(a)  When deciding the length of transition curves, particularly on high-speed
routes, future speeds expected to be implemented on those tracks, such as
160 km/h for group A routes and 130 km/h for group B routes, may be
taken into account.
 
(b) In exceptional cases, when there is no space available for providing full
length transition curves, particularly on high-speed routes as per the
preceding calculations, the length of the transition curve may be reduced to
two-thirds of the desirable length as worked out by Eqns (13.19) and
(13.20). This is based on the assumption that the rate of change of cant or
cant deficiency will not exceed 55 mm/sec and the maximum cant gradient
will not be steeper than 1 in 360 or 2.8 mm/m. This relaxation is permitted
only for BG sections. For MG and NG sections, however, the cant gradient
should not be steeper than 1 in 720 or 1.4 mm/h. For MG sections, the
change of cant or cant deficiency should not exceed 35 mm/sec.
 
(c)  At locations where the length of the transition curve is restricted and as
such may be inadequate to permit the maximum speed calculated for the
circular curve, the design should be such that both the cant and the cant
deficiency are lowered, which will reduce the maximum speed on the
transition curve to permit the highest speed on the curve as a whole.
 
Example 13.6 A curve of 600 m radius on a BG section has a limited
transition of 40 m length. Calculate the maximum permissible speed and
superelevation for the same. The maximum sectional speed (MSS) is 100 km/h.
 
Solution In a normal situation, a curve of a 600 m radius will have quite a
long transition curve for an MSS of 100 km/h. However, as the transition curve
has been restricted to 40 m, the cant should be so selected that the speed on the
main circular curve is equal to the speed on the transition curve as a whole.
 
5 Laying a Transition Curve
 
A transition curve is laid in the following steps (Fig. 13.13).

 
1.  The length of the transition curve is calculated by the formulae given in
Eqns (13.19) to (13.21).
 
 2.  This transition length is divided into an even number of equal parts, usually
eight.
 
3.  The equations for a cubic parabola and the shift [Eqns (13.15) and (13.17)],
reproduced here, are used for calculations.

4.  The shift is calculated using Formula (ii).

 
5.  The ordinates are then calculated at points 1, 2, 3, etc. using Formula (i).
 

6.  The point at which the transition curve starts is then determined

approximately by shifting the existing tangent point backwards by distance
equal to half the length of the transition curve.
 
7.  The offsets y1, y2, y3, etc. are measured perpendicular to the tangent to get
the profile of the transition curve.