Review of the design and maintenance technologies used to decelerate the deterioration of ballasted railway tracks

Ballasted railway tracks, despite their benefits, present some limitations and drawbacks, mainly associated with geometry degradation due to ballast settlement and particle breakage. Periodic maintenance interventions are thus required as well as renewal processes, which lead to the significant consumption of natural materials and energy whilst causing frequent interruptions to traffic. This is made more problematic when aggregates with appropriate characteristics for ballast are not available in the proximity of the construction/maintenance site, which is becoming increasingly common due to restrictive environmental guidelines. In this context, this paper presents a review of the effectiveness of the major conventional techniques/materials for track design and maintenance as well as innovative solutions that are being developed to reduce track degradation, whilst also analysing their main parameters to optimize track behaviour and durability, depending on its design and the required changes in its mechanical performance. The aim is to then provide a set of recommendations and guidelines for the use of such technologies to improve track response and durability as well as highlighting possible further research associated with both the development of innovative solutions and the improvement of conventional techniques.