Prediction of ground vibration amplitudes due to urban railway traffic using quantitative and qualitative field data

•It is possible to predict ground vibration amplitudes with a MLR model.•Qualitative predictors are successfully applied, using suitable codification.•Qualitative predictors, for media characterization, offer good understanding of the phenomena.•A model, with both quantitative and qualitative predictors was successfully obtained.

The growth of railway transport in urban areas has lead to an increase in ground vibrations enhancing their negative environmental impact. Therefore is mandatory to predict and control ground vibrations. This work presents a methodology for the determination of prediction models of ground vibration amplitudes due to railway train circulation in urban environments. Using quantitative predictors (train speed and distance) and qualitative predictors (railway track type, dominant geology and building type), being the use of the latter predictors justified by the fact that, most frequently, quantitative parameters are very difficult to obtain in the urban environment due to their characterization. Thus, a detailed statistical study based on the proposal and validation of multiple linear regression models, is successfully applied in order to predict vibration amplitudes produced by railway train circulation, in the considered domain, as function of quantitative and qualitative predictors, easily obtained in field work. A multiple linear regression model for ground vibration prediction due to underground railway traffic has been presented for the Lisbon area.