Longitudinal stability and state evolution analysis of ballasted track in steep-slope rack railway

Jiongli Wang, Chunfa Zhao, Zhixian Chen, Jun Fang, Zhihui Chen, Jizhong Yang, Zaigang Chen, State Key Laboratory of Rail Transit Vehicle System, Southwest Jiaotong University, PR China, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group CO, PR China, School of Mechatronics and Vehicle Engineering, East China Jiaotong University, PR China

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

Published online on July 24, 2026

Abstract

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Ahead of Print.
To address ballast bed sliding and structural instability in rack railways operating on steep gradients, this study developed a coupled Multi-Flexible-Body Dynamics–Discrete Element Method (MFBD-DEM) model to investigate the mechanism by which an enhanced ...