Technology Digests / Track Uplift Test at FAST®

TD26-001

March 5, 2026
Authors
  • Stephen Wilk
  • Kenny Morrison
Share

Key Findings

  • Track uplift was observed while physically testing a range of vehicle and track conditions. The measurements generally matched the trends predicted by Beam on Elastic Foundation (BOEF) track uplift theory.
  • BOEF theory underestimated the rail and tie uplift magnitude on track with elastic fasteners. However, the theory did generally match tie uplift magnitude for wood ties with cut spike fasteners.
  • The testing suggests that BOEF is suitable for track buckle modeling if care is taken when interpreting results.
  • Loaded bulk commodity cars on soft track provided the largest uplift in both test results and BOEF theory.
  • At the softer track locations, the test results showed increased uplift magnitudes with increased train speed.

Track Uplift Test at FAST®

MxV Rail performed a track uplift test at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST®) to validate track uplift theory in a variety of track and vehicle conditions. This test is part of a larger effort to better understand how vehicle forces affect track buckling, including longitudinal train forces, lateral train forces, and other dynamics. The long-term goal of this effort is improving the understanding of track buckling risk as a result of various track and train conditions in order to apply appropriate mitigation methods, including heat speed restrictions. The track uplift mechanism is being investigated because previous full-scale track buckle testing performed in the 1980s suggested that track uplift reduced track buckle strength (TBS) and resulted in growing misalignments during train passage,1–3 at least in weaker, low rail neutral temperature (RNT) track conditions with the passage of certain vehicles. MxV Rail wanted to validate the theory under a range…