To cut transport carbon dioxide emissions by 70% by the year of 2030, the Swedish government is investing in new railway infrastructure, hoping to stem the emissions caused by the transport sector. It is planned to stretch between Stockholm–Malmö and Stockholm–Gothenburg. The first section Ostlänken, is located between Järna in Södertälje municipality (Stockholm) and Linköping. It will be a 160 kilometers long railway with double track in ballast. All railways in Sweden are built with ballast, but internationally, ballast–free methods, so called slab tracks, are increasing in popularity. This master thesis aims to compare ballast tracks with a general model of slab tracks, in regard to carbon dioxide emissions. The study also aims to evaluate how several criteria can be compared to each other as non-monetary, in an evaluation model. Three criterions will be considered: availability, economic costs and carbon dioxide emissions. A case study of Ostlänken was used as a methodological framework. Further, a literature review has been implemented as well as several interviews. Calculations of carbon dioxide emissions from the two tracks respectively were performed through a life cycle analysis (LCA). Through a multicriteria analyse, the three criteria were evaluated in respect of each other. All calculations were performed in Excel. The result that could be drawn from the study, was that from a carbon dioxide point of view, ballast tracks have a much greater need for maintenance to preserve the track geometry. Slab track on the other hand, generate higher emissions in the start of the life cycle, due to its large amount of concrete and steel. Multicriteria analysis were shown to be a helpful tool when making decisions in complex systems. The multicriteria analysis could benefit from including other case specific factors as well. This might however also lead to a far too complex model, from which fewer conclusions can be drawn.

The increased use of continuously welded rails in the railway systems makes it necessary to increase the control of the rail stresses to avoid instability and damages of the rails. Large stresses are especially prone to appear at discontinuities in the railway systems, such as bridges, due to the interaction between the track and the bridge. The interaction leads to increased horizontal forces in the rails due to the changed stiffness between the embankment and the bridge, temperature variations, bending of the bridge structure because of vertical traffic loads and braking and traction forces. If the compressive rail stresses become too high it is necessary to use costly and maintenance-requiring devices such as rail expansion joints and other rail expansion devices. These devices increase the railway systems life cycle cost and should if possible be avoided. The use of non-ballasted track on high-speed railways, tramways and subways, has increased since this kind of track requires less maintenance and according to some investigations have a lower life cycle cost compared to ballasted track. The non-ballasted track is usually made of a track slab to which the rails are connected through fastenings. The track slab is connected to the bridge structure and held in place by shear keys. When non-ballasted tracks are used in populated areas it is sometimes necessary to introduce some vibration and noise damping solution. One of the possible solutions is to introduce a floating slab mat (elastic mat) under the track slab on the bridge. The influence of the floating slab mats properties on the rail stresses is investigated in this degree project. The investigation was performed through a numerical modelling of two railway bridges using the finite element software SOFiSTiK. The results from the investigation showed that there was a small reduction of the compressive rail stresses by approximately 3 – 7% (depending on the stiffness of the elastic support, load positions and the properties of the mat) when a mat was installed under the track slab. The results from the investigation also showed that there was a small reduction (up to approximately 1 %) of the compressive stresses in the rail when the thickness of the mat was increased, and the stiffness of the mat was reduced. This reduction of the compressive stresses is assumed to be caused by the mat being mounted on the sides of the shear keys. The lower stiffness of the mat allows the track slab and the bridge deck to move more freely parallel to each other in the horizontal direction. This leads to a decrease of the stresses in the rail due to a lower interaction between the track and the bridge. It was also shown that the rail stresses increased if the friction between the slab mat and the bridge deck was considered. This is because of an increase of the interaction between the track and the bridge due to the mats horizontal stiffness. / Den ökade användningen av kontinuerligt svetsade räler i järnvägsnäten i världen leder till en ökad kontroll av rälsspänningarna för att undvika instabilitet och skador på rälsen. Särskilt vid en diskontinuit i järnvägssystemet, som vid broar, kan stora tillskottspänningar i rälsen uppstå till följd av interaktionen mellan spår och bro. Interaktion leder till ökade horisontella krafter som verkar på rälsen och beror på den förändrade styvheten mellan järnvägsbank och bro, temperaturvariationer, nedböjning av bron på grund av vertikala trafiklaster samt broms- och accelerationskrafter. Om spänningarna i rälsen blir för stora behöver kostsamma och underhållskrävande dilatationsfogar införas. Dessa dilatationsfogar ökar järnvägssystemets livscykelkostnad och är något som ska undvikas att införas i den mån det är möjligt. Användningen av ballastfritt spår för höghastighetsjärnvägar, spårvägar och tunnelbanor ökar på grund av att dessa spår kräver mindre underhåll och har enligt vissa undersökningar en lägre livscykelkostnad i jämförelse med ballasterat spår. Ballastfritt spår består oftast av en betongplatta till vilken rälsen är kopplad genom befästningar. Plattan är i sin tur kopplad till underbyggnaden genom skjuvförbindare som håller plattan på plats. När ballastfritt spår används i bebodda områden är det ibland nödvändigt att ta till vibrations- och ljuddämpande åtgärder. En åtgärd som används på brokonstruktioner för att minska vibrationer och ljudföroreningar är att montera en vibrationsdämpande matta, som är tillverkad av ett elastiskt material, mellan betongplattan och broöverbyggnaden. I detta examensarbetet undersöks hur den vibrationsdämpande mattans egenskaper påverkar rälsspänningarna. Resultaten från undersökningen visar att spänningarna i rälsen minskar med cirka 3–7 % (beroende på det elastiska stödets styvhet, lastpositioner och mattans egenskaper) när en elastisk matta installeras under spårplattan i jämförelse med när ingen matta används. När mattans tjocklek ökar och när styvheten sänks minskar spänningarna med cirka 1 % i jämförelse mellan den tjockaste och tunnaste mattan. Denna minskning av spänningarna antas bero på att den vibrationsdämpande mattan som är monterad på sidan av skjuvförbindarna ger en möjlighet för spåret och bron att förskjutas fritt parallellt varandra innan en interaktion mellan spår och bro uppstår. Det visade sig även att om friktionen mellan mattan och broöverbyggnaden medräknas ökar spänningarna i rälsen. Detta beror på att mattan då skapar en större interaktion mellan spåret och bron gentemot fallet då mattans horisontella styvhet inte beaktas.