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.

In this thesis, the influence of soil-structure interaction (SSI) of end-frame bridges for high-speed railways was studied. Impedance functions, representing the SSI, was calculated and analyzed. The impedance functions were applied to end-frame bridge models which were analyzed for use in HSR. A new high-speed railway link is currently being planned in Sweden by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). \textit{Ostl\"{a}nken} is planned to run between the cities of Stockholm and Link\"{o}ping with a maximum speed limit of 320km/h. As high-speed traffic induces high dynamic impact on bridges, dynamic analysis to ensure safety and passenger comfort is needed according to Eurocode. Thus, there is a demand of dynamically safe bridges that are also cost-effective. One cost-effective bridge is the soil integrated end-frame bridge, however, there are no design advice in Eurocode today on how to take SSI into consideration. The aim of the thesis has therefore been to investigate if the influence of SSI on end-frame bridges for HSR. This thesis was executed using the frequency domain approach to solve dynamic problems in finite element software. Furthermore, impedance functions have been obtained representing the SSI. Impedance functions take dynamic stiffness and dynamic damping into consideration where the damping consists of two parts: material damping and radiation damping due to energy dissipation in the form of elastic waves. To limit the model size, an absorbing region (AR) was used to mitigate waves originating from the source. The accuracy of impedance functions is dependent on several parameters and demands a great computational capacity to reach, mostly governed by the radiation condition. A parameter study of impedance functions was conducted, including parameters such as geometry, modulus of soil and detail levels. The impedance functions were then attached to bridge models on which trains modelled as moving point loads were applied. Envelopes of the acceleration and displacements have been presented and analyzed. Shear strain checks were made in order to verify the assumption of linear-elastic material behavior of the embankment. By using SSI in form of impedance functions attached to bridge models, numerical results show a great reduction of vibrations in models. The study suggests that a large end-frame, either long or high or both, may reduce acceleration as well as displacements. A stiffer embankment material may further reduce vibrations. Shear strain checks confirm that the assumption of linear-elastic soil behavior was true. / I det här exjobbet har påverkan av jord-struktur interaktion (soil-structure interaction - SSI) av ändskärmsbroar för höghastighetsbana blivit studerat. Impedansfunktioner som representerar SSI har beräknats och analyserats. Impdansfunktionerna har sedan applicerats på bromodeller och analyserats för höghastighetstrafik. Sveriges första höghastighetsbana håller just nu på att planeras av Trafikverket. Ostlänken kommer att bli den första delen och är planerad att gå från Stockholm till Linköping med en högsta hastighet av 320 km/h. Då höghastighetstrafik introducerar stor dynamisk på verkan på broar behövs dynamisk analys genomföras enligt Eurocode för att kunna säkerställa broarnas säkerhet och komfortkrav. Därför finns idag ett behov av dynamiskt säkra broar som också är kostnadseffektiva. En typ av kostnadseffektiv bro är den med jord integrerade ändskärmsbron. I dagens Eurocode finns dock inga konstruktionsråd vad gäller jord-struktur interaktion av ändskärmarna. Målet med detta examensarbete har därför varit att undersöka påverkan av SSI och besluta huruvida användandet av ändskärmsbron på höghastighetsbanor är legitimerat, eller om den ska undvikas. Det här examensarbetet har utgått från att lösa dynamiska problem i frekvensdomänen med hjälp av FEM. Impedansfunktioner som representerar jord-struktur interaktionen har tagits fram. Impedansfunktioner tar dels hänsyn till dynamisk styvhet och dels dynamisk dämpning. Den dynamiska dämpningen består av två delar; den första är materialdämpning och den andra är vågdämpning där energi dissiperar i vågform. För att begränsa FE modellens storlek har en absorbing region tillämpats för att absorbera vågorna vid randen. Impedansfunktionernas konvergens beror på flertalet parametrar och kräver en hög datakapacitet för att fås, mestadels beroende av radiatorvillkoret. En parameterstudie utfördes för att kunna analysera sensitiviteten hos impedansfunktionerna. Vidare applicerades dessa impedansfunktioner på skal- och balk-bromodeller på vilka HSLM laster påfördes. Skjuvtöjningskontroller gjordes för att verifiera att antagandet om linjärelastiskt materialbeteende var korrekt. Genom att ta hänsyn till SSI i form av impedansfunktioner tyder numeriska resultat på att vibrationer kan reduceras i hög grad. Envelopper visar att en stor ändskärm, antingen lång, hög eller bådadera, kan reducera accelerationer liksom förskjutningar. En styvare bank kan ytterligare reducera vibrationer.