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The ballast quality influences the opposing behavior of renewal and maintenance costs, the sum of which makes up an important part of the life cycle costs of the railway superstructure. The optimal ballast quality results from the minimum of costs. Finding them requires the clarification of three basic questions: First, how is the quality of the ballast defined? Second: What influence does the ballast quality have on maintenance? Third, what is the relationship to life cycle costs? The present paper contains a method for answering these three questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Already since more than 130 years cardan shafts in the design of shafts with dual universal joints have repeatedly proven them-selves if the kinematic mounting principles have been respected. Other designs like constant velocity shafts and cardan shafts with double universal joints which enable greater diffraction angles have been used till now especially in road vehicles and construction machinery. Starting from the kinematic principles and the working loads a report is given in this paper on the research and development work to upgrade cardan shafts with dual double universal joints for application in drive units of diesel railcars and to achieve a railway-proof design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the insistence of the German Federal Department for Re-search and Technology and the Department of Transportation the German Federal Railway (later German Rail) - for quite a long time together with various other companies - supervised between 1982 and 2008 the development and the testing of the German magnetic levitation system. For this purpose the "Versuchs- und Planungsgesellschaft fur Magnetbahnsysteme" (MVP) was created. The mission contained operations of the test facilities at the Emsland, proving and evaluab'on of the various test rides, studies for fields of application for the sys-tem in Germany or other countries, and preparatory work for a national implementation of the system. The paper presents an historical overview of the activities of this company in the area of conflict between the priorities of Federal Departments, industry and the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2006 and 2011 the DB ProjektBau GmbH, Berlin, has modernized the railway line Berlin-Cottbus in two stages for a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Concrete sleepers with under sleeper pads from RAIL.ONE GmbH, Neumarkt, were largely used to achieve a good vibration protection, reduced ballast forces and longer life of the track. The under sleeper pads type SLN 1510 G DB were manufactured by Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH, München, from highly elasticated Sylodyn® polyurethane material. In the paper presented development and modernization of the line as well as the production process and the mounting of the sleepers with under sleeper pads are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]