On track: the future for rail infrastructure systems

Rail travel in the UK has seen a renaissance over the past 15 years. However, realising its future potential will require increased capacity and customer satisfaction while reducing cost and environmental impacts. Following a review of recent UK railway history, this paper outlines the challenges facing the rail system in meeting its future roles and aspirations. It describes recent advances in understanding the behaviour of track, ballast and earthworks through field monitoring, laboratory testing and numerical simulations, and suggests ways in which performance might be improved.