Impact of the train-track-bridge system characteristics in the runnability of high-speed trains against crosswinds - Part II: Riding comfort

Passenger riding comfort is a major concern in railways, particularly in high-speed (HS) networks due its strict requirements. Both the track and vehicle conditions may influence the comfort experienced by the passengers, but other external factors may also do it. Among these factors, the effects caused by crosswinds stand out due to the high levels of vibrations that may cause to the vehicle. However, almost no studies in this regard can be found in the literature, since most of the works do not consider external loads and do not analyse this phenomenon on bridges. Thus, the present work aims to fill this gap, by evaluating the passenger comfort on bridges subjected to crosswinds with different lateral structural behaviours and track conditions. Based on the vehicle's accelerations computed with an in-house dynamic train-track-bridge interaction tool, the Mean and Continuous comfort indexes defined by the European norm EN 12299, as well as the Sperling index, have been assessed for distinct scenarios. The bridge's lateral behaviour shows a negligible effect in the riding comfort, as well as the track quality since the wind load is much more determinant for the carbody vibrations than the track irregularities considered in this work.