Train induced seismic noise of accelerating and decelerating train sets

The studies reported in the literature on train induced vibrations, were mostly performed by locating the instruments in the transversal direction to the railway system. In this study, a horizontal array parallel to the alignment of the railroad was used to record the train induced vibrations. The test site was in close proximity to the Atakoy subway station in Istanbul where subway trains travel above ground. The particular location of the array provided an opportunity to monitor the train induced vibrations of both accelerating and decelerating train sets. The data acquired was processed using frequency domain techniques using in-house computer codes developed in MATLAB. Analyses revealed that the train induced seismic noise is in the range of 8 Hz and above. Moreover, the frequency content of the vibrations is velocity dependent.