The document describes Sonneville International Corporation's Low Vibration Track (LVT) system for special trackwork like turnouts. LVT uses independent concrete blocks bearing on resilient pads encased in rubber boots to reduce vibration. For turnouts, LVT supports come in four standard sizes to accommodate any geometry. Assembly is similar to plain line LVT, with supports bearing on the base slab before final adjustment and concreting. LVT maintains vibration attenuation and stability for special trackwork areas at competitive prices due to its standardized components and efficient installation process.

1. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
© 2009
This document has copyright, which is owned by Sonneville International Corporation (SIC) and may not be reproduced, in
whole, in part, or in any form whatsoever without prior written authority from SIC. This document has been submitted on the
understanding that it will not be used in any way against the interest of SIC.
LOW VIBRATION TRACK (LVT)
Special trackwork
SONNEVILLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
8109 Tis Well Drive, Suite 513
Alexandria, VA 22306, USA
Tel. +1 703 619 1530
Fax +1 703 619 1534
E-mail mail@sonneville.com
www.sonneville.com

2. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 2 of 11
Introduction
Turnouts supported by independent concrete blocks bearing on resilient block pads encased in
rubber boots and embedded in concrete were installed in the Swiss Heitersberg tunnel in
1975 as shown below.
While these turnouts have performed satisfactorily over a period of more than 30 years and
supported in excess of 700 million gross tons of traffic with 22.5 metric ton axle loads and a
train speed up to 140 kilometres per hour, their development has been limited by the
complexity and cost associated with the large number of different concrete block, block pad
and rubber boot sizes involved.
Standardization
After the successful development of the Low Vibration Track (LVT) system for plain line
applications, Sonneville International Corporation has collaborated with turnout
manufacturers to extend the use of that system to special trackwork.
As a result of that collaboration, which focused on coordinating baseplate and LVT support
sizes as well as hold-down bolt and insert locations, it became possible to accommodate any
turnout or crossing geometry with only four special LVT support sizes.

3. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 3 of 11
Typical configuration
A typical LVT turnout configuration is shown below.

4. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 4 of 11
LVT support details
In addition to the type 2 plain line LVT supports, three longer types 3, 4 and 5 supports having
an overall length of up to 1,200 mm are equipped with baseplates while smaller non-
baseplated type 1 supports are used in single rail locations where space limitations do not
permit the installation of type 2 supports.
The fact that all concrete blocks have the same width opens the possibility for these blocks as
well as the corresponding block pads and rubber boots to be economically produced with
universal moulds in which the addition or removal of partitions permits to switch from one
length to another.

5. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 5 of 11
Once baseplates are installed on the shallower types 3, 4, and 5 concrete blocks, their height
becomes the same as that of the non-baseplated types 1 and 2 blocks, thus allowing for easy
assembly of the steel work while the LVT supports are bearing on the base slab prior to final
adjustment and concreting.
With their 153 mm deep rubber boots, the special trackwork LVT supports maintain the same
embedment depth as the plain line ones and confer the turnouts and crossings a substantially
greater stability than the system installed in the Heitersberg tunnel, where the rubber boots
were only 100 mm deep.
Main advantages
From an economic point of view, the aforementioned standardization has resulted in very
competitive component prices.
The fact that LVT turnouts can be fully assembled on the base slab below their final level and
used for work train traffic prior to final adjustment and concreting in the same manner as
plain line LVT, the absence of general reinforcement of the track concrete and the high speed
and low cost of installation inherent to the top-down construction method further contribute
to the economic attractiveness of LVT for special trackwork.
In terms of performance, special trackwork LVT maintains all the advantages of plain line LVT,
including effective vibration attenuation, exceptional lateral stability, highly accurate track
geometry, vertical adjustability, maintenance free operation and easy access to all components
in case of accidental damage.
While the block pads supporting the types 2 and 3 blocks are manufactured according to the
same specification as for the plain line LVT, a stiffer material is installed under the type 1
blocks and a softer one under the types 4 and 5 blocks, thus providing a consistent track
modulus throughout the entire system.
The independent LVT supports furthermore simplify surface drainage as illustrated on the
following pages.

6. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 6 of 11
Top-down installation illustrations
A turnout being adjusted prior to concreting is shown below.

7. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 7 of 11
Particular turnout locations
Various LVT turnout locations are shown below.

8. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 8 of 11

9. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 9 of 11

10. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 10 of 11

11. Doc No: DPD056.GN
Revision: March-09
Low Vibration Track (LVT) – Special trackwork Page 11 of 11