Keywords: high-speed line, soft soil, dynamics, critical train speed, environmental vibration, transition zone, piled slab track.

This paper discusses the dynamical aspects that should be considered when a high-speed line is built on soft soil. Soft soils are containing layers with a shear wave speed that is lower than the train speed. This has consequences for the design of the embank¬ment, the radiation of vibrations to the surroundings, and even for piled slab track. The paper starts with an overview of the structure of the soil, and the measurement of the shear wave speed. Following on from this, the physical background and modelling of the phenomena are discussed from the engineering point of view.

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