Railroad track electrical impedance and adjacent track crosstalk modeling using the finite-element method of electromagnetic systems analysis

In a multiple-track railroad, the conductors form mutually-coupled ground return circuits. Accurate electrical circuit analysis, required for signaling, traction, and electromagnetic compatibility analysis, is difficult to achieve because of the variability in the equivalent electrical components from their material properties and environmental conditions. The paper describes an application of the finite element method to the electromagnetic analysis of rail track. After validation by benchmark tests using single rail, single- and three-rail track, the technique is used to predict crosstalk between adjacent tracks of a two-track electric railroad