Propagation constants of railway tracks as a periodic structure

This short communication serves two purposes: (1) to demonstrate the usefulness of a previously derived, much more general, propagation constant equation by producing propagation constant curves for two one-dimensional periodic structures, an infinitely long Euler beam on simple supports and a conventional ballasted railway track; and (2) to present a detailed discussion on the propagation and resonance properties of the track, which may be helpful to understand the track dynamics and useful in modelling wheel/rail interaction problems.