Dynamic Performance of High-Speed Railway Transition Curves during Vehicle Movement

After introducing the theories and geometric features of four familiar transition curves (cubic parabola (CP), fifth degree parabola (FDP), half-wave-length sinusoidal (HS) and sinusoidal (SI)), these curves are compared under identical conditions of length, offset and the maximum of the first derivative of curvature. In terms of the roll acceleration (RA) and the lateral change of acceleration (LCA), the SI curve, in theory, is superior to other transition curves.