Patent ID: 7896255

Claim:
A track superstructure for a railway on a subgrade inclined transversely to a length of the track superstructure, the track superstructure comprising: a ballast structure of individual ballast stones, and sleepers embedded in the ballast structure, wherein rails may be mounted on the sleepers, the ballast structure comprising load dissipation regions beneath the sleepers, said regions receiving loads acting vertically on the ballast structure via said sleepers when a train rides on the rails and transferring these loads to the subgrade below the ballast structure, wherein said load dissipation regions extend from beneath the sleepers into the ballast structure and toward the subgrade, the load dissipation regions being positioned between a bottom surface of the sleepers and the subgrade, the load dissipation regions laterally widen with increasing depth toward the subgrade, and wherein all regions of the ballast structure located adjacent a top surface of the load dissipation regions and between the sleepers are outside of the load dissipation regions, and only voids between the ballast stones within the load dissipation regions of the ballast structure are filled with a foam material for fixing the ballast stones in a stable position.