Rail dampers work by increasing the attenuation with distance of vibration transmitted along the rail, a quantity known as the track decay rate. Currently, there are no standardized procedures to measure their effectiveness in reducing rolling noise without the need for in-track installation and time-consuming tests. This paper describes and evaluates experimental procedures for assessing rail dampers. Instead of field measurements it is proposed to use laboratory measurements of vertical and lateral decay rates on a free rail equipped with dampers. These are combined with in situ measurements on an undamped track. The decay rates of a damped track can be approximated by adding the results of the damped free rail to those of the undamped track.
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