Abstract: In this paper, a case study is conducted on laying of 115 prefabricated track slabs in Suzhou rail transit line 5, the advantages of trackless technology in the construction efficiency and accuracy and mechanization instead of labor of the laying of precast slab track beds are discussed based on the characteristics of track structure, finite element mechanical performance analysis, tooling configuration, and laying process. The analytical results show the following: (1) The design of the ballastless track is reasonable and the mechanical properties are good. (2) Compared with the traditional track laying mode, the trackless tooling process can reduce the dependence on tool rails and the damage to the segments, and can significantly improve the construction efficiency, organizational flexibility, and safety. (3) The prefabricated slab ballastless track technology eliminates the need for steel bar design in the traditional prefabricated slab track bed structure and speeds up the process of processing, transportation, and pouring of traditional selfcompacting concrete by innovating track structure types, simplifying track construction techniques, and developing complete sets of track laying equipment. It greatly reduces the difficulty of construction quality control, saves more than 10 processes, reduces the number of labor by about 70%, improves the filling layer perfusion efficiency by about 3 times, and improves the comprehensive construction progress by about 2 times.

Key words: urban rail transit, prefabricated slab track bed, trackless tooling, track laying technology