**3. Results**

In the first part of the result section, we assess the influence of traffic on track maintenance. We start with a given situation in an artificially configurated network with a mixed traffic load of some 30,000 gross-tons per day (�10 mio. Gross-tons per year). We analyze the influence of changes in the traffic mix preliminary with focus on the different traffic segments, long-distance passenger traffic, regional passenger traffic, and freight transport. We also include by way of example the influence of different superstructure and substructure conditions (see more details in [1]).

In the second part, the influence of different vehicles is highlighted (see Section 3.2). This influence is much smaller at the network level of course, but might be significant in some parts, line segments or whenever entire vehicle fleets are replaced. We compare different vehicles at different speed levels and also powered and running axles. Estimating future track maintenance needs the assessment of future vehicles on the network. New vehicles might be track-friendly or track-harming and train operators focus on many other aspects than track maintenance consequences. Again, in these evaluations, we see the strong impact of the technical configuration of track, as different tracks indicate a higher or lower importance of the one or the other vehicle characteristics.
