Research on the effect of rail cant on the dynamic performance and wear characteristics of subway vehicles

•Long-term tracking tests and analysis are conducted on the rail cant and wheel-rail profile of a subway line.•A precise subway multi-body dynamics model is constructed based on measured data of the vehicle and track.•The study on rail cant introduces wheel-rail profiles with different wear stages and considers the wheel-rail non-Hertzian contact.•The influence of wheel-rail wear profile coupled with rail cant on vehicle dynamics performance and wheel wear is studied.•A reasonable rail cant configuration is proposed by considering both vehicle dynamics performance and wheel wear.