USE OF GEOTEXTILE IN

RAILWAY

NAME-PRASANJIT ROY
SCO. NO.-15-21-409
MTECH
GEOTECHNICHAL ENGINEERING
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
ENGINEERING,SILCHAR

SINTRODUCTION
Geo textile / Geo synthetics a Polymer based product of
Polypropylene, Polyester, PVC, Polyamide, Polyethylene.

Various types of Geo synthetics

Geo textiles
Geo grids
Geo nets
Geo cell
Geo membranes
Geo composites
Prefabricated Vertical Drains (Band Drains)

FUNCTIONS OF GEOSYNTHETICS

Geo-synthetics improve mechanical and

hydraulic behaviour of formations.

Basic functions of geo-synthetics:

Separation
Filtration
Drainage
Reinforcement
Barrier

 Basal Layer

Application In Railway

Steep Slope Construction ( Non Railway

Loading)

Embankment Slip repairs

Construction of high banks on soft soil

Erosion control of slope

Protection against rock falls

Track Bed Design

Reinforced Earth Embankment

Formation Rehabilitation

Application In Railway
(Open-line / Revenue line)
IR is upgrading infrastructure to meet
future demand of higher axle load traffic.
About 700 km track is on weak formation

cause of ballast penetration, higher

fuel consumption, passenger
discomfort, extra maintenance cost to
track and rolling stock.

 Rehabilitation / strengthening of such track can help

to eliminate speed restrictions.

Construction of RE Embankment

Band drains installed above

initial embankment

GEOSYNTHETICS APPLICATION IN RAILWAY

FORMATION

PROJECT :JAMMU-UDHAMPUR RAIL LINK.

At km 54/043 near bridge no 162 in Udhampur
yard, embankment constructed with 35 m height .

Due to space constraint and close proximity

of irrigation canal and Tawi river at the bottom
of hill, not possible to provide designed slope
of 2.5H : 1V.

RE slope was constructed with Uniaxial

Geogrid of slope of 1.5 H : 1V.

Geo-grid in IR

 Biaxial geogrid has been used in South Central

Railway, Northern Railway (Polypropylene strength
30 kN/m with aperture size of 61mm x 61mm) for
formation rehabilitation.
Field observations on SCR & NR indicate
improvement in overall track performance after the
application of geogrid.

Geo-grid + Geotextile on IR
NF Railway has tried use of Geo-grid (Polyester based
knitted & coated with strength of 40 kN/m &
aperture size of 25mmx25mm) in combination of
geo-textile and sand layer for formation
rehabilitation. The performance report of the trial
section is satisfactory.
For low density routes, geotextile along with sand
layer and brick soling has been used in Sitamarhi
Darbangha project, ECR.

CURRENT PROJECTS WITH GEO-SYNTHETICS

Issues Involved
Aperture size of Bi-axial geogrid
Junction strength
Material type

WORLD RAILWAY PRACTICE ON USE OF GEOSYNTHETICS

Geo-synthetics being used on many world railways.
American Railways
Use of geo-synthetics is on experimental basis and
specific to the nature of problem. Specification of
geo-synthetics is in draft stage.
Australian Railways
specify use of geotextile and Geogrid for
reconditioning/ rehabilitation of existing track (Draft
guideline).
UIC European Railways
UIC consist of different railways. Their loading
conditions are different for different railways and
based on the soil type.

CURRENT

Projects of GEO- SYNTHETICS

RAILWAY BUDGET SPEECH(2010-2011)LAY EMPHASIS ON

use of Jute-geo-textile is to enhanced for formation rehabilitation
under track.(Rehabilitation)
Project with IIT/Kharagpur for improving tensile strength of jutegeotextile with synthetic polymers.
Project with IIT/Delhi to study behavior of different Geosynthetics to be used in Railway Formationsvalidation through
Lab model, FEM model & site measurements.

Recent Documentation on Geo-synthetics in IR

Draft Guidelines for use of Geo-synthetics on Indian
Railways has been prepared by RDSO provisional
specifications of various geosynthetics items based
on relevant literature survey.
Extended field trials on geogrid are being done on IR
to validate & assess the specifications of geogrid.

FOR INDUSTRY
Geo-synthetics can find its use in railway application for
track bed stabilization,
track drainage, erosion control, interface protection,
construction over soft soil,steep slope construction,
mud pumping, etc.
There is need to develop cost effective easy to lay
geo-synthetics for application in construction of new
formations & rehabilitation of existing formations for
running of heavy axle loads and high speed trains.
IR look forward active participation of industry in this
sector.