Reinforced Earth® technology is ideally suited for support of track bed, bridge and trestle abutments, earth retention structures adjacent to right of ways, and for deflector walls to protect bridge piers from impact in the event of a derailment. Reinforced Earth’s high load-carrying capacity and resistance to both vibration and stray currents make them a preferred solution for use on light rail, freight train, and high speed railway projects. Structures designed for railways do not differ greatly from those designed for highway except for the inclusion of stringent design requirements specified by rail companies, including increasing the project’s service life and minimum factors of safety.
In addition to its primary advantages of flexibility, rapid construction and cost savings, a Reinforced Earth structure requires very little space; making it ideal when building walls parallel to a railway. Structures are not deeply founded and require no footings beyond the front face. As a result, excavations do not encroach upon rail line beds. A Reinforced Earth wall is built entirely from the backfill side, without scaffolding and without the necessity of any structure or equipment in front of the wall. The structure can be placed right up to a clearance line or to a service road without any serious disruption of rail service.
