Railway embankment stability: a review and analysis of a historic embankment on the Elham Valley Railway Line, Kent

The purpose of the project was to gain a thorough understanding of embankment stability and the factors affecting it. Using research into the history of Britain’s railways, methods of construction and examples of remedial methods, the problems faced by today’s engineers can be identified. A full analysis of the Elham Valley Railway Line in Kent shows how stable one historic embankment is. \n \nThe surveying of the embankment profile was completed together with soil testing in order to generate a computer analysis of its stability. The embankment was tested for drained and un-drained conditions representing both the consolidated state, and post construction states. \n \nThe analysis showed that the embankments are in a very stable state. A hypothetical situation was created where the embankment height was increased until the embankment was at failure point. Remedial analysis conducted increased the factor of safety to the recommended levels. \n \nFurther work is recommended for this project, such as the composition of the embankment and the different analysis methods used between the drained and un-drained states. However, it is a good basis for future work such as analysis into how vegetation affects the stability of embankments of this type.