Effects of geosynthetic reinforcement on performance of ballasted rail track

The 'field' performance of different geosynthetics to reinforce ballasted rail tracks was investigated. An extensive monitoring program was undertaken on fully instrumented track sections constructed near Singleton, New South Wales. Four types of geosynthetics were installed at the ballast-subballast interface of track sections located on subgrades with three distinctly different values of stiffness. It was found that geogrids could decrease vertical settlements of the ballast layer with obvious benefits of improved track stability and decreased maintenance cost. It was also found that the effectiveness of reinforcing geogrids increased when the subgrade stiffness decreased. Keywords: Geosynthetic, Reinforcement, Rail track, Ballast.