UK: Network Rail has awarded Mott MacDonald a contract to lead the overall technical direction of Stage 2 of the Embankment Traffic Loading applied research programme, which is investigating the response of embankment clay fill to increased traffic loads and the implications for trackbed impact assessment.
Stage 2 covers the field validation of analytical models developed during earlier stages of the long-running project, which Mott MacDonald has been delivering initially for the Rail Safety & Standards Board and now for Network Rail.
The response of embankment clay fill will be measured, and analytical models developed for assessment of potential damage owing to changes in train axleloads and vehicle frequencies.
The models will then be used as tools to support the development of business cases for renewal works where embankment damage is predicted.
‘The research project has the potential to bring significant cost savings to Network Rail by targeting more effective track maintenance’, said Mott MacDonald Project Manager Graham Taylor.
