The railway link between Goindwal Sahib and the nearest railway station, Khadoor Sahib, is a single-track corridor for the transportation of coal to the thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. Since the railway line controls the lifeline of the power plant, the rail link needed to be kept fully operational throughout the year. The link traverses through cuts with embankments on either side. While the slopes of these embankments were intrinsically stable, erosion along the slopes posed operational problems.
The system was designed based on several factors, such as available local soil and the gradient of the slope. StrataWeb® geocell style SW 660-75 was considered over the slopes over lengths of about 10 to 15 m. StrataWeb® sections were spread apart and held down into position with metallic spikes. Adjacent sections were secured together by cable ties. Once the sections were secured into position, local soil was manually filled into the cells.
The turnkey solution included concrete chutes down the slopes and perforated PVC pipes with filter media along the crest of the bund. The system of pipes and chutes ensured drainage of routed surface runoff water. Perforations in the cell walls of StrataWeb® are designed to dissipate any excess pore water pressures within the system.
