South Wales Railway Regeneration, Newport to Ebbw Vale

Requirement

The dry stone retaining wall contained a substantial amount of loose stones, as did the embankment, which were likely to fall once the track reopened. As part of the regeneration program a secure and cost effective method of stabilisation was designed and implemented.

Solution

To stabilise the embankment and prevent the stones falling on the track, 184 mechanical ground stainless steel anchors were driven 3m into the embankment, in 5 sections along the track and loaded to 30kN. The top and middle rows terminated with a plate to secure the geogrid netting and aid in stabilisation. The bottom row of anchors terminated in an eyenut through which a cable was pulled to prevent any stones which may come loose from rolling out onto the track.

Cable tensioning detail: The rigging screw was swaged to a short length of stainless steel cable which in turn was swaged to an eyenut with nylon thimbles to prevent bi-metallic contamination and reduce wear on the wire.