Talegaon & Khadki Pune Railway Project

Ocean Global supplied two geosynthetics for railway track work at Talegaon and Khadki on the Pune railway: 27600 Sqm of Ocean Geotextile PP-30 and 27740 Sqm of Ocean Uniaxial Geogrid-30Kn. Together they were used to stabilise the track formation, filter the subgrade soil, improve drainage and reinforce the embankments.

(I) Product: Ocean Geotextile PP-30
Quantity: 27600 Sqm

(II) Product: Ocean Uniaxial Geogrid-30Kn
Quantity: 27740 Sqm

Location: Talegaon and Khadki, Pune Railway

Background

Pune has grown fast as a centre for IT and education, drawing engineers and students from across Maharashtra. Road traffic has worsened, and the load on the railways has grown with it. Talegaon and Khadki both lie on the busy Pune–Lonavala section, which carries suburban, long-distance and freight trains.

Problem

Railway track sits on layers of ballast and sub-ballast. These layers spread the load of passing trains onto the formation soil, drain rainwater away from the track and keep the rails in alignment.

On the Talegaon and Khadki stretches, constant and rising traffic had put the ballast and sub-ballast under heavy stress. Over time the layers degraded and deformed, causing problems such as track misalignment. Maintaining the track became expensive, and speed restrictions were imposed on several trains.

A common cause of this kind of deterioration is mud pumping: under repeated train loads and wet conditions, fine formation soil is forced up into the ballast. Fouled ballast drains poorly and loses its ability to hold the track geometry, so it needs frequent tamping and eventually cleaning or replacement.

Solution

Geotextiles and geogrids were introduced along these tracks for stability, filtration of the subgrade soil and drainage, along with reinforcement of the embankment slopes.

• Ocean Geotextile PP-30 acts as a separator and filter between the formation soil and the ballast or blanket layer. It lets water drain out of the formation while stopping fine soil from migrating up into the ballast.
• Ocean Uniaxial Geogrid-30Kn has its strength in one main direction, which makes it suited to reinforcing embankments and steep slopes, where it is laid in layers within the compacted fill to resist the soil’s tendency to slide outward. This provides the soil reinforcement and helps control erosion along the railway embankments.

Between them, the geotextile and geogrid provide the functions of separation, filtration, reinforcement, protection and drainage. Geosynthetics for Indian Railways track formation are specified through RDSO guidelines.

Using Ocean Global Geotextile PP-30 and Ocean Uniaxial Geogrid-30Kn addressed the safety and stability problems on the Talegaon and Khadki tracks cost-effectively, with durable materials that reduce the need for repeated track maintenance. See also the Pune–Miraj doubling project, where Ocean geotextile and geogrid were used on a similar railway application.