Dover Railway

A section of the Folkestone to Dover Railway was found to have serious structural problems. HOP were called upon to undertake an investigation of the incident to establish what happened.

The twin tracks had become twisted resulting in closure of the line. The track in this area is typically supported by a retaining wall, which also forms as a coast protection structure. Large cracking and voiding to the wall was recorded, which resulted in the wall being particularly vulnerable to fast and progressive deterioration due to exposure to the sea.

Our work included:

• site visits and field work;
• an appraisal of beach morphology and survey records;
• retrospective analysis and exploration of possible failure modes;
• extensive review of the maintenance history;
• reporting and presenting our findings to interested parties.