Safety assessment of railway embankments during floods

In this study, the safety of a typical railway embankment built on a large plain subject to a 200-year return period flood investigated with seepage and slope stability analyses. To this end, seepage analyses performed with finite element method. Stability analysis conducted for upstream and downstream slopes using limit equilibrium method. According to the results, the railway embankment found to be safe against seepage during the flood. The embankment also found to be safe against sliding of its slopes when the railway line was not in operation. However, the operation of the railway line during the flood endangered the safety of the stability of the slopes.