The Kuibyshev Railway (KZD) is one of the largest steel highways in Russia, passing through the Penza, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Tambov, Chelyabinsk, Ryazan, Orenburg regions and the Republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan and Mordovia.
In the 1990s, on the instructions of KZD, Lengiprotrans carried out an engineering-geological survey of a section at 981–982 km of the railway and developed anti-landslide measures.
On the former Marshansko-Syzran railway, built in this area in 1873, almost a century of deformations was not observed. In 1992–1995, landslides formed within the boundaries of pickets 2–4 — streams in the upper part of the slope, but they did not reach the railroad. The survey found that the occurrence of local landslides in this area was facilitated by human activities that upset the balance of the slope. This mainly refers to the spontaneous expansion of gardens and orchards from the upper part of the slope towards the railroad tracks. As of 1995, the border of vegetable gardens at pickets 2–5 passed 20–60 m from the roadbed, and at pickets 7–9 it came close to the line. The construction of the water supply system led to a large increase in the irrigation of vegetable gardens, and the poor quality of its construction led to water leaks and additional watering of the slope.
Calculations made on the basis of the survey showed that the landslide area can be divided into two characteristic parts:
• pickets 2–5: it is necessary to build anti-deformation structures;
• pickets 7-14: anti-deformation structures are premature.
When developing the draft anti-landslide measures in the area of pickets 2–5, three options for slope stabilization were considered:
Option I. Gravitational slope relief;
II option. The device of buttresses;
III option. Installation of a pile anti-landslide structure.
The design of anti-deformation structures was developed according to the first option. On the entire landslide area, it is planned to fill the growing ravines with clay soil, build drainage ditches and other preventive measures. At the same time, the project provides recommendations for reducing the water cut of the slope and increasing its stability, which basically consist in the following:
• bring the water supply system to normal technical condition, eliminating leaks, ruptures and other malfunctions;
• to eliminate orchards and orchards on the slope up to the 75 m mark along the entire slope;
• track distance to conduct systematic observation of the condition of the slope. In the event of deformations, carry out additional work to increase the stability of the slope.
