Geobrugg protects railway line in Valais
Romanshorn TG – Geobrugg barriers prevented rockfall below the village of Embd in Valais from causing great destruction. The important railway line was also protected from damage.
Each day, around 100 trains travel on the railway line below the village of Embd, as was reported in a press release from Geobrugg. Persistent rainfall caused a rock mass of about 300 m3 to 400 m3 to come loose and fall down below the village. Fortunately, Geobrugg’s RXE-1000 barriers were installed here about two years ago to protect the area.
The company from the St.GallenBodenseeArea developed the rockfall protection barriers in the RXE range specifically for dealing with large blocks. The models range from RXE-500 to RXE-8000, with the latter being approved for an energy absorption capacity of up to 8,000 kJ, equating to a weight of 20 tonnes travelling at a velocity of over 100 km/h.
These installed RXE-1000 barriers stopped at least 40 blocks, which were up to 2 m3 in size. Experts found that their protection effect for various buildings, roads and the train route was “good”.