Engineering Geological Survey for Railway Extension in the Nile Valley

Abstract

Egyptian National Railway (ENR) called for a tender for doubling the railway line Edfu/ Aswan in the mountainous terrain. The engineering geological works were carried out by the authors for MÁVTI Co. Ltd. The study includes two parts El Serag and El Gaafera sections having a length of 6.5 km. One side of the railway track is bordered by steep sandstone cliffs of 30 - 40 m in height that forms the edge of rugged low relief topography often dissected by wades. The other side is on the right bank of the Nile where a narrow flood plain is cultivated and covered by dense vegetation. Several alternatives were studied for the second rail track including tunnel open cut, rock excavation, land bridge and gabion versions. ENR chose the rock excavation version. As a consequence the cliff wall geometry, joint system and rock formations were studied in details. By using these data the necessary rate of rock excavations, the schedule of works, machinery, safety conditions and excavation methods - blasting, swelling cement - were prepared. Finally swelling cement was used by Egyptians. No Hungarian expertise was used during the construction phase.