A SYSTEMATIC AND COST-EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO INSPECTING, PRIORITISING AND UPGRADING LONDON UNDERGROUND'S EARTH STRUCTURES

London Underground (LUL) is responsible for 239 km of earth structures in its rail network. Many have a long history of instability and movement. Slope failures present both a safety risk to the travelling customer and considerable disruption to railway operations whilst emergency repairs are undertaken. Earth structure deformation, particularly on embankments has a major detrimental effect on track quality, maintenance requirements and the imposition of speed restrictions. This paper describes the benefits of the engineering-led asset management approach adopted by LUL to increase the stability of its earth structures, remove the risk of slope failures affecting railway operations and the travelling public, and reduce the renewal and maintenance costs. LUL's vision is to improve the condition of all of its infrastructure to an extent where it is "invisible" to its customers. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E102464.