A review on the role of geosynthetics in preventing the excessive settlement and mud pumping of ballasted railway track

Railways are the primary mode of public transport around the world and play a pivoting role in the day-to-day transportation needs of commuters. Hence, an improved railway track infrastructure demands high-quality control. Excessive settlement in rail tracks is a common failure phenomenon incurring an extra maintenance cost. Installation of railway tracks on soft grounds is a daunting task for any railway engineer. Inefficient drainage results in storage of impregnated water beneath the railway tracks. Consequently, under repeated wagon loading results in a phenomenon known as mud pumping. The present paper mainly reviews the role of geosynthetics to mitigate the mud pumping, thereby controlling the excessive settlement and degradation of the track geometry.