Case Study: Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation achieves safe cut-and-cover tunnel construction with Oasys Software

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation - Customer Case Study

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) faced a significant challenge constructing the East Approach cut-and-cover tunnels for a new rail line in Hong Kong. The excavation had to take place just 1.5 meters from a live railway and within one meter of a critical water main, making the control of ground movement absolutely essential to avoid catastrophic disruptions. To design the complex retaining walls and strutting sequence, the project's designer, Ove Arup, utilized the Oasys Software suite, including the Frew and Safe programs for geotechnical analysis.

Using Oasys software for the design and subsequent back-analysis, the project team was able to employ a highly conservative and robust approach. The instrumentation and monitoring data confirmed that the actual wall deflections were significantly less than predicted. This successful outcome proved the design's safety and allowed Oasys to be used to refine the understanding of in-situ ground stiffness, with results that aligned well with other Hong Kong projects. The solution enabled the KCRC to successfully complete the construction without impacting the adjacent railway or water supply.

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation