Channel Tunnel Rail Link section 1: ground engineering

Some of the most innovative engineering design on the first section of the £5·2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link related to groundworks—ranging from dynamic analysis of trackbeds and pile slabs to dry soil mixing techniques and 3D groundwater modelling. This paper provides a brief overview of the geotechnical engineering work on section 1 and explains how the need to reduce design risk to a minimum resulted in valuable new industry guidance.