For the smooth operation of the railway infrastructure, it is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the roadbed embankment and engineering structures (pipe-culverts, bridges and overpasses), which corresponds to the long-term development programme of the open joint-stock company «Russian Railways» approved by the Government of the Russian Federation dated 19 March 2019 N 466-R. In the interface zones of nonhomogenous structures, namely roadbed embankments and engineering structures, ground distortion (soil settlement) occur, which leads to a change in the dynamic impact on engineering structures (pipe-culverts, bridges and overpasses) and, as a consequence, to their accelerated damage.
The timeliness of the topic is determined by the target programmes for railway transport infrastructure optimisation, ensuring uninterrupted operation, reliability of engineering structures and roadbed. When designing engineering structures, a number of solutions are used to ensure reliable functioning of the roadbed — engineering structure system (pipe-culvert, bridge substructure, tunnel, laying of communications). The problem is that their application is ineffective without scientific and regulatory support and is limited by the lack of effective solutions to ensure the rigidity of the roadbed structure on the approaches to the engineering structure. In this connection, new constructive and technical solutions development for the interface of the roadbed — engineering structure system is an urgent task.
The article considers railway transportations as a production process, the smooth functioning of which is ensured by smooth conjugation of approach embankments with engineering structures (bridges, pipe-culverts, underground communications). In the interface zone there are soil settlements, damage to the roadbed integrity, deformations leading to the appearance of additional dynamic forces and the emergence of irregularities and even destruction of the road pavement (on motorways), as well as damage to the engineering structures themselves.