Strengthening of Existing Railway Bridges Using Corrugated Steel Plate Shells

Due to the rapid development of railway transportation at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many railway lines currently in service throughout Europe are more than one hundred years old. This also applies to railway bridge structures, which constitute an integral component of such routes. Railway bridges exhibit a wide range of structural forms, including steel, reinforced concrete, and masonry structures constructed of brick or stone. A different situation applies to masonry arch bridges. Despite their age, such structures generally demonstrate only a limited reduction in load-bearing capacity and may continue to serve their function following appropriate repair and rehabilitation works. Insufficient load capacity of masonry arch bridges can be enhanced through the application of strengthening techniques, such as relining using corrugated steel plate shells. The authors present examples of strengthening existing railway bridges using this method. The analyzed structures, due to the necessity of increasing train operating speeds along the railway line, were found to exhibit insufficient load-bearing capacity. The installation of corrugated steel plate shells on the intrados of the arch is an effective strengthening method, primarily due to the simplicity of execution and the ability to limit interruptions to railway traffic during construction works. Relining with corrugated steel plate shells has been successfully used on both railway and highway structures across Europe for several decades. Despite its widespread practical deployment, the volume of published academic research on performance and design optimization remains comparatively limited.