Investigation of Adequacy of Light Rail Systems Route in Erzurum Province in Terms of Ground Safety
ABSTRACT: Many developed and developing countries use rail systems in addition to road systems in public transportation.One of the most frequently used types of these rail systems is the light rail systems (LRS). The routes of the LRS aregenerally preferred on the existing road route. This situation creates some problems in terms of ground conditions.Since the rail system vehicle weights and passenger capacities are much more than road vehicles, the loads theyapply to the ground are also higher. However, deformations occurring on the road surface generally affect vehiclesand passengers in terms of comfort, while small deformations on rail systems can bring major problems such asaccidents and deaths. For this purpose, it is very important to investigate the ground structure of the rail systemroute and to analyze the suitability situation in order to prevent these problems. In this study, the suitability of theLRS route planned to be built in the city center of Erzurum in terms of physical properties of soil was analyzed. Inthe analysis, it was suggested that some locations were problematic in the results obtained by using the basic rotary drilling, multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW), and microtremor methods and ground improvement orrevision of the route was suggested for these points. Where the ground condition is not suitable, an alternative routehas been created by taking passenger`s demand in to consideration.