ABSTRACT
The Canadian railway industry is a significant contributor to the Canadian economy, with safe and fluid operations being priorities for the industry. The presence of the Cordillera in Western Canada exposes railway corridors to numerous slope hazards with the potential to endanger railway personnel, operations, equipment and infrastructure. Railways in Canada have a long history of operation delays and infrastructure damage caused by slope instabilities. In this regard, slope hazards are a substantial aspect of the risk engineering approaches adopted by the railways crossing the Cordillera. This paper summarizes some engineering approaches applied to slope hazards along some sections in the Canadian Cordillera. This is illustrated with three landslide case studies with the potential to negatively affect railway operations. The risk engineering approaches adopted at each location are also presented, highlighting the importance of proactive investigation to increase the knowledge about the particular hazard with the aims of continuously enhancing the risk management strategies.
