Mitigation Measures for Wind Erosion and Sand Deposition in Desert Railways: A Geospatial Analysis of Sand Accumulation Risk

Railway transportation is a critical component of global infrastructure which plays a significant role in ensuring the safe movement of goods and people. In desert environments, the effectiveness of railway transportation heavily relies on addressing key challenges such as shifting sand, migrating dunes, wind erosion, and sand deposition, which can disrupt operations and increase maintenance costs. To mitigate the significant threats posed by windblown sand to railway safety along the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed Railway, the technique of double rows of sand fences constructed from concrete columns and plates has been applied to the windward side of the railway. These structures are designed to reduce wind speed and capture moving sand, protecting the rail infrastructure. These fences reduce wind velocity on their leeward sides by 78% and 87% for the first and second rows, respectively. Additionally, due to the large openings in the fences, the sand-trapping efficiencies are 72% for the first row and 63% for the second. The effective shelter distance of the fence is ten times its height. However, advanced technologies like geographic information systems (GIS), geothermal energy solutions, and sustainable infrastructure practices are increasingly integrated into railway transportation to mitigate these risks and enhance safety and reliability. For the Etihad Railway, GIS techniques were utilized to identify areas vulnerable to sand accumulation and validate the substantial benefits of sand fences. Notably, a 40% reduction in wind speed and a significant 74% decrease in sand flux were observed post-installation, underscoring the effectiveness of these structures in disrupting sand mobility. Specifically, wind speed after fence installation was reduced by 40%. The threshold velocity for sand transport was approximately 0.206 m/s. The sand flux before fence installation was 19.95 kg/m 2 /s, reduced to 5.175 kg/m 2 /s after fence installation, marking a 74% reduction. The sand deposition behind the sand fence over a 500 m section was around 7387.5 kg/s. This demonstrates the significant role that sand fences play in reducing wind-driven sand transport, thus protecting the Etihad Railway from sand accumulation, and maintaining operational safety.