Abstract:
The operation and maintenance of railway lines built in sandy deserts in Namibia are
significantly affected by the deposit of windblown sand on the railway lines. This has
necessitated the need to explore robust and economically justifiable technical solutions to
mitigate the sand problem on railway lines, to ensure reliability, availability, and safety
performance. The challenge for decision-makers has been a lack of context-developed
infrastructure design options and technical maintenance solutions to sustainably address
this challenge. The rationale of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of
different rail design and maintenance options to address the challenge of windblown sand
on railway lines passing through the Namib Desert, by applying the life cycle cost analysis
(LCCA) method, as an engineering economic tool. The study identified and reviewed
multiple designs and technical maintenance solutions using the LCCA method to
determine and recommend the most cost-effective and best-practice strategy to mitigate
the adverse consequences of sand deposits on railway lines. The study identified the
humped slab track as the most viable solution for railway sections where the dune belts do
not cross the railway line. On sections where strong sandstorms frequently cause the
accumulation of sand on the railway lines, the LCCA results found the Tubular Track (TT)
system as the most viable and cost-effective solution compared to other options.
