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Construction work on the new route for the proprietary railway system, which transports lignite from the Hambach opencast mine in Germany to nearby power plants, commenced in 2008 and the relocation of the railway necessitated the creation of cutting slopes up to a depth of 18 m in tertiary clays subjected to tectonic stress. The need to install complex stabilisation elements (drill-foundation piles, concrete supporting discs and drainage/load layer of gravel sand) in some sections resulted principally from the very steep slope inclination of 1:1.5 that was set in the formal public planning procedure. Completion of the cutting was achieved in 2010/2011 and, to date, the slopes have shown no sign of deformations or failure., Construction work on the new route for the proprietary railway system, which transports lignite from the Hambach opencast mine in Germany to nearby power plants, commenced in 2008 and the relocation of the railway necessitated the creation of cutting slopes up to a depth of 18 m in tertiary clays subjected to tectonic stress. The need to install complex stabilisation elements (drill-foundation piles, concrete supporting discs and drainage/load layer of gravel sand) in some sections resulted principally from the very steep slope inclination of 1:1.5 that was set in the formal public planning procedure. Completion of the cutting was achieved in 2010/2011 and, to date, the slopes have shown no sign of deformations or failure.