Mass haul diagram

nounStandard termRailroad

A civil engineering graph used to plan earthworks along a proposed railway route.

A plotted curve showing the cumulative volume of excavated material minus the volume of fill material along the centerline of a track alignment. Engineers use it to balance cuts and fills, minimizing the distance dirt must be moved to establish the subgrade.

Heard on the job

The mass haul diagram shows we need to borrow fifty thousand yards of fill for the east approach.