Juliet Mian, Arup fellow and infrastructure resilience expert looks at the impact of climate change on the rail network.
The impact of climate change, such as extreme heat and flooding, is increasingly evident across infrastructure value chains globally. The consequences of these changes are especially felt by our ageing transport assets, such as those in the rail sector.
Stuck in a cycle of damage and restoration, it’s understood that rail infrastructure repairs currently cost the global economy approximately $15 billion per year. We know that this figure is set to increase unless we collectively take action to enhance the resilience of rail assets, combining efforts to ensure networks are effective, reliable and safe.
Underpinning the future of sustainable travel, the global need for rail resilience requires a whole systems approach that considers not just the physical assets, but the organisational and operational contexts. These considerations can be pillared by three universal drivers for change and associated actions, as outlined in Arup’s recently published Rail Resilience Framework.
Economic criticality
As the most electrified transport mode available, it’s crucial to understand rail’s potential to deliver more equitable and connected futures for more people around the world. Although one of the oldest means to travel, rail’s popularity has grown by 91% in the last three decades, with systems like New York City’s subway being used by 4.3 million people per day.
The year-on-year cost of maintenance and repair has to be considered in relation to increased extreme weather-related damage including heatwaves, fires, droughts, flooding and landslides. In the UK, we have seen major storms sweep away parts of our coastal railway line in Dawlish, costing the local economy £1.2 billion (US$1.45 billion) and millions of pounds in repairs.
We are no longer living in a world or time where disruptions and costs resulting from climate change can be avoided, but proactive adaptation can enable economic, social and environmental benefits. This can and must be achieved by engaging a broad range of stakeholders and adopting advanced modelling tools to map resilience plans at critical network locations for strategic upgrade investment.
Integrating safety, reliability and technology
Accurately comparing the different hazards facing different assets is increasingly difficult. Demonstrating a whole systems approach, qualitative and quantitative criticality assessments need to be prioritised to deliver risk-assessed responses at moments of disruption and crisis.
Understanding and analysing vulnerabilities has never been more important as we witness parallels across global infrastructure facing the impact of similar conditions, namely extreme weather. For transport networks to be truly equitable, they must be safe and dependable.
Technology is a rapidly evolving solution to many of the complex challenges our assets and operations are facing. For example, by embedding sensors in new infrastructure we can gather related data to inform modelling and any required immediate action or future upgrade. As a result, passenger communications can be made more efficient, accurate and reliable, improving overall safety.
Learnings can be taken from elsewhere in the transport sector, enabling cross-industry collaboration. For example, the use of intelligent mobility and Cloud-based systems were integrated during the design stage of the Queensferry Crossing in Scotland, informing operators of traffic mobility and vehicle emissions, as well as the bridge’s structural health. This enables the infrastructure to demonstrate its resilience and long-term durability to asset owners and operators alike.