Impact of climate change on railway operation and maintenance in Sweden: A State-of-the-art review

Abstract

Increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather conditions caused by climate change can have a negative impact on rail service performance and also increases total ownership costs. Research has shown that adverse weather conditions are responsible for 5 to 10 % of total failures and 60 % of delays on the railway infrastructure in Sweden. The impact of short-term and long-term effects of climate change and extreme weather events depends on the design characteristics of the railway assets, geographical location, operational profile, maturity of the climate adaptation, etc. These extreme events will have major consequences such as traffic disruption, accidents, and higher maintenance costs during the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase. Therefore, a detailed assessment of the effects of climate change on the O&M phase requires a more comprehensive review of the previous studies reported from different parts of the world. The paper provides a state-of-the-art review of the effects of extreme weather events and their impacts on the operation and maintenance of railway infrastructure. This paper also provides a list of vulnerable railway assets that can have an impact due to extreme weather events.

Weather and Train Disruptions in Sweden, 2011–2019

“…In some regions, this will lead to greater snowfall and depths. In other regions, the increasing temperatures will mean that even in the winter, more of the precipitation will fall as rain rather than snow, and thus lead to lower levels of snow depth and shorter periods of snow cover [6]. On balance, this is likely to lead to less railway disruptions due to snow, but there will be regional variations.…”

“…The mean annual temperature in Sweden will rise, with the highest rises expected to occur during the winter months [6]. We would thus expect the severe disruptions associated with cold temperatures to decrease.…”

“…Future wind climate is challenging to estimate. Thaduri et al [6] points towards an increase in storms and storm intensity due to increased sea surface temperatures with more water vapour. However, ocean warming may also lead to less low-pressure systems originating in the northern hemisphere.…”

“…Low temperatures can lead to problems such as cracking of railway tracks, slippery track conditions, or freezing of overhead lines and signalling equipment; and in contrast, high temperatures can cause problems such as track buckling, or overheating of signalling equipment [4], [5]. Strong winds can also lead to disruptions due to fallen trees blocking tracks, damage to electrical equipment, and decreased train wagon stability [6], [7].…”

Impact of Climate Disasters on Railway Infrastructure: Case Study of Northeast India

“…Due to relatively young terrain, weak geologic foundation, and active tectonics, this region is susceptible to landslide events, which contains nearly one fifth of India's landslide-prone zones and has further exacerbated https://doi.org/10.56578/atg020104 because of numerous development activities [18][19][20]. Indian Railways has adopted various measures to alleviate the impact of climate disasters on railway infrastructure [21], including construction of retaining walls, erection of bridges with increased spans, and utilization of geo-synthetic materials for slope stabilization purposes [22][23][24]. Moreover, Indian Railways has been investing in cutting-edge technologies, such as remote sensing and geographic information systems, to monitor and predict natural disasters, thus taking proactive steps to prevent or mitigate any harm to railway infrastructure.…”