Railway Transport Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change at High Latitudes: A Review of Experience from Canada, Sweden and China

Abstract

Impact of climate change on railway transport manifests in a variety of consequences, such as rail buckling, rail flooding, expansion of swing bridges, overheating of electrical equipment and its damage, bridge scour, failure of earthworks, ground settlement, pavement deterioration, damage to sea walls, coastal erosion of tracks and earthworks, and an increased number of railway accidents in general. Such impacts can cause considerable disruption of railway operations and lead to substantial financial expenses for repair of the railway infrastructure. Therefore, it is crucial to include adaptation strategies already in the design phase of the railway construction to ensure stability and integrity of the railway operations. This paper provides a literature review of adaptation considerations in Canada, China and Sweden and discusses climate change challenges that these countries face in their railway systems. In conclusion, the authors provide recommendations for adaptation approaches based on the reviewed international experience which can be useful for policymakers and managers of railway companies.

Study of the Impact of Climatic Changes in 1980–2021 on Railway Infrastructure in the Central and Western Russian Arctic Based on Advanced Electronic Atlas of Hydrometeorological Parameters (Version 2, 2023)

“…Soil temperature is the second important parameter for assessing the reliability of railway operation, especially in areas with permafrost [Kostianaia and Kostianoy, 2023;Kostianaia et al, 2021;Lebedev et al, 2023]. The specificity of permafrost soils is that they contain ice.…”

“…Soil temperature is an important parameter for assessments of the reliability of railway operations, especially in areas with permafrost soils [Kostianaia and Kostianoy, 2023;Kostianaia et al, 2021]. The permafrost soils contain ice, so when the soil temperature rises above 0 °C, the frozen soil thaws and its strength decreases sharply.…”

“…Heavy snowfalls, blizzards, snow drifts, and debris are among the types of natural disasters that significantly affect the performance and capacity of railways [Pashchenko and Potapenko, 2016]. Snow thickness is one of the parameters that is calculated in models and measured at weather stations, the influence of which on the functioning of railways is being studied in northern countries, for example, in Canada, Sweden and Russia [Kostianaia and Kostianoy, 2023].…”

Using Mixed Methods to Identify Evaluation Indicators for Green Railway Transportation Operations in China

“…Teng et al (2022) estimated carbon reductions achieved by trains throughout the implementation of clean energy sources compared to fossil fuels [29]. Kostianaia et al (2023) highlighted the significant impacts of climate change on railway design and construction [30]. Several research efforts have conducted powerful evaluation indicators to determine the sustainable development of railways.…”

Temporal Variability of Soil Temperature in the North-West Arctic Zone of Russia. Part I: Interannual Linear Trends Based on Thermometer Measurements and Reanalysis Data

“…Railway infrastructure in subarctic regions is operated in extremely difficult engineering-geological and landscape-climatic conditions, subject to continuous exposure to various external influences leading to deformations of the track and artificial structures [Kostianaia and Kostianoy, 2023;Kostianaia et al, 2021]. Examples include coastal abrasion, mudflows, floods, erosion, landslides and drifts, karst failures, suffusion subsidence, ice dams, thermokarst, thermal erosion and solifluction, rupture deformations, snow avalanches, etc.…”