Business profile
Effect of the weather T
his country’s ageing transport infrastructure must be maintained and operated in the context of the global economic crisis, which presents the most challenging financial position that the UK has experienced in decades; while at the same time it is subjected to more frequent incidents of extreme weather as a result of the changing climate. These challenges are real and should be prioritised. With them comes the opportunity to make substantive improvements to the resilience of the networks and to shape strategy and policy for long-term planning through decisive, well-informed investment, decision making and interventions that achieve value for money.
Regarding earthworks, weather has a key influence on stability and the consequences of instability are extremely costly. Recently, TRL has been working with Network Rail regarding the impact of periods of prolonged drought on its geotechnical assets. This research pulls together expertise in engineering, geology, whole life costing, climate projections and asset management to provide information and tools to help transport operators make difficult decisions about the future maintenance and operation of the UK transport system.
The extremely low rainfall levels experienced in the UK in 2010/11 adversely impacted on railway earthworks, particularly on the Anglia Route, located in the driest part of the country. Desiccation of expansive soils such as London clay and shrinkage of peat, led to embankment movement and problems of track geometry, bringing travel disruption and increased maintenance costs.
Climate projections indicate that periods of drought are likely to increase in frequency and duration, with the south east of England the worst affected. This has significant implications for large sections of the Anglia Route which are located on moisture susceptible soils. Network Rail faces the decision of whether to continue to cope with increasing disruption and maintenance costs or invest in preventive action to increase stability of the earthworks. TRL is developing a cost benefit
April 2013 Page 195
model to identify if the current reactive response, for example, tamping affected sections, is the most cost-effective solution for the future, or if increasing incidents of drought mean that preventive adaptation measures are the best long term option. Analysis was carried out on historic data provided by Network Rail for three study sites: correlating the delay associated with earthwork failure, and the amount of online track maintenance carried out, to periods of low soil moisture. These correlations were combined with climate projections (UKCP09) and used to estimate future delay and maintenance costs, which were compared with the cost of actions to increase earthwork stability, such as piling.
The UK is experiencing a unique set of climatic and economic conditions that pose huge challenges for the railway industry. Sarah Reeves from TRL discusses how to protect the network’s assets and safeguard their future
The Incremental Economic Indicator, a measure of the cost effectiveness, was calculated as the ratio of whole life cost savings to the increased initial costs of the adaptation action. When completed the results of the study will be published on TRL’s website.
The methodology developed in this work can inform transport operators in strategic decisions about the future management of their assets, providing input to budgets and maintenance plans. Hundreds of millions of pounds of direct and indirect costs can be attributed to extreme weather events. Better understanding of the vulnerability of key assets to different weather conditions and how to cost-effectively improve their resilience requires taking a long-term strategic view, informed by appropriate data, knowledge and decision support tools.
TRL is working with its customers across the world in areas such as standards and specifications, material properties, failure mechanisms, risk assessments, instrumentation and monitoring, and use of geosynthetics to help them achieve this. For further information, contact: Sarah Reeves, TRL. Tel: 01344 770562. Email:
sreeves@trl.co.uk www.trl.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204