Canadian Rail Research Laboratory: 2023-2024 Annual Research Plan Results Summary

Abstract

This report provides the summary of results for the research projects carried out by the Canadian Rail Research Laboratory (CaRRL) for fiscal year 2023-2024. The projects include: • Detailed Quantitative Model for Rail Transport of Dangerous Goods (DG): This project developed a detailed, practicable model to quantitatively estimate the risk for rail transport of DG. Fault Tree Analyses (FTA) and Event Tree Analyses (ETA) process model were developed for rail transport operations. • Ground Hazard Risk Evolution with Climate Change: This project evaluated the ground hazard weather triggers and mechanisms through morphological and probabilistic approaches to quantify their relationship with weather and extrapolated the ground hazard frequency utilizing the climatic projections for Canada. • Wildfire Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment: This project aims to develop an automated framework to assess the wildfire-related risks to railway infrastructure. • The Resilience of the Railway Network: This project aims to improve the resilience of the railway network in the context of natural and human-induced disasters. • Fundamental Steel Behaviour and Properties: This project aims to develop a database of rail material properties from both in-service rail and broken rail to identify potential presence of transverse cracking. • Human Factors of Trespassing and Grade Crossings: This study will identify the most significant causal factors contributing to high-way railroad grade crossings (HRGC) crashes, such as visibility, season, type of vehicle, and driver actions, which were not included in any other studies for HRGC crashes in Canada.