Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IRJ READ 05_2024
IRJ READ 05_2024
The Colne Valley Viaduct near west London will become Britain’s longest railway bridge. Photo: HS2 Ltd
I
T might seem premature to imagine over lakes and waterways to form what Birmingham, with a connection north of
the first trains running when even will become Britain’s longest railway Birmingham to the West Coast Main
the company responsible for bridge. Line at Handsacre (see timeline) is now
constructing Britain’s second high- A total of six tunnel boring machines the only phase that will be built (see
speed line, HS2 Ltd, is quoting a four- (TBMs) are currently burrowing their panel, p21).
year window for its completion. way through a mixture of ground types The most southerly part of the route,
But rail passengers travelling into and tunnelling on HS2 is already the 13km tunnelled section between the
Birmingham’s New Street and London’s estimated to be around 50% complete major hub interchange at Old Oak
Marylebone stations already have a overall. In total, approximately two-thirds Common in west London and the
very real sense that one of Europe’s of the budget for civil engineering work terminus at Euston in central London,
biggest construction projects is making between London (Old Oak Common) has been paused for at least two years,
tangible progress. They can see for and Birmingham has now been spent. while the government assesses the
themselves, respectively, the foundations After several years of uncertainty viability of attracting private-sector
of HS2’s northern terminus of Birmingham caused by rising construction costs and finance to complete this stretch.
Curzon Street taking shape and the political equivocation, culminating last After the turbulence of recent times,
elegant Colne Valley viaduct at the October in the cancellation of all including the departure of CEO, Mr
southern end of the route near West sections of HS2 north of Birmingham, Mark Thurston, last autumn - his
Ruislip extending itself, concrete segment the future for HS2 is now much clearer. replacement is expected to take up their
by concrete segment, for more than 3km Phase 1, 225km between London and post this summer - and reams of
HS2 timeline
March 2010 January 2012 February 2017 September 2020 February 2021 November 2021
HS2 launches Plans approved; project Phase 1 parliamentary Phase 1 construction Phase 2A parliamentary London Old Oak Common
split into two phases approval offically starts approval station construction starts
W
experience in rail, and a member of HS2
ITH all sections of Phase 2, including 2A, 2B east and 2B west, now
Ltd’s executive team since 2015, Head is
officially cancelled by the current government, it is unclear whether
just the kind of person the project
either of the two northern parts of HS2’s original Y-shaped network
needs, especially as 11 major contracts
could still be built at a later date.
are due to be awarded later this year
Head confirms that safeguarding for Phase 2A was removed earlier this year.
(see table, p22).
Despite this withdrawal of protection from other development, it is unlikely that
When she sits down for an exclusive
the route will be immediately lost as it remains protected by the Act of Parliament
interview with IRJ it is immediately
authorising the construction of HS2 that continues in force until 2026.
apparent Head has the whole route
At present, safeguarding remains in place for Phase 2B as some of the line might
very clearly imprinted on her mind, as
be required for other new lines in northern England, collectively known as
she talks seamlessly about each section
Northern Powerhouse Rail and informally as HS3.
without hesitation or recourse to maps
With a general election due to held by January 2025, some proponents of HS2
or other paperwork.
suggest that an incoming government might reverse the decision to cut Phase 2.
She explains that her role emerged as
The leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, has already said this is not
a direct result of lessons learned from
something that his government would do if the Labour Party is elected. However,
Crossrail, the £18.8bn project to build a
his shadow transport minister, Ms Louise Haigh, has previously vowed “to get
new east-west rail tunnel across
the job done,” suggesting that the prospects of reviving at least part of Phase 2 are
London, where the first trains began
not completely dead.
running on what is now the Elizabeth
The elected mayors of Birmingham and Manchester, Mr Andy Street and Mr
Line in 2022. In the heat of construction,
Andy Burnham, are working with a private-sector consortium, including Arup,
with many contractors on board, it
Mace and Arcadis, led by former HS2 Ltd chair Sir David Higgins, to put forward
became evident that responsibility for
alternatives. These include a lower-speed line that would cost less, and
managing certain tasks was unclear.
improvements to and or new sections of the West Coast Main Line. A full set of
“So HS2 Ltd has mapped all of the
proposals is expected this summer.
interfaces between the construction
November 2021 December 2021 March 2023 October 2023 January 2024
Phase 2B east Alstom-Hitachi joint venture London Old Oak Common - Phases 2A, 2B west and Birmingham Curzon Street
curtailed wins rolling stock contract Euston terminus section paused remainder of 2B east cancelled station construction starts
Preparatory work
Head is, however, able to clarify a
couple of points that have been widely
misunderstood in the British media.
One relates to the paused tunnel section
to Euston. Reports that tunnelling has
already started at Old Oak Common are
W
wide of the mark, she says. To allow
progress with extensive surface work at HEN HS2 was launched in 2010 it was costed at £37.5bn in 2009 prices
Old Oak Common, the two TBMs that and included the full route from London Euston to Birmingham
will bore the tunnel will be lowered into Curzon Street (Phase 1), with separate lines continuing to Crewe
their launch chambers later this year. (Phase 2a), Manchester (Phase 2b west) and Leeds (Phase 2b east). By 2020, as the
Head says this is part of the preparatory Covid-19 pandemic hit, the projected cost had rocketed to £106bn. After Phase 2b
work for the Euston tunnels, which is east was curtailed in 2021, the total costs were estimated at £53-71bn. And when
funded to 2025. Until a decision has the British government cancelled Phase 2 in its entirety in October 2023 it said it
been made by DfT on proceeding with was taking the £36bn saved to redistribute to local transport projects.
construction, the TBMs will remain A report by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons in
stationary, effectively buried at Old Oak February described HS2 as “very poor value for money.” HS2 currently expects
Common. the project to cost £67bn, including inflation. The PAC notes that the current
Head is also able to shed light on estimate does not take into account the potential difficulty of raising private
potential service levels and routes to be finance to complete the Old Oak Common - Euston section. Approximately £2.2bn
served by the new high-speed train has been spent on the now-abandoned Phase 2. Although inflation in Britain is
fleet, construction of which is due to currently on a downward trend, it seems inevitable that in the next five years or
start next year (see panel, p24). “We longer until opening costs will rise further. The question is by how much.
The V-shaped piers that carry HS2 into Birmingham Curzon Street have been specially designed to maximise space on the ground. Photo: HS2 Ltd
The prototype CVLR vehicle is currently housed in its own shed at the Black Country Innovative
Manufacturing Organisation’s National Innovation Centre test track at Dudley. Photo: BC Collection
The British city of Coventry is on track to open the world’s first Very Light Rail (VLR) demonstration line next
year. Mark Simmons finds out more and examines the possibilities that VLR could unlock in urban areas across
the globe.
T
HE British city of Coventry, just As a demonstrator line that will not tight as 15m radius (IRJ March p32).
30km away from its better- be open to the public it can avoid the The fundamental aim of Coventry
known neighbour Birmingham, lengthy planning procedures, including VLR (CVLR) has always been to
is famous for its motoring heritage. obtaining a Transport and Works Act significantly reduce the cost of building
Having produced the first British car in Order, that a fully-fledged light rail an on-street light rail line in a city
1897, the city went on to become a system would have to go through, centre. This is largely due to the need to
major automotive manufacturing hub although it will still need planning divert existing utilities, a process
and picked up the title of the British approval to operate on public roads – rendered unnecessary by the CVLR
Detroit. Those days are long gone for an application was submitted in low-depth trackform. Determining
both cities, but Coventry is on the cusp February. The demonstration line will whether the original goal of achieving a
of a new transport revolution. include a segregated cycleway to enable construction cost of around £10m per
Next year Coventry City Council, testing to focus on interaction with road km, compared with £25-100m per km
working in partnership with regional vehicles. for conventional light rail, will be met
transport authority Transport for the will be one of the key outputs of the
West Midlands (TfWM), aims to have a demonstration project.
working demonstration of the Very Real-world conditions The CVLR concept originally arose
Light Rail (VLR) mass transit system it The main purpose of the when Coventry realised that it, along
has been pioneering for around a decade. demonstration line, however, is to with similar towns and cities with a
An 800m stretch of mainly double track prove in real-world conditions that population of 300,000 or less, could
will run from Warwick Road, close to Coventry’s recently-patented track simply not afford conventional light rail
Coventry station, to Corporation Street, system can be installed speedily. The solutions, even though passenger
north of the city centre. A single innovative track, developed in numbers are high enough to warrant
battery-powered demonstrator vehicle partnership with the nearby University them. Since its inception, CVLR has
(see panel, pxx) will run on the tracks of Warwick’s Warwick Manufacturing been funded by the public sector and
and will carry invited guests, though Group, is designed to be laid in a trench the current phase of development,
not fare-paying passengers. just 300mm deep and with curves as costing around £15m from a total
“
has been set, has an appropriate safety
case and that the vehicle and track are sector investors” Small says.
fit for purpose,” says Ms Nicola Small, The accurate data that the
demonstration line will provide will
We’ll be focusing
TfWM programme director for VLR,
who is hopeful that the project will be help to build future business cases not on areas like
approved later this summer, allowing only for Coventry but also for other
construction of the demonstration line similar-sized cities. Completion of the crashworthiness, to
to begin before the end of the year. line will release a final £8.5m of the
DfT approval will unlock a £16.5m current budget that will allow the make sure that it
funding package that will not only compilation of an outline business case
build the demonstration line, but also for the first full-scale route in Coventry, can safely withstand
provide other city-centre traffic as well as the start of work to build a
digital twin of the next-generation
getting hit by a bus or
improvements for Coventry, including
the segregated cycleway, which will CVLR vehicle. a car. Nicola Small
enhance the journey experience for all The long-term aspiration for Coventry
types of users, from pedestrians to car is for four CVLR lines radiating from
drivers. “The next phase of funding also the city centre in a four-leaf clover The timetable for this first line could
covers the operating cost of the configuration – see map, right. The first be accelerated if a private-sector partner
prototype vehicle that we already have route to be built would likely connect decides to invest in the project. Small
and adapting it to run in a live the city centre with University Hospital says that Coventry has already held
environment,” Small says. “We’ll be Coventry and Warwickshire, and preliminary discussions with potential
focusing on areas like crashworthiness, ultimately a park and ride site at Ansty, candidates. “But we always get to the
to make sure that it can safely in two phases. This line, that has point that we need to build a
demonstrator, because every
Autonomous running: when, not if conversation we have had leads to that
A
conclusion,” she says. “They think it’s a
T present the CVLR vehicle is controlled by a driver in the same way as
cracking idea, but at this stage it’s still
most conventional light rail vehicles. But those involved in urban planning
an idea and they want to see a proof of
suggest that the most efficient way of running relatively small rail vehicles
concept they can invest in, as they’ve
in urban areas is by using autonomous control technology. Engineers involved in
already acknowledged it has global
CVLR say that producing autonomous vehicles is “straightforward.”
potential. So we’re confident that the
Small agrees, though she points out that the law has yet to catch up.
city-centre demonstrator can attract
“Technically, I think that’s a fair statement,” she says. “Autonomy has been
private sector investment.”
developed by the private sector and, in theory, it should be possible to install it in
CVLR’s global appeal could be
a rail vehicle that has only longitudinal movements. But, legislatively, it is far from
substantial. Because the patented track
straightforward, as there is currently no legislation to support autonomous
form is compatible with standard light
operation of an urban rail vehicle.”
rail track, VLR vehicles could run
She suggests that issues such as insurance risk pose a big challenge and while
through to destinations on existing
the CVLR has flagged the key points that need to be addressed with the DfT,
conventional light rail networks. Even
responsibility for changing the law to allow autonomous operation is something
more intriguing is the possibility that
that ultimately rests with government.
conventional light rail vehicles could
However, Small reveals that although current CVLR plans initially involve
run on VLR track, providing a
vehicles with drivers, feasibility work for Coventry’s first full-scale route includes
considerably less expensive alternative
the use of driverless vehicles. “We assumed that by 2035, we’d be upgrading our
for extending existing light rail networks.
fleet to be autonomous and operating it in that way from then,” she says. “That’s
A steady stream of visitors has been
based on when we think there might
heading to see the CVLR in test
be legislation in place to support it.”
operation at the National Innovation
Small adds that there are sound
Centre (NIC) in Dudley, with recent
economic reasons for pursuing a
domestic interest coming from London,
driverless future. Projections for CVLR
Oxford, Portsmouth and West Yorkshire.
show that revenue can triple following
Delegations from further afield include
its introduction. “It is something that
parties from Canada and Thailand.
needs to be taken forward if we’re
“I’m sure we’ll continue to get plenty
going to be able to achieve viable
of interest,” Small says. “But I think
commercial cases for smaller cities,”
seeing is believing, isn’t it? And that’s
she says. “Autonomy needs to be Although CVLR vehicles will initially feature drivers,
why we’ve just got to deliver this
factored in.” autonomous operation is planned. Photo: BC Collection
demonstrator.” IRJ
C prototype vehicle
VLR’s prototype lightweight The prototype, designed for a service
I
battery vehicle, owned by life of 20 years, has a maximum speed of
Coventry City Council, was 70km/h and can traverse gradients of up RJ was invited to sample the CVLR
completed by Transport Design to 5%. All axles are driven by a 750V prototype in March 2024 on the test
International in 2022 and was moved to 54kWh lithium titanate underfloor track at the Black Country
battery, delivering a continuous power Innovative Manufacturing
the Black Country Innovative
rating of 175kW. Its range between Organisation’s National Innovation
Manufacturing Organisation’s National
charges is around 35km, though this Centre in Dudley. The wide 900mm
Innovation Centre test track at Dudley,
varies considerably according to doorway made accessing the vehicle
where it is housed in its own building.
temperature, load, and other factors. easy and the interior felt spacious,
The vehicle body panels are made from
The battery can be charged overnight even when all seats were occupied.
lightweight composites so the total mass The ride was exceptionally smooth,
per linear metre is just over 1 tonne. from a 20kW shore supply and, during
the day, receive rapid charges taking 3 even around the 15m balloon loop,
Unladen, the 11m-long vehicle weighs when not even the slightest steel-on-
around 11 tonnes and when fully loaded min 30 sec from a 200kW supply, as
well as being charged during steel squeal normally associated with
weighs 16 tonnes, resulting in an traversing tight curves was audible.
axleload of 4 tonnes for the twin-bogie regenerative braking.
This year the vehicle has been The vehicle easily reached a speed of
design. The vehicle is 3.17m high, 2.65m 40km/h and felt stable at all speeds.
wide and can carry 70 passengers with undertaking load and wheel wear tests
at the Dudley test track. Although its maximum service speed
20 seated. is 70km/h, it will be limited to 32km/h
when in operation on the Coventry
demonstrator line, the maximum
speed for all vehicles in the city centre.
Visibility is good throughout the
vehicle and the public address system
worked well, with announcements
easy to hear. The overall feel was of a
high-quality product, matching any
The prototype CVLR vehicle undergoing wheel wear testing on the Dudley test track balloon loop in
current conventional light rail vehicle.
March 2024. The bogies are normally covered by protective skirts. Photo: Phil Marsh
D
UE to its many border crossings, due to the security crisis in the Red Sea trade routes and as a trading partner,
the need to transfer containers that has seen shipping diverted via the with 39% of imports to Kazakhstan
from rail to ship and road and Cape of Good Hope. The Middle coming from Russia. As well as
between track different gauges, as well Corridor remains the least vulnerable diversifying imports and reducing
as other operating inefficiencies, the route between China and Europe in dependence on Russia and China, a
Middle Corridor has traditionally terms of external shocks. well-functioning Middle Corridor offers
enjoyed less favour for moving long- Following the Russian invasion of the potential to export more to Europe
distance freight between China and Ukraine, container traffic on the Middle and reach new markets that could
Europe. Corridor increased by 33% in 2022 when include the Middle East, North Africa,
Also known as the Trans-Caspian compared with 2021. But as shippers south and southeast Asia.
International Transport Route, the moved unprecedented volumes of traffic The report sets out the policies and
Middle Corridor is defined by the to the corridor in the immediate aftermath investment required to triple freight
World Bank as running from the border of the invasion, its limits quickly traffic and halve transit times by 2030.
crossings between China and became apparent. While technical With these in place, it forecasts that a
Kazakhstan at Dostyk and Khorgos and operational capacity was not reached, total of 11 million tonnes of freight will
then across Kazakhstan by rail to the difficulties at border crossings and with move along the Middle Corridor and
port of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. transhipment and coordination led to via the Caspian Sea in 2030, an increase
Consignments then move by sea to very lengthy delays. Traffic moved back of 209% on 2021. Of this, 4.4 million
Baku, and by rail again through to alternative corridors with the result tonnes will be transit traffic moving in
Azerbaijan and Georgia, and either that container traffic fell by 37% in the containers, up by 303%. Although trade
continue to Europe by rail via Turkey or first eight months of 2023 when from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and
across the Black Sea. Due to what the compared with 2022. Kazakhstan is forecast to grow by 169%,
World Bank describes as inefficiencies at 7 million tonnes it will represent a
and infrastructure gaps in Turkey, the larger proportion of the total. The
Black Sea route is currently preferred. Three country focus World Bank believes that the Middle
Despite being the shortest route Despite the current focus on Corridor will remain a minor player in
between the Pacific coast of China and providing an alternative overland route handling intercontinental trade between
Europe, transit times on the Middle between China and Europe, the World China and Europe due to the
Corridor are three times longer than the Bank study says that the Middle availability of other options, especially
northern route via Russia, according to Corridor primarily provides an deep-sea shipping. In contrast, at the
a World Bank report published in opportunity to diversify trade routes regional level, developing the corridor
November 2023, and are comparable and improve connectivity between and diversifying flows will favour high
with the maritime route via Singapore Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, value-added commodities such as
and the Suez Canal. However, the and accordingly focuses on these three fertiliser, where traffic is forecast to
attractiveness of both of these routes countries. It notes that all three at nearly double, as well finished metals,
has declined following Russia’s present rely heavily on Russia to prepared foodstuffs, machinery and
invasion of Ukraine and, more recently, provide access to ports served by global chemicals. Time-sensitive and other
28 IRJ May 2024
higher-value freight will partially shift interoperable, sharing a common track
from the northern route to Europe via gauge of 1520mm as well as operational Capacity limitations in
Russia, and the proportion of Middle and cultural characteristics inherited order of time cost
Corridor traffic made up by raw from the Soviet era that allow the 1. lack of corridor-wide coordination and
materials will fall from 60% to 53%. movement of rolling stock between the management
The World Bank says that the different networks. Although the 2. poor operational efficiency of ports and
assessment undertaken for its study positive impact of this interoperability Caspian Sea shipping services
corroborated a stakeholder survey is reduced by the need to tranship 3. lack of end-to-end rail infrastructure
which found that transport costs on the freight at the Caspian Sea ports, some 4. delays at border crossing points, and
Middle Corridor were high and, more wagons travel across the Caspian Sea by 5. lack of integrated IT systems for data and
importantly, unstable. train ferry. Containers move on flat information exchange.
While the cost fluctuates, it is close to wagons that are interoperable across the
the fixed rate of the alternative northern different railways, offering railway infrastructure could be an
route, even though the transit time is opportunities for the acquisition of impediment to further development of
twice as long on the Middle Corridor. common fleets that can be shared. the Middle Corridor. Capacity varies
The study says that in 2022 it took an widely along the corridor; the north-
average of 50-53 days to move freight south lines tend to have substantially
from Dostyk or Khorgos via the Middle Modernisation more capacity than the east-west routes,
Corridor to the Black Sea port of To meet its full potential, the rail a legacy of the Soviet era.
Constanta in Romania. component of the Middle Corridor Since the ability of the corridor to
Although the longest delays occur requires modernisation and investment perform well is determined by the
during sea crossings, mainly due to a to relieve localised capacity constraints sections with the lowest capacity, the
shortage of vessels, the key issues caused by equipment, infrastructure report says that KTZ, ADY and GR
affecting the rail component of the and operating practices. These cause must focus on a well-designed and
Middle Corridor are high prices, bottlenecks that cancel out efficient coordinated plan to increase total
unpredictable transit times, the lack of movement over the rest of the corridor. corridor capacity. The report identifies
tracking systems, the difficulties of The physical pinch points are mainly the key issues limiting capacity on the
transhipment and last-mile delivery, located where freight is transhipped or most critical sections of the Middle
and the poor quality of both rolling handed over to a different operator. Corridor (see table, p30). In the
stock and logistics terminals. End-to- While containers are relatively meantime, “quick wins” could be
end rail infrastructure comes third in standardised, the report says that KTZ, delivered by ensuring the availability of
the list of the five main factors limiting ADY and GR still need to fully adopt rolling stock and improving shunting
capacity and causing operational equipment and operating procedures operations in Kazakhstan. Limited
bottlenecks on the Middle Corridor (see for the efficient movement of containers availability of rolling stock is a
panel, above right), ranked in order of throughout the Middle Corridor. This is particular constraint in Azerbaijan and
time cost. The study says that rail being prevented by shortages of Georgia, where transhipment from rail
operations “suffer from localised specialised wagons, cranes and other to maritime and road transport also
constraints at the port-rail interfaces equipment, such as those needed to requires immediate attention.
where a lack of equipment, poor handle 20ft containers rather than the In the longer term, the report says
connections, and inefficient operational 40ft boxes that are the norm in the that the introduction of automatic block
practices cause delays and increase costs.” corridor. The report says that 20ft signalling, other signalling
Examining the rail component of the containers sit idle at most interchange modernisation work and the acquisition
Middle Corridor in more detail, the points due to the lack of specialised of new locomotives and flat wagons can
report notes that Kazakhstan Railways equipment, putting the Middle Corridor lead to large efficiency gains across the
(KTZ), Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) and at a competitive disadvantage. three railway networks of the Middle
Georgian Railway (GR) are highly Without improvement, current Corridor. Priority projects that must be
Middle Corridor
Standard gauge A Akhalkalaki Seyfullin
1520mm gauge B Gardabani Shalkarand 10
60 74
UKRAINE 14 Aktogai
8 Saksaulskaya Mojynty 18
Beyneu KAZAKHSTAN 15
RUSSIA Dostyk
Dbtqjbo 16 74
!Tfb 18 Zhetigen
Cmbdl!Tfb GEORGIA Shu 77 17
Aktau 40 Khorgos
Pati 30 Tbilisi UZBEKISTAN Almaty
Istanbul Batumi 10 Arys KYRGYZSTAN
AB 23 N
22 5 Baku CHINA
Cetinkaya
TURMENISTAN 0 500
ARMENIA km
TURKEY AZERBAIJAN
Mersin 10 TAJIKISTAN
IRAQ IRAN IRJ
SYRIA
Numbers indicate capacity of section of line in total number of trains per day.
M
AINTAINING infrastructure
to the required standard is the
basis for ensuring the safety
and continuity of rail services. Failure
of a section of track or an infrastructure
asset can result in potential fatalities,
large repair costs, loss of service and
reputational damage, leading to serious
economic consequences. Climate change
is already creating a surge in such
events for the rail industry worldwide.
Rising global temperatures create
new environmental conditions, such as
rising sea levels, prolonged periods of
drought and higher than usual
precipitation. These factors have a
direct impact on rail infrastructure.
Increased precipitation can create
flooding and lead to ground saturation,
which can weaken embankments and
slopes, creating the risk of landslides
that can move the track from its
alignment or block it with debris.
Periods of drought can cause drying,
sinkage or cracking of underlying soils,
leading to track misalignment or slope
failures. A rise in sea level can increase
the rate of coastal erosion, threatening
railways built along the shoreline. Both passenger and freight services on the Lossan corridor in southern California have been disrupted
Traditional methods of monitoring as a result of extreme weather events caused by climate change. Photo: X/GoOCTA
infrastructure conditions under such
scenarios include using track condition Value Space has recently undertaken passenger services remained suspended
data to detect changes to the alignment, satellite-based analysis of ground for six months. Ground movement was
which can then be addressed by conditions on sections of the 561.6km attributed to coastal erosion which had
remedial work or further on-site Lossan corridor in southern California, worn away a counterbalance that allowed
surveys to determine the underlying running from San Luis Obispo through an ancient landslide to reactivate.
causes of infrastructure deterioration. Los Angeles to San Diego. It is the The two events required emergency
But traditional methods might not second-busiest inter-city passenger rail track stabilisation work costing a total
easily identify some of the wider corridor in the United States, and also of $US 21.7m. After the first shift, over
existing or developing spatial risks on carries freight worth over $US 1bn 20,000 tonnes of large rocks and boulders
or near the railway, such as signs of every year. were placed on the coastal side of the
slope instability or ground movement. Both passenger and freight services railway to counteract erosion and
And given the major size of some on sections of the corridor have been ground movement. More substantial
networks, effective monitoring of disrupted as a result of the more extreme works were carried out after the second
climate change-related infrastructure weather patterns caused by climate ground movement event, with large
risks can be a significant challenge. change, particularly those sections metal anchors driven into the slope
Operating almost in real time, where the railway was built along the adjacent to the track to prevent the line
satellite-based movement assessment coast. They have experienced ground from moving.
and monitoring provides an in-depth way movement caused by coastal erosion Satellite-based analysis for the period
for infrastructure managers to understand that has affected track alignment, as between January 2021 and September
where the risks are actually located. well as unexpected landslides blocking 2022 revealed two notable movement
Analysis of data gathered by satellite traffic and damaging infrastructure. clusters with different directions on the
radar enables highly accurate detection In September 2021 and in September section at Cyprus Shore. The larger
of movement that can point to existing 2022, two consecutive ground shifts cluster moved up to 20mm per year,
or developing risks. These assessments took place on the shoreline at Cyprus and the smaller one up to 14mm per
can be delivered quickly and cost- Shore in San Clemente, between Los year. Analysis of detailed movement
effectively, enabling the rail industry to Angeles and San Diego, resulting in the data showed that this section of the
identify, monitor and quantify the risks track moving by as much as 381mm. coast and the slope were moving
posed by climate change. After the September 2022 event, throughout the period of analysis.
32 IRJ May 2024
In August 2021, just before the first ground Eight surface slides on the bluffs have and Vanderberg and the 45km section
shift, there was developing movement been reported in the area since summer between Santa Barbara and Ventura
instability. Movement stabilised after the 2018. Each time one takes place, rail traffic with different areas of detected
first ground shift and initial emergency is stopped until inspection confirms that movement marked. These examples
stabilisation work, but movement it is safe for operations to resume. Since demonstrate that satellite-based
continued up until the second ground 2003, the San Diego Association of movement assessments can be
shift in September 2022. The differently Governments (Sandag) has completed conducted on longer sections of railway
moving clusters on the shore and slope several projects to stabilise the bluffs, to identify, monitor and quantify
beneath the railway point to the with a new project due to begin this climate change risks on a network level.
accumulation of stress that is typical of year at a cost of $US 78m. With its highly accurate and up-to-
a developing ground slide or movement Value Space has analysed movements date deformation detection capabilities,
event. Further satellite-based analysis in the Del Mar Bluffs area for the period satellite-based monitoring and risk
between January 2021 and January 2024 from January 24 2021 to January 15 2024 assessment is set to help the rail
revealed that movement is still present in (Figure 2). Satellite-based assessment of industry as it has already benefitted the
the area, with buildings above a slope the area identified 17 different movement insurance sector in understanding the
next to the railway experiencing clusters on the track section, among them risks to critical infrastructure posed by
movement of up to 19mm a year. were six areas of significant movement. climate change. As infrastructure
Threats to service continuity on the managers face increasing disruption
Lossan corridor are not limited to the and losses caused by more extreme
Landslides at San Clemente southern coastal sections at San weather patterns, they should seek to
Unusually high precipitation during Clemente and Del Mar Bluffs, however. implement new tools to stay ahead of
the winters of 2022 and 2023 have Similar conditions exist on the northern the curve and proactively manage the
caused an increase in landslide part of the corridor. At a hearing of risks associated with climate change.
incidents in California. Railways have California Senate Transportation Expect satellite-based technology to
not been left untouched and several Subcommittee on Lossan Rail Corridor become standard practice. IRJ
landslides have disrupted rail services Resiliency last year, experts estimated
in San Clemente, including a major event the cost of stabilising these northern * Reijo Pold is the Estonian-born, London-based
on April 27 2023 on the coastal slope sections at $US 85m. founder of Value Space, a technology company
below Casa Romantica cultural centre. For the period from January 2021 to that uses satellites to conduct assessments for
Debris blocked the railway just below January 2024, Value Space analysed the commercial properties and infrastructure.
the slope and again after a second 85km section between Santa Barbara
landslide in June that year. It cost $US 6m
to clear the track and build a wall to
protect the railway from further damage.
Value Space’s analysis of the landslide
area for the period from October 9 2021
to April 26 2023 identified ground
movement on the slope of up to 46mm
per year that was distinctly different
from adjacent areas. Analysis revealed
that the area of the landslide started
showing warning signs in November
2022. The sides of the marked area in
Figure 1 are moving in opposite
directions and the mid-section of the
marked area stands out for the lack of
stable satellite-measured readings. These
signs indicate possible strong stress on Figure 1: Analysis showing discrepancies in movement at the site of the landslip on the Lossan corridor.
the slope that are typical of a developing
landslide. These findings would have
led to a warning being issued well ahead
of the landslide, had the area been
under satellite-based monitoring.
The Lossan corridor has several longer
sections along the coast that are already
known or identified as being at risk from
future weather and climate change-related
incidents. The 2.72km section built on the
Del Mar Bluffs north of San Diego has
been of particular concern for a number
of years, as the high sea cliffs here
experience natural erosion resulting from
earthquakes, rain, groundwater flows,
breaking waves, and wind. The bluffs
retreat naturally at an average rate of
up to 152.4mm a year. Figure 2: Analysis of slope movements on the wider Del Mar Bluffs area.