Heat-Related Failures on Southeast England's Railway Network: Insights and Implications for Heat Risk Management

High temperatures and heat waves can cause numerous problems for railway infrastructure, such as track buckling, sagging of overhead lines, and the failure of electrical equipment. Without adaptation, these problems are set to increase in a future warmer climate. This study used industry fault data to examine the temporal and spatial distribution of heat-related incidents in southeast England and produce a unique evidence base of the impact of temperature on the rail network. In particular, the analysis explored the concept of failure harvesting, whereby the infrastructure system becomes increasingly resilient to temperature over the course of the summer season (April-September) as the most vulnerable assets fail with each incremental rise in temperature. The analysis supports the hypothesis and clearly shows that a greater number of heat-related incidents occur in the early/midsummer season before reducing significantly, despite equivalently high temperatures. This failure harvesting and the consequential increased resilience of the railway infrastructure system over the course of the summer season could permit an innovative and dynamic new approach to heat risk management on the railway network. New approaches that would reduce the disruption and delays and improve service are explored here.