William Hay Railroad Engineering Seminar: Adapting to Future Climate for Railway Systems

The William W. Hay Railroad Engineering Seminar Series at the University of Illinois is made possible by the continued support of its RailTEC Industry Partners: Association of American Railroads, BNSF Railway, CN, Hanson Professional Services & National University Rail Center of Excellence.

William W. Hay Seminars are free to the public to attend. Professional Development Hours are available to seminar participants for $25 per seminar.  Please note that registration is required for all participants.

Speaker:
Chen-Yu Lin
Assistant Professor – National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU)

Title:
Adapting to Future Climate for Railway Systems

Date & Time:
Friday, 30 August 2024 at 12:15 PM Central Time

Location:
Yeh Student Center – 2311 Newmark Lab
-or- Zoom Webinar

Attendees Participating at Newmark:
11:45 AM Lunch Available
12:15 PM Seminar Begins

Abstract:
Railway systems have significant and complex networks of assets which need to be managed. As part of asset management, it is important to consider the increasing risks from climate change. Climatic risks to infrastructure can be immediate short term risks (e.g. extreme weather forecast for tomorrow) or over a longer term (e.g. future adverse climates). A climate change risk assessment assesses the severity and likelihood of climate related risks over the near and long term. We can understand these risks and their impact by investigating hazards, vulnerability and exposure alongside impacts. Many railway assets have not been maintained and managed for the weather we are experiencing today, let alone in the future,and consequently they are not resilient to extreme weather or future climates. In order to become more resilient, we must adapt. By adapting we are managing the present and future risks associated with extreme weather and climate change. This can be done incrementally; this process is typically referred to as adaptation pathways and ties in with the idea of resilience over the lifecycle of railway assets. As the concept of adaptation is relatively recent and development of it is still in its infancy in many railway systems, it is crucial to properly define a comprehensive railway climate change adaptation framework. It is also important to develop a maturity assessment to properly evaluate whether or not a railway system is on an effective pathway towards adaptation and to what level of progress they have made.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Chen-Yu Lin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Transportation and Logistics Management at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Dr. Lin’s research interests include railway safety and risk analysis, rail hazardous material transportation, shared-use rail corridors, and railway resilience and climatic risk. Dr. Lin obtained his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University and a Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all in civil and environmental engineering.