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Climate change is now the biggest challenge facing the UK’s railways.
Extreme heat can cause a railway to buckle while heavy rainfall causing landslips or flooding can wash away track. The grave consequences of climate change became starkly apparent following the tragic and fatal derailment due to a landslip at Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 2020.
 
This incident highlighted gaps in the understanding and management of drainage assets and their resilience to extreme weather events. Network Rail needed a more comprehensive view of its drainage assets to invest in measures to prevent these ‘washout failures.’ Washout, or runoff-generated debris flow, is a type of shallow land movement which occurs extremely rapidly during short, intense rainfall events.
 
AtkinsRéalis has worked with Network Rail to deploy an innovative digital solution to rapidly assess washout risk in areas of the UK network, helping to inform targeted interventions.
 

 

Washout tool

AtkinsRéalis’ Washout Vulnerability Assessment tool is the first and only analytical method to date to quantitively assess the risk of triggering washout failures. It uses advanced modelling techniques and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data to rapidly assess large sections of railway.
 
Key benefits and features of the Washout tool include:
 
  • Identification and risk classification of areas through automated analysis of topography, drainage, and geology – even where there may be little indication of potential failure
  • User-friendly visual outputs to support decision-making, including highlighting ‘quick wins’ to reduce risk with small interventions
  • Ability to simulate impacts of different rainfall intensities
  • Integration with Network Rail's existing asset data
 
The tool has been trialled from late 2021 to early 2024 on several 10-mile sections of railway in different regions of England, including areas near Milton Keynes, in the Yorkshire Dales, and in the Northwest. It has been deployed in phased iterations, with improvements made following each trial.
 

 

Outcomes

The tool has successfully identified specific high-risk locations, enabling Network Rail to prioritise interventions through more strategic and data-driven planning of maintenance and renewals.
 
Initial implementations of the Washout tool had an overall accuracy rate of 70%, successfully identifying areas of existing defects and failures. AtkinsRéalis is continuing to develop the tool to incorporate additional layers of modelling, such as mapping drainage pipes. Meanwhile, Network Rail is exploring options to expand the Washout across its network.
 
The Washout tool represents a step-change in washout risk assessment capability. It combines cutting-edge computational modeling, geospatial analysis, and railway engineering expertise into an accessible digital platform. The automated, data-driven approach allows rapid analysis of large areas that would be impractical with traditional methods.
 
The tool's ability to model different rainfall intensities is particularly valuable as it allows Network Rail to understand how their assets might perform under future climate scenarios.

 

 

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Our Washout Vulnerability Assessment tool represents a significant leap in digital solutions that enhance climate resilience. Its 70% accuracy rate is promising for a proof-of-concept tool solution and we look forward to its continued development.

Christopher Cox

Associate Geotechnical Engineer

Next Steps

Network Rail is committed to making its 20,000 miles of track more resilient to climate change and in early 2024 announced £2.8 billion would be spent over the next five years on activities and technology to better cope with extreme weather.

The Washout tool has the potential to allow Network Rail to make more targeted and efficient interventions to improve resilience, reducing the need for blanket speed restrictions and minimising unnecessary disruptions, while maintaining safety.
 
As climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, digital solutions such as the Washout tool will be essential in helping infrastructure managers build resilience and reduce weather-related disruption for passengers.
 
The Washout tool could play a crucial role in a multi-pronged approach to drainage management – providing detailed, data-driven insights to implement targeted interventions to move from a reactive to a preventative maintenance strategy.
 

 

Innovative technology is essential in our mission to build a more resilient railway so we can target investments and interventions more effectively. While we can't completely 'weatherproof' our network, digital solutions like the Washout tool can support our goal of keeping passengers and freight moving safely, both now and in the future.

Martin Frobisher

Network Rail Director - Safety and Engineering

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