Weathering the storm

Preparing for extreme weather on the railway with RSSB

Discover how RSSB can help you respond to extremes of heat, rainfall, and wind

The frequency and intensity of strong winds, intense rainfall, and high temperatures are increasing. In our latest Spotlight on Safety video, Mark Phillips, our CEO, discussed with RSSB experts how we can help.A changing climate means that the likelihood of extreme weather events is increasing. Rail is no stranger to delivering a service even under challenging weather conditions, but it will need to do this more in future. We need to rethink our response, including the responses to extreme weather we have made in recent years. For instance, blanket speed restrictions following intense rainfall do reduce risk from earthworks failure, but they can cause a lot of other unintended harms as well.RSSB has produced a range of forward-thinking resources to help, including the Whole System Risk Model and the Sustainable Rail Blueprint. The Sustainable Rail Blueprint includes roadmaps for action, identifying who should be taking action, and how. The Spotlight on Safety page also has links to useful resources to help you deal with extreme weather.

Watch the fifth quarterly update where RSSB’s CEO, Mark Phillips, interviews RSSB experts Alexander Patton and Apoorv Shrivastava about environmental issues for rail. They discuss how to respond to extreme weather events, such as severe winds or very high temperatures. They also cover how the Sustainable Rail Blueprint can help rail keep its reputation as the greenest form of transport.

Want to know more?

The Spotlight on Safety webpage includes reports, videos, and links to useful resources.

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