Tomorrow’s Railway and Climate Change Adaptation (TRACCA)

“Tomorrow’s Railway and Climate Change Adaptation” (TRaCCA research project, RSSB reference T925), is a rail industry project supported by the industry’s Technical Strategy Leadership Group (TSLG) and funded by the British Department for Transport through the ‘Rail Industry Strategic Research Programme’ managed by RSSB.

In 2010-11, Network Rail commissioned the Met Office to undertake an assessment of possible climate change impacts on the GB railway network, as part of TRACCA. The Met Office worked closely with rail industry experts to determine a list of climate change-related issues which were potential areas of concern for the industry, and then to select the highest-priority areas. These included track buckling, excessive overhead line sag, and flooding of assets by river or surface water.

A follow-up programme of research was authorised in June 2012, and is now in progress. This consortium project aims to deliver step changes in climate science, knowledge of climate change vulnerabilities, and the development of support tools, including a system-wide vulnerability tool, sub-system vulnerability tools and decision support tools for local and policy managers.