Kettle Falls Railway Ground Hazard Relative Risk Assessment

Matthieu Sturzenegger

In the proceedings of: GeoVancouver 2016: 69th Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: GEOHAZARDS - I Climate Change Floods & Landslides

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the application of a semi-quantitative ground hazard relative risk assessment methodology applied for the Kettle Falls Railway, which represents 282 km of track in northeastern Washington State and southern British Columbia. The methodology consists of a proactive and structured system to manage the risk related to ground hazards, including rockfall, rockslides, debris flows, debris falls, earth flows, and river and hydraulic erosion hazards. The objective of the system is to optimize safety and reduce costs related to service disruptions and derailments. The system was used to identify, assess and rank the risk related to ground hazards at regional/corridor scale. In addition, it allowed comparison between the various types of ground hazards in a consistent manner. The results are presented in terms of relative risk scores used for prioritization of mitigation work along the railway alignment. An analysis of meteorological data associated to past incidents provided interesting results about ground hazard triggering mechanisms such as freeze-thaw cycles. Past incidents were observed to occur at different stages of freeze-thaw cycles allowing the definition of a freezing trend and a thawing trend. These observations are consistent with other studies published in the literature and may suggest a possibility to refine risk estimations at a seasonal level.

RÉSUMÉ: Cet article présente une méthode semi-. Cette méthode a été utilisée pour une étude le long du chemin -du Washington au au sud de la Colombie Britannique. La méthode permet de gérer de manière proactive et structurée le risque relié aux chutes de pierre, éboulements, lave torrentielles, chutes de débris, glissements de terrains, et à le long des rivières. outre, il permet de comparer les différents types d de manière égale. Les résultats sont présentés sous forme de scores relatifs, qui sont utilisés pour prioriser la construction de mesures de protection le long du chemin de fer. Un analyse de données météorologiques corrélés avec des accidents passés a produit des résultats intéressants quant aux méchanismes de déclenchements, comme les ces cycles, permettant de suggérent que le risque pourrait être estimés à un niveau saisonnier.

Access this article:
Canadian Geotechnical Society members can access to this article, along with all other Canadian Geotechnical Conference proceedings, in the Member Area. Conference proceedings are also available in many libraries.

Cite this article:
Matthieu Sturzenegger (2016) Kettle Falls Railway Ground Hazard Relative Risk Assessment in GEO2016. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{3679_0713080734,author = Matthieu Sturzenegger,title = Kettle Falls Railway Ground Hazard Relative Risk Assessment,year = 2016}