Transportation Safety Board
Underlying Factors in Subgrade Failures
IRSC Conference
Tokyo, November 2002
TSB Mandate
Advance transportation safety by:
– Conducting independent investigations
– Making findings as to causes, contributing
factors and identify safety deficiencies
– Making recommendations to reduce or
eliminate the safety deficiencies
106.15 Ashcroft (Conrad)
44.80 Parry Sound
(Pointe au Baril)
34.55 Kingston (Coteau)
59.10 Nelson (Creston)
Subgrade Design & Construction
Drainage
Drainage
Inspection & Monitoring
Inspection & Monitoring
Roadbed Integrity Warning System
Recommendations
Nakina (1992) & Conrad (1997)
– Identification of sites susceptible to slope
instability
– Review of current roadbed design criteria
– Adequacy of existing drainage systems
– Systems for monitoring roadbed integrity
Transport Canada
Working Together on
Railway Natural Hazards
IRSC Conference
Tokyo, November 2002
Transport Canada’s Role
Develop and administer policies,
regulations and services for the
best transportation system in the
world for Canadians
TC Roles
In Innovation Cycle
 Gather intelligence
 Set safety standards & monitor compliance
 Do research and development
 Promote & fund innovation by external partners
 Broker and manage national & international partnerships
 Develop national visions and focus initiatives & resources
 Integrate innovations into its own operations
TC R&D Project Origins
 TC
 Other federal government departments,
agencies, and programs
 Provinces
 Industry
 Foreign governments
 Visionaries
The Natural Hazards Problem:
How to economically identify conditions that might be
hazardous to train passage through rugged mountainous
terrain and provide countermeasures.
Landslide Hazard Risk Mitigation
Electromagnetic Field Disturbance
Rockfall Detection System
CN Lasha, near Lytton, B.C.
Instrument Case
for test equipment
Cable laid on concrete
ties, protected by
conduit
CP near Golden, B.C.
Cable laid on wood ties,
protected by 2” x 4”s
RRAB Workshop
Slide and Washout Hazards:
Managing Natural Risks on Railways
May 1-3, 2002
Purpose of the Workshop
Stimulate collaboration and the
investment of resources for new
developmental programs to improve
the management of natural risks from
slide and washout hazards on railways
Workshop Sponsors
Association of Regional Railways of Canada
Canadian National Railways
Canadian Pacific Railway
Industry Canada
National Research Council
Natural Resources Canada
Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and
Emergency Preparedness Canada
Railway Association of Canada
Transport Canada
VIA Rail Canada
Workshop Discussion Groups
 Hazard characterization
 Establishing the context for research
 Hazard monitoring and detection technologies
 Research needs and priorities
 The way ahead
Workshop Will Be Considered a
Success When. . .
New programs are planned, resourced, and
begun within one or two years to tackle
priorities identified in the workshop
Significant improvements in managing natural
risks from slide and washout hazards on railways
are implemented and are bearing significant fruit
within five years that trace their origins to the
workshop
Planned Workshop Follow-Up
Prepare and distribute:
 Full workshop proceedings
 Package of speaker’s overheads
Prepare and circulate proposed program:
 Initial sounding with expert panel members
 Circulate results to all participants
Consult with participants on proposed program
Develop and implement go-forward plan:
 Converge on supportable program
 Resource the program
 Form technical steering group & management regime
 Coalesce participants and partners
Ground Hazard Research Program
Risk Assessment
 Hazards classification system
 Database of incidents and case histories
 GIS based modeling tools for predicting events
 Critical weather thresholds that trigger events
 Field test methodologies for the Fraser Canyon and
Thunder Bay rail corridors
Risk Control
 Decision support tools for mitigating risk
 New technologies for monitoring and detection of
events
End of Presentation