GRiPS: A GIS-Based Risk Prioritization and Hazard Alert Tool for Railway Geohazards

September 26, 2024

ABSTRACT

The Canadian National Railway track through British Columbia’s southern interior crosses through mountainous terrain that is prone to geohazards, which are often triggered by extreme weather events. The authors developed a GIS-based Geohazard Risk Prioritization System, to aid CN in identifying segments of track most at risk, provide warning of adverse weather conditions, and prioritize areas for mitigation work. The tool interface displays hazard locations along the CN track and assigns a risk rating to each. The risk ratings are updated regularly as conditions and weather forecasts change. Hazard locations were identified using historical records and geospatial data. The authors weighed spatial risk factors and carried out regional susceptibility models to develop hazard ratings for each location. Historical weather records were used to develop climate hazard factors, weightings, and thresholds. The potential consequences at each location were rated based on existing mitigation infrastructure at each location. Hazard level and consequences were combined to give a risk priority rating for each hazard location.

Sampaleanu, C., C. Johnson, T. Keegan, J. Poucher, A. Wiebe, D. Brown and T. Evans. 2024. “GRiPS: A GIS-Based Risk Prioritization and Hazard Alert Tool for Railway Geohazards,” in Proceedings of GeoMontreal 2024. Resilient Geosciences for Future Generations, 15-18 September 2024, Montreal, QC.