Challenges of Railway Safety Risk Assessment and Maintenance Decision Making

Abstract

Railway safety is a very complicated subject, which is determined by numerous aspects. Many of qualitative and quantitative railway safety and risk analysis techniques and methods are used in the industry. But, however, the railway industry faces problems and challenges on how to apply these techniques and methods effectively and efficiently, particularly in the circumstances where the risk data are incomplete or there is a high level of uncertainty involved in the risk data. This chapter approaches these subjects to discuss the problems and challenges of railway safety and risk analysis methods in dealing with uncertainties, and those growing needs of the industry. A well-established technique is also introduced in this chapter which can be used to identify major hazards and evaluate both qualitative and quantitative risk data, and information associated with railway operation efficiently and effectively in an acceptable way in various environments.