Vulnerability analysis of critical infrastructure under disruptions: An application to China Railway High-speed

Abstract

Considerable attention has been paid to the vulnerability of critical infrastructures because of the increasing occurrence of disruptive events, such as man-made or natural disasters. Even small disruptions could eventually affect the normal function of infrastructure systems. Enhancing the reliability of these systems and their robustness to disruptions is necessary and urgent. High-speed rail is a critical infrastructure that is subject to various disruptions, including component aging, malicious attacks, natural disasters, and demand surges. In this study, we analyze the topological centrality indicators of China Railway High-speed network using network theory and take real train flow information for assessing the importance of network components in terms of vulnerability to disruption. By Monte Carlo simulation, we analyze the risk of the China Railway High-speed network under random attacks and spatially localized failures. The significance of taking pre-actions for protecting critical infrastructures by mitigating its vulnerability to disruptions is emphasized.