Assessing the level of risk in rail and road level crossings using ALCAM model

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors
Farzaneh Mohammadi Kian 1
Hamid Reza Ahadi 2
1 M.Sc., Department of Railway Safety Engineering, School of Railway Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Railway Transportation Engineering, School of Railway Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
10.22119/jte.2024.467261.2712
Abstract
Rail transportation system is the safest mode of ground transportation for mass transportation of goods and passengers. One of the important challenges of the rail transportation system is the occurrence of accidents at level crossings. The infrastructure used in rail and road level crossings is often one of the options of underpasses, overpasses or level crossings. Currently, level crossings in Iran are prioritized using the IP (Identification and Prioritization) risk index. In this research, different methods of risk assessment in rail and road level crossings in different countries have been investigated, and then by examining the data of the Iranian Railways and the existing conditions of the infrastructures in the level crossings, as well as the accidents that have occurred in the last ten years in this crossing, the main causes of accidents have been identified. One of the important issues in risk determination is identifying the appropriate risk assessment methods and using the appropriate method. Therefore, by using ALCAM (Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model) method, which was introduced for the first time in Australia, the level of risk in Iranian railway level crossings has been evaluated and calculated based on each region. Since AlCAM's method, in addition to considering the physical characteristics of the crossing, considers the exposure factor and the outcome for prioritizing the crossings, as a result, the proposed method leads to the calculation of the risk number and more accurate prioritization of intersections. According to the findings of this research, among the investigated crossings in Iran, there is one crossing in Khorasan district (Shaheed Motahari-Fariman) and 5 crossing in Tehran district that is: Pishva-Varamin; Bahram-Varamin; Ray-Bahram; Tapeh Sefid-Tehran and Varamin-Pishva had the highest number of risks and this crossing can be called as the most dangerous rail and road level crossing in Iran. Finally, according to the existing conditions in high-risk areas and considering the main causes of accidents in these areas, solutions have been provided to reduce the risk.

Keywords

Subjects

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Quarterly Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 4 - Serial Number 65
Spring 2025
Pages 4915-4934

  • Receive Date 12 July 2024
  • Revise Date 04 October 2024
  • Accept Date 06 October 2024