Prototype System for Managing and Analyzing Enterprise Rail Transport Risks of Hazardous Materials

TRB's Rail Safety Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Safety Project 34: Prototype System for Managing and Analyzing Enterprise Rail Transport Risks of Hazardous Materials summarizes a project that resulted in a web-based prototype system designed to support railroads with new risk data visualization and decision-making capabilities.

The prototype system addresses the following:
• determination and prioritization of high-risk network areas by considering comprehensive hazmat movements across operational networks;
• evaluation of the impacts of introducing additional shipments from new hazmat customers;
• monitoring network safety risk for significant changes in trends; and
• comparison of the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies and support with identification of the network locations at which those strategies potentially achieve the greatest benefit for finite safety investments.