Hazard Identification On Operation System Of High-Speed Railway

Train operation system is the key to the safety of high-speed railway system, responsible for managing and controlling daily train operations and rail traffic activities. In order to evaluate the system’s safety performance and reliability, it is necessary to identify and analyze the hazardous sources of the system. To this end, this thesis focuses on the identification, analysis and classification of hazardous sources in the high-speed railway operation system of China. The analyses are mainly around three aspects of the system in question: human factors, machine or equipment failures and defaults, and the influence of environment, including both natural and social aspects.Firstly, it is essential to understand the high-speed railway operation system before starting hazard identification. Based on documentation and on-site investigations, the thesis analyzes the system in detail, including its structure, function, personnel, equipments and related environment factors. Particularly, the responsibilities and work processes of high-speed railway dispatchers are analyzed in detail, using flow chart to illustrate their daily tasks, people and department to communicate with, and how the information between them is transmitted.Secondly, by summarizing the theories and common methods of hazard identification in various domains, methodologies suited to the high-speed railway operation system is then selected and analyzed. The latter includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods such as System Science, Human Factors Analysis Classification System Model (HFACS), Grey System Theories and Comprehensive Evaluation, etc. Furthermore, thanks to the published materials of Chinese Railway Corporation, the master work has investigated77typical incidents during2009-2012of Chinese high-speed railway history, made them classified and integrated to the hazard identification progress. A related simulation program is then built up to test the applicability of the analytical model and export the results. The simulation results show three fundamental conclusions as follows.(i) The human factors are the most dangerous hazard in the high-speed railway operation system, especially errors and violations of dispatchers and drivers. It is also emphasized to pay more attention to the organization influences including a better formulating of rules and regulations,(ii) The environmental factors acting on the systems’ infrastructures and machines are the secondly vital hazardous sources of high-speed railway operation system, among which unfavorable weather conditions are the most common hazards.(iii) Comparing to the first two factors, the last one is related to the defaults of system’s machine and equipments. Nevertheless, the right operation dealing with equipment failures are essential to ensure the safety of trains’ operation.Finally, according to the system analysis, data investigations and simulation results, the thesis proposes several measures and recommendations to control the identified hazardous resources, which are also focused on the three perspectives of human, equipments and environment factors. It is recommended in the paper to enhance the training and regular assessment of operators such as dispatchers, to train drivers and other personnel, especially the abilities of dealing with emergency situation. In addition, emphasizes on equipment maintenance and environment supervision are also proposed.