Risk assessment and resilience of critical communication infrastructure in railways

This paper discusses the significant findings of an extended risk assessment of the key communication infrastructure used in emergency communication in railways in Norway. The initial risk assessment was performed in 2008. Resilience was explored as a strategy in the risk assessment to improve safety, security, and quality of service. We have reviewed the results in 2010, documenting mitigating actions and the effect of the actions. In addition, the development of safety and security culture has been evaluated. The risk assessment was based on a socio-technical approach, which considers technical, organizational, and human factors. Action research was used as a method to improve the scope and commitment of the risk assessment. It is suggested that organizational collaboration supported by the action research approach has aided in prioritizing the key mitigating actions, based on improved understanding and commitment. The high stability of the GSM-R system has supported safety of operations in the period. One of the identified unwanted incidents occurred in 2010 and gave credibility to the risk assessment. The risk assessment process seems to have sustained the safety and security culture and improved the knowledge of emergency response supporting resilience. The resilience of the total system seems to have been improved. The main contributions of this article are the empirical results of a risk assessment extended with resilience and suggested indicators related to resilience. In addition, it is suggested that exploration of resilience and action research improves the quality and effect of the risk assessment. Risk assessments in a complex setting with uncertainty should explore resilience as a strategy and explore action research to improve understanding and learning among the stakeholders.