This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Post Doctoral Researcher
01 September 2019 - 01 March 2020
The provision of safe, efficient, reliable and affordable railway transport requires the railway track infrastructure to be maintained to an appropriate condition. Given the constrained budgets under which the infrastructure is managed, maintenance needs to be predicted in advance of track failure, prioritized and identified risks and uncertainties need to be considered within the decision-making process. This paper describes a risk-informed approach that can be used to economically justify railway track infrastructure conditions by comparing on a life-cycle basis infrastructure maintenance costs, train operating costs, travel time costs, safety, social and environmental impacts. The approach represents a step-change for the railway industry as it will enable economic maintenance standards to be derived which considers the needs of the infrastructure operator, but also those of users, train operating companies and the environment. Further, the risk-informed capability of the tool enables asset managers to deal with uncertainties associated with forecasting costs and the effects of track maintenance, and unavailability of data. The Monte Carlo simulation technique and a Fuzzy reasoning approach are used to address safety data uncertainties through probabilistic risk assessment allied to expert opinion. The approach is illustrated using data from three routes on the UK mainline railway network. The results demonstrate that the approach can be used to support strategic and tactical levels of railway asset management to inform plausible design and maintenance strategies that realise the maximum benefit for the available budget.
Manu Sasidharan; Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow; Gurmel Singh Ghataora; Rishi Marathu. A risk-informed decision support tool for the strategic asset management of railway track infrastructure. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow, Gurmel Singh Ghataora, Rishi Marathu. A risk-informed decision support tool for the strategic asset management of railway track infrastructure. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow; Gurmel Singh Ghataora; Rishi Marathu. 2021. "A risk-informed decision support tool for the strategic asset management of railway track infrastructure." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit , no. : 1.
Inadequate track drainage can lead to a variety of issues, including flooding, accelerated track degradation, and progressive or sudden failure of railway track, slope, or embankment. These can result in unplanned track maintenance, additional passenger travel costs, and damage to third party property. However, railway drainage asset management is challenging because it involves the consideration of large interconnected assets, limited maintenance budgets, and unknown failure probabilities. To address this issue, this paper introduces a risk-informed approach for railway drainage asset management that uses fault tree analysis to identify the factors that contribute to railway drainage flood risk and quantifies the likelihood of the occurrence of these factors using Monte Carlo simulation. This rational approach enables drainage asset managers to evaluate easily the factors that affect the likelihood of railway track drainage failure, thereby facilitating the prioritization of appropriate mitigation measures and in so doing improve the allocation of scarce maintenance resources. The analysis identified 46 basic and 49 intermediate contributing factors associated with drainage failure of ballasted railway track (undesired event). The usefulness of the approach is demonstrated for three sites on the UK railway network, namely, Ardsley Tunnel, Clay Cross Tunnel, and Draycott. The analysis shows that the Clay Cross Tunnel had the highest probability of drainage failure and should be prioritized for maintenance over the other two sites. The maintenance required should focus on blockages because of vegetation overgrowth or debris accumulation
Kristianto Usman; Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow; Gurmel Singh Ghataora; Manu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan. Using Probabilistic Fault Tree Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation to Examine the Likelihood of Risks Associated with Ballasted Railway Drainage Failure. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleKristianto Usman, Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow, Gurmel Singh Ghataora, Manu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan. Using Probabilistic Fault Tree Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation to Examine the Likelihood of Risks Associated with Ballasted Railway Drainage Failure. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKristianto Usman; Michael Peter Nicholas Burrow; Gurmel Singh Ghataora; Manu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan. 2021. "Using Probabilistic Fault Tree Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation to Examine the Likelihood of Risks Associated with Ballasted Railway Drainage Failure." , no. : 1.
Scour is one of the main causes of bridge failures resulting in significant macro-economic impacts, often beyond the direct costs of infrastructure damage. Given the pressure to increase the resilience of transport networks, ageing bridge infrastructure, constrained budgets, variable knowledge of asset conditions and limited data, mixed ownership and operation of bridges, and concerns about the risks of climate change, there is a need to implement cost-effective monitoring and maintenance strategies. To this end, this study aims to set the scene for a risk-informed approach for tackling bridge scour, while considering the socio-economic impacts of disruptions due to bridge failures or closures. This study reviews the current practices in predicting, monitoring and managing bridge scour. It discusses the development of a risk-informed approach to aid the whole-life appraisal of bridges while considering the direct and indirect costs associated with bridge failure or closures. The approach provides a rational means to enable asset managers to evaluate the factors that affect bridge failure risk, select and prioritise appropriate mitigation measures, thereby improving the allocation of scarce monitoring and maintenance resources.
Manu Sasidharan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad; Jennifer Schooling. Risk-informed asset management to tackle scouring on bridges across transport networks. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering 2021, 1 -17.
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Ajith Kumar Parlikad, Jennifer Schooling. Risk-informed asset management to tackle scouring on bridges across transport networks. Structure and Infrastructure Engineering. 2021; ():1-17.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad; Jennifer Schooling. 2021. "Risk-informed asset management to tackle scouring on bridges across transport networks." Structure and Infrastructure Engineering , no. : 1-17.
Railway track infrastructure asset management is a challenging problem with added values on safety, society and environment. With railways serving as a key sustainable mode of transportation for passengers and freight, the industry is facing an increasing demand to expand its capacity, availability and speed, resulting in faster deterioration of the aging railway track infrastructure. Given the constrained maintenance budgets and the environmental challenges posed by climate change, railway asset managers have to identify economically and environmentally-justifiable track maintenance strategies without compromising on safety. To this end, this paper proposes a risk-informed approach to arrive at sustainable railway track maintenance strategies, while considering the associated track maintenance costs and impacts to train operation (environmental emissions and risk of derailments). Monte Carlo simulation is employed to address data uncertainties associated with track quality data, the costs and benefits of track maintenance and train operation. The proposed approach is successfully applied to the heavy haul railway lines in Sweden and Australia to compare some alternative maintenance strategies and identify the sustainable one.
Manu Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. Infrastructure Asset Management 2021, 8, 25 -35.
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. Infrastructure Asset Management. 2021; 8 (1):25-35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. 2021. "Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks." Infrastructure Asset Management 8, no. 1: 25-35.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has rapidly expanded, with the UK being one of the countries with the highest number of cases and deaths in proportion to its population. Major clinical and human behavioural measures have been taken by the UK government to control the spread of the pandemic and to support the health system. It remains unclear how exactly human mobility restrictions have affected the virus spread in the UK. This research uses driving, walking and transit real-time data to investigate the impact of government control measures on human mobility reduction, as well as the connection between trends in human-mobility and severe COVID-19 outcomes. Human mobility was observed to gradually decrease as the government was announcing more measures and it stabilized at a scale of around 80% after a lockdown was imposed. The study shows that human-mobility reduction had a significant impact on reducing COVID-19-related deaths, thus providing crucial evidence in support of such government measures.
Georgios M. Hadjidemetriou; Manu Sasidharan; Georgia Kouyialis; Ajith K. Parlikad. The impact of government measures and human mobility trend on COVID-19 related deaths in the UK. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 2020, 6, 100167 -100167.
AMA StyleGeorgios M. Hadjidemetriou, Manu Sasidharan, Georgia Kouyialis, Ajith K. Parlikad. The impact of government measures and human mobility trend on COVID-19 related deaths in the UK. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives. 2020; 6 ():100167-100167.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGeorgios M. Hadjidemetriou; Manu Sasidharan; Georgia Kouyialis; Ajith K. Parlikad. 2020. "The impact of government measures and human mobility trend on COVID-19 related deaths in the UK." Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 6, no. : 100167-100167.
An ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R2 > 0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R2 > 0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 fatality and nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter pollution concentrations were found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city's vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public transport's response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region.
Manu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 741, 140515 -140515.
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Ajit Singh, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 741 ():140515-140515.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. 2020. "A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality." Science of The Total Environment 741, no. : 140515-140515.
M. Sasidharan; M.P.N. Burrow; G.S. Ghataora. A whole life cycle approach under uncertainty for economically justifiable ballasted railway track maintenance. Research in Transportation Economics 2020, 80, 1 .
AMA StyleM. Sasidharan, M.P.N. Burrow, G.S. Ghataora. A whole life cycle approach under uncertainty for economically justifiable ballasted railway track maintenance. Research in Transportation Economics. 2020; 80 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleM. Sasidharan; M.P.N. Burrow; G.S. Ghataora. 2020. "A whole life cycle approach under uncertainty for economically justifiable ballasted railway track maintenance." Research in Transportation Economics 80, no. : 1.
An ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R2>0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R2>0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 fatality and NO2 and PM2.5 pollution concentrations were also found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city’s vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public transport’s response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region. One Sentence Summary This study introduces air pollution levels as an indicator for a region’s vulnerability to COVID-19 and suggests human-mobility reduction measures.
Manu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Ajit Singh, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. 2020. "A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality." , no. : 1.