Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Modeling the Impact of Geomagnetically Induced ...

Associated organisational unit

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Modeling the Impact of Geomagnetically Induced Currents on Electrified Railway Signaling Systems in the United Kingdom

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
Article numbere2022SW003385
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>31/03/2023
<mark>Journal</mark>Space Weather
Issue number3
Volume21
Number of pages18
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date16/03/23
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Studies of space weather impacts on ground‐based infrastructure have been largely focused on power networks and pipelines, but railway signaling systems are also affected, with misoperations observed in several countries. This paper advances recent theoretical work on geomagnetically induced currents in railway signaling systems by modeling realistic railway lines with parameters from current industrial standards. Focusing on two example lines in the United Kingdom with different locations and orientation, a range of uniform electric fields are simulated along each modeled line. The results show that misoperations could be caused by geomagnetic interference at disturbance levels expected to recur over timescales of several decades. We also demonstrate that the UK estimate for the geoelectric field induced by a 1 in 100‐year extreme storm would be strong enough to cause widespread signal misoperations in both lines studied.