Strengthening our transport systems for the future: a call for investment in resilience

Guest piece by Miriam MacLennan, Associate Director (Asset Management), Arup

Despite the clear challenges posed by heatwaves, storms, winds and snowfall, investment in resilience has lagged behind, delaying much needed action and growing the infrastructure resilience gap. 

Our rail, roads, airports and ports are an interconnected system, making entire routes of the transport network vulnerable to potentially small, localised disruptions. However, when one part of the system fails, it can cause a knock-on effect through the entire network, having a profound impact on the people who use it. Resilient transport connections enhance quality of life by ensuring reliable access to essential services and social connections, while fostering a more inclusive society by promoting equal access to them. This is particularly vital for vulnerable populations who rely heavily on public transport. 

While societal impacts make the front page, the economic consequences are also significant. The 2014 storm that devastated the coastal railway at Dawlish is a clear example. According to Network Rail, the local economy lost £1.2 billion over eight weeks, in addition to the £5 million required for repairs. This case demonstrates that funding for maintenance and renewals is not configured yet to protect against wider impacts but to simply minimise the financial losses of the infrastructure alone. Replicated across many asset owners and transport modes, this investment model is still one of the key barriers to achieve holistic transport resilience. 

A resilient transport network can bring wider social, economic and environmental outcomes that may not be obvious in the short-term. It can reduce maintenance and repair costs over time, freeing up resources for development and innovation. In addition, it attracts long-term external investment, encouraging economic growth and sustainable urban development. Finally, it has the potential to unlock nature-based and low-carbon interventions, supporting local habitats and increasing biodiversity.   

The benefits of resilience will not be fully achieved until the industry shifts from a reactive to proactive approach, anticipating and preparing for shocks before they occur. Implementing change is challenging, so how can we bring down the barriers preventing us to take a step forward? We believe there are five key strategies that can help drive progress – 

Establish common goals: set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) cross-sectoral goals that go beyond individual aims to drive consistent action at a geographical or network level.

Build cross-sector collaboration: create a default intent to coordinate and share information and resources across organisational boundaries to reduce cascading failures.

Implement resource and finance effectively: leverage fair and innovative funding models to secure proportionate levels of capital from all beneficiaries for investing in resilience.

Inform decisions through data and innovation: require that data collection attributes costs to climate hazards, improve data capture and make it accessible across organisations.

Adopt a resilience mindset: promote resilience as an investment opportunity rather than a risk to drive an appetite and a desire for resilience initiatives.

Our latest report with London Transport Museum, Gowling WLG and Hitachi Rail – Transport resilience in a changing climate: The case for investment – explores these actions in detail, bringing together voices across the transport industry to deep dive into the value of investing in resilience and the challenges to build a future-proofed network.