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Our work

Supporting the transition to a decarbonised transport system that is resilient and adaptive to a changing climate

Our Vision and Mission

Focusing on ground transport (road, rail, and active travel), DARe is developing transferable, open-source resources to help decision-makers evaluate infrastructure performance and stress-test adaptation options across future scenarios. 

To achieve this, the DARe team investigate:

  • the impacts of extreme weather on transport systems;
  • adaptation pathways, including both hard and soft adaptation measures;
  • the compound effects of ageing & deteriorating infrastructure assets;
  • the balance of cost, carbon, performance, and other factors for planned and new infrastructure;
  • and, the resilience of transport infrastructure in relation to its increasing dependency to energy systems.

The outputs from DARe’s programme will help:

  • equip decision-makers with insights and resources to improve evaluations of transport options, supporting planning and investment decisions that deliver resilient, adaptable and low-carbon transport systems;
  • inform long-term policies with robust evidence and recommendations for adaptive, climate-ready infrastructure;
  • and, generate new knowledge and methodologies that advance science and engineering understanding.

Developing a Framework

 

 

The Hub is developing a validated, usable Transport Performance and Risk Analysis Framework (TPRAF) to enable local, regional and national decision-makers to assess the balance of demands associated with climate resilience, adaptation, and decarbonisation, when addressing risks to transport infrastructure performance and operations. Its flexible design will allow tailoring to existing regional capabilities and contexts, ensuring continued relevance and usability across diverse transport systems.

The Framework comprises two key components:

  • The Decision Support Process (DSP) enables a unified approach to transport infrastructure decision-making by integrating decarbonisation, climate resilience, and adaptation considerations. It helps users understand the broader implications of infrastructure choices, including carbon impact, sustainability, and resilience.
  • The Integrated Modelling Platform (IMP) combines models and datasets to simulate climate-related disruptions to transport infrastructure and users, and explore adaptation options to increase resilience. It provides a dynamic understanding of how climate hazards – such as floods, heatwaves, and windstorms – might disrupt transport systems, helping to measure impacts and inform adaptation strategies.

Case studies

To test and demonstrate the outputs of the DARe Hub, we are developing a series of case studies co-created with our stakeholders.

The case studies span a diverse range of transport infrastructures, each presenting different challenges and constraints. The findings and insights generated will not only benefit the stakeholders directly involved but will also offer transferable knowledge and approaches applicable to other transport use cases across the UK.

To find out how your organisation can get involved, contact DAReHub@newcastle.ac.uk.

Cambridgeshire

Planning and investment decisions

North East England

New and ageing assets

Greater Manchester

Green infrastructure

Freight

Resilient, electrified networks

Rail

Adaptation pathways

DARe Repository

To support the dissemination and adoption of its outputs, DARe is producing open-source, accessible reports tailored for transport stakeholders (including operators, asset managers, industry bodies, and policy makers) that summarise research insights and strategic recommendations and provide practical instructions for using DARe’s resources.

In February 2027, the DARe Repository will be publicly available. For more details about DARe’s current papers and reports, see Publications.

Visit Latest to find news and blogs about the Hub’s most recent activities.

Flexible Funding

Through a series of calls between 2024 and early 2026, DARe will fund additional research projects to complement its existing research programme, using a Flexible Fund worth £2 million in total.

For more information, see Flexible Funding.

DARe
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