Modeling and vulnerability analysis of interdependent railway and power networks: Application to British test systems

Abstract

Railway and power networks are among the most important critical infrastructures and their vulnerability under different types of disrupting events has been analyzed extensively. However, the increasing degree of interconnection between these two critical infrastructures makes it necessary to consider the multiple interdependencies when conducting vulnerability assessments. We propose an approach for the modeling and vulnerability analysis of interdependent railway and power networks which accounts for a realistic coupling through the traction power network, which acts as an interface. Moreover, we consider cascading failures within and between networks. With the proposed model, we show that failures in the power network have a considerable negative impact on the railway network. In addition, our analysis shows that the dependency of the railway network on the power network can considerably impact vulnerability and cascading failures dynamics of the power network.