BIM-Driven Digital Twin for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience of Railway Overhead Line System

Railway overhead line systems play a critical role in national railway infrastructure. However, climate change driven by anthropogenic activities has increasingly affected the construction and operation of such systems. Railway overhead lines must therefore be designed and managed to withstand a range of climate-related hazards, including storms, extreme rainfall, natural erosion, high temperatures, snow events, etc. This paper aims to enhance resilience management by developing a 6D Building Information Modelling (BIM) framework for a railway overhead line along the Market Harborough to Wigston located at the East Midland, U.K., and integrating it with a structured risk assessment process aligned with ISO 31000:2018. The proposed process encompasses risk identification, analysis, evaluation, treatment, and continuous monitoring of detailed components to assure public safety. Note that lesser or simplified information could endanger the systems and the public. Our results are the first to demonstrate that implementing a 6D BIM-based approach significantly improves the resilience of railway overhead line systems against climate change impacts by supporting informed decision-making, lifecycle cost analysis, and proactive risk mitigation. This study advances resilience management practices in railway systems and provides a systematic approach to addressing climate-related risks in critical infrastructure.