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Railroad Transportation of Hazardous Materials: Models for Risk Assessment and Management

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Handbook of OR/MS Models in Hazardous Materials Transportation

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ((ISOR,volume 193))

Abstract

A significant portion of hazardous materials (hazmat) is transported via railroads, and this chapter is the first attempt at capturing and assimilating the work done in this domain. To facilitate a better understanding of the building blocks, the chapter starts with a description of a typical freight rail transportation system, which in turn sets the stage for the introduction of different risk assessment methodologies and risk management techniques. Three of the most popular measures of hazmat transport risk, i.e., expected consequence, incident probability, and population exposure—with appropriate adaptations to incorporate the dynamics of railroad operations—are developed. Discussion on risk management is mostly focused on optimization frameworks developed for solving tactical planning problems, and some discussion on tank-car design and hazmat railcar placement in a train-consist. Finally, we outline some research issues requiring further investigation, and motivate the need for adopting a multidisciplinary approach.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported in part by two grants from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Grants # 312936 and #183631). Both authors are member of the Interuniversity Research Center on Enterprise, Network Logistics and Transportation (CIRRELT) and acknowledge the research infrastructure provided by the Center. Also the comments and suggestions of an referee helped improve the paper significantly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Manish Verma

  2. Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Vedat Verter

Authors
  1. Manish Verma
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  2. Vedat Verter
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Correspondence to Manish Verma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The State University of New York, Dept of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University at Buffalo, Bonner Hall 412G, Buffalo, 14260, New York, USA

    Rajan Batta

  2. The State University of New York, ISE Department, University at Buffalo, Bell Hall 400, Buffalo, 14260, New York, USA

    Changhyun Kwon

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Verma, M., Verter, V. (2013). Railroad Transportation of Hazardous Materials: Models for Risk Assessment and Management. In: Batta, R., Kwon, C. (eds) Handbook of OR/MS Models in Hazardous Materials Transportation. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 193. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6794-6_2

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