Failure’s Severity Affecting Railway Operation Based on Sensitivity Analysis: A Case Study of Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT)

Abstract

Operation delays and trip cancelations affect the reliability of the operation and customer’s satisfaction. This review work adopts a case study of AALRTS operation system employing operation data and incident records of AALRTS. The purpose of this paper is assessing the failures frequency and the time it takes to get back to its operation aiming that how sensitive it is for the reliability of the operation. An extensive literature review has been used to approach the problem in which the sensitive failure`s analysis methods have been identified. The method that has been used to investigate the failure`s magnitude was sensitivity failure analysis by considering the case study of AALRTS. The method has been implemented to identify different failure modes through the analysis of the case how sensitive the failures are to the normal operation. The results that have been discovered from the analysis are: - the safety incidents and equipment failures are the major groups that affect the normal operation of AALRTS. When we go to the depth level-crossing incidents and power outages are the major sensitive failures (from safety incidents and equipment failures) that can reduce the reliability of the operation dramatically. Finally the researcher would like to recommend that giving a due attention for those sensitive failures might improve the reliability of the railway operation.