Evaluation Method for Implementation Effects of Disaster Countermeasures for Freight Railway Networks

We developed a method for evaluating the effect of disaster countermeasures using two indices: volume of freight transportation on a freight railway network during disruptions caused by natural disasters and sum of costs borne by freight railway operators during restoration periods. The evaluation method aims to support train operator decision-making regarding implementation of disaster countermeasures. A case study applying the evaluation method demonstrated that the method could provide appropriate evaluation results contributing to decision-making by operators.