Transport leaders turn focus to preparing networks for a warmer, more demanding future

How transport networks can withstand rising temperatures, ageing infrastructure and increasing passenger demand will come under the spotlight when infrastructure leaders gather in Manchester for the Institution of Civil Engineers’ first Resilient Transport conference.

London’s experience of adapting one of the world’s largest and most complex urban transport networks to a changing climate will form a central part of a new industry conference dedicated to transport resilience.

Seb Dance, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport and Deputy Chair of Transport for London (TfL), will deliver a keynote address examining how the capital is preparing its transport infrastructure for warmer weather.

His presentation, ‘London – adapting transport networks to meet the challenge of a warmer climate’, will consider not only the engineering implications of increasing temperatures but also what climate adaptation means for the millions of people who live and work in the city.

The inaugural Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Resilient Transport conference will take place in Manchester from 23 to 25 September.

Climate change meets ageing infrastructure

The conference comes as transport authorities and infrastructure owners face the combined challenge of maintaining ageing assets while preparing networks for increasingly demanding environmental conditions.

Extreme heat, flooding and severe weather can affect everything from railway tracks and overhead power equipment to roads, bridges, drainage systems and stations.

At the same time, many networks are being expected to accommodate greater demand without compromising reliability or safety.

The event will examine how infrastructure organisations can move beyond responding to individual incidents and instead embed resilience into the way transport assets are designed, maintained and upgraded.

That includes considering climate risk at the earliest stages of investment and engineering decisions rather than treating adaptation as an additional requirement later in a project's development.

Roads and rail leaders join the debate

Dance will be joined by senior figures responsible for some of the UK's most important transport infrastructure.

Speakers include Nicola Bell MBE, Chief Capital Delivery Officer at National Highways, and Lisa Constable, Network Rail's Head of Climate Change and Resilience and Adaptation.

Providing an international perspective will be Dr Jacob Kam, Chairman of MTR Corporation Limited, the organisation behind Hong Kong's extensive rail network and transport operations in a number of international markets.

Bringing together representatives from roads, rail and urban transport is intended to encourage a broader discussion about resilience across interconnected networks rather than examining individual modes in isolation.

Sessions will cover areas including smart infrastructure, systems thinking and climate resilience in rural transport, alongside practical approaches to strengthening existing assets.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to visit Transport for Greater Manchester's operational control centre, providing a closer look at how a major city-region manages its transport network in real time.

‘Resilience isn’t a nice to have’

ICE believes infrastructure owners need to act now rather than wait for climate pressures to intensify.

Sam Gould, Director of Policy and External Affairs at ICE, said:

“Resilience isn’t a nice to have. With our changing climate and the pressure that growing demand is placing on ageing assets, it’s imperative that transport networks are making changes now to prepare for those around the corner.”

He said the conference would bring together specialists already working on practical responses to those challenges.

The discussion is becoming increasingly relevant as infrastructure operators reconsider how assets designed around historic weather patterns will perform over the coming decades.

For London, that means understanding how a heavily used transport system can continue operating as temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes a greater consideration in investment decisions.

But the challenge extends far beyond the capital.

From railway earthworks and drainage to motorway structures and urban public transport, climate resilience is increasingly becoming part of the fundamental engineering question facing the sector: not simply how infrastructure should be built, but how it can continue performing in conditions very different from those for which it was originally designed.