Title: Vulnerability analysis of interdependent critical infrastructures: case study of the Swedish railway system

Authors: Jonas Johansson; Henrik Hassel; Alexander Cedergren

Addresses: Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 LUND, Sweden. ' Department of Fire Safety Engineering and Systems Safety, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden. ' Department of Fire Safety Engineering and Systems Safety, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden

Abstract: Critical infrastructures provide essential services which enable our society to function. Disruptions in infrastructures can have widespread effects, not only for the originating infrastructure but also, through mutual dependencies, for other infrastructures. Identifying vulnerabilities inherent in these system-of-systems is thus highly critical for the proactive management and avoidance of future crises. A modelling approach for interdependent technical infrastructures is proposed and three perspectives for the analysis of vulnerabilities are introduced, addressing the complexities associated with comprehensively analysing technical interdependent infrastructures. An empirical analysis of the railway system in southern Sweden is conducted, a system consisting of seven interdependent supporting systems. It is concluded that the proposed modelling approach and the three perspectives of vulnerability analysis give valuable insights for the proactive risk management of technical infrastructures.

Keywords: critical infrastructures; complex systems; interdependencies; risk assessment; vulnerability analysis; railways; Sweden; modelling; technical infrastructures; risk management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2011.045065

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2011 Vol.7 No.4, pp.289 - 316

Accepted: 06 Sep 2011
Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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