Road and rail infrastructure are critical systems that can instigate significant changes in social and economic growth, security, safety, and sustainable development in any country. At present, some of these critical infrastructure networks are aging and on the verge of failing due to exposure to extreme weather conditions. This is likely exacerbated by multiple hazards and climate change over their lifecycle. Emerging risks and their significant consequences, with no sign of early warnings, have been evidenced by many extreme events, such as the Nepal earthquakes, the Madrid train bombing, the Brussels metro attack, etc. The majority of past research emphasized the robustness of the critical infrastructure systems. Insights into infrastructure vulnerability and resilience are desperately needed to improve and modernize road and rail infrastructures from a fundamental design principle viewpoint. Many critical issues, such as choice of materials, durability, capacity and vulnerability, engineering properties, functionality requirements, and design concepts, remain unknown or unchanged. This causes uncertainties and safety risks within the infrastructure systems. This Special Issue will address some of the most essential issues currently affecting the safety, resilience, and vulnerability of road and rail infrastructure systems. Rebuilding and enhancing urban infrastructure systems faces problems, beyond the search for engineering solutions. It is vital to instigate infrastructure adaptation actions to: (i) reduce exposure to hazards (e.g., by providing more robust and/or better designed structures); (ii) reduce the consequences of the hazard (e.g., using the affected resource more prudently, by reducing other pressures, and through preparation and readiness); and (iii) improve recovery from the hazard impact (by investing in effective recovery procedures). Thus, this Special Issue will accept various novel and original research topics related to road and rail infrastructure systems, including, but not limited to: Fundamental engineering design; Safety, risks, and uncertainty; Smart infrastructure; Novel materials such as composites, metamaterials, etc.; Transportation geotechniques; Road and rail transportation; Mechanics, prognostics, and diagnostics; Health monitoring, inspection, NDT&E (non-destructive testing and evaluation), and signal processing; Data science and artificial intelligence; Multi-hazards and climate change adaptation; New technologies such as digital twins, BIM, decarbonization technologies, advanced sensors, etc.
Keywords: road; rail; infrastructure; transportation; multi-hazards; critical infrastructures.