Geospatial and Spearman Correlation Study of Seismic Hazard and Railway Infrastructure Accidents in California

Earthquakes are one of the major causes of railroad infrastructure damage in active tectonic regions. This study investigates the relationship between railway infrastructure accidents and seismic hazards of 26 counties in California, an active tectonic region in the US. Employing spatial analysis and Spearman Correlation methods, the study found that over 15 years, $\geq$ M4 earthquakes occurring at depths $\leq 40 \mathrm{~km}$ strongly correlate with infrastructure accidents. While smaller earthquakes ($3 \leq M\lt 4$) do not strongly correlate with the overall accidents, they exhibit a moderate to strong correlation with specific issues, e.g. defects of rail switch and structure. This indicates that small and shallow earthquakes, which occur repeatedly in the same areas, can cause long-term damage. The study’s results lay the groundwork for creating more sophisticated models to depict the relationship between railway accidents and seismic hazards, which could help predict future damage and its causes.