Applicability assessment of digital twins of railway bridges

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Improving the safety of key infrastructure facilities, including railway swing bridges, is the government priority. The unique nature of Russia, where most bridges of this type are concentrated in major metropolitan areas and have long service lives, requires innovative solutions. In the premises, the paper focuses on using digital twins as a tool capable of dramatically improving reliability and safety of these strategic structures. AIM: This work aimed to provide a comparative analysis of operation of swing bridges in Russia and globally and assess the potential for using digital twins to improve their safety in Russia. METHODS: We used statistical methods to analyze publicly available data. We assessed the applicability of digital twins to improve the performance and safety of bridges in Russia. RESULTS: In Russia, 26% of swing bridges are railway bridges (compared to 18% other countries). The median age is 60 years (compared to 88 in other countries). 85% of bridges in Russia are located in cities with populations over a million (compared to 11.6% in other countries), highlighting their importance for infrastructure. CONCLUSION: The use of digital twins to improve the safety of railway swing bridges in Russia is reasonable and requires further consideration.