Co-creating railway flood resilience: applying the science of blue-green-grey infrastructure

This knowledge exchange project builds on the best science from three areas, firstly flood risk science and management, secondly catchment source control (runoff attenuation, SuDS and other green infrastructure) and thirdly ecosystem services assessment and payment for ecosystem services markets. It will be undertaken by the Centre for Floods, Communities and Resilience and the Centre for Transport & Society at UWE, Bristol in partnership with Network Rail, South Gloucestershire Council and Somerset Council. The primary objective is to assess the potential for catchment source control to reduce flooding impacts to the railway assets and therefore increase the resilience of the network. In order to explore the benefits of this approach an ecosystem services approach will be used to assess these services which will be contextualised in relation to a component of the study which assesses the direct and indirect costs of network disruption. The potential of a payment for ecosystem services market to fund the catchment intervention will be explored.