Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems

CSA Group has conducted hundreds of individual engagements and workshops with interested and affected parties in the transit sector. Additionally, in July 2023, CSA Group established a Transit and Passenger Rail Advisory Group, comprising senior level representatives from transit agencies, equipment manufacturers, industry associations, consultancies, and all three levels of government, to guide CSA Group’s expanding work in this sector (this group will shortly be converted into a strategic steering committee). Across these discussions, climate change adaptation and resilience has been identified as one of the sector’s key priorities and as a critical standardization need. In response, CSA Group has investigated this topic in detail and identified the need for a transit-specific Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments and risk treatment guidance as a critical first step.

This proposed New Standard is being developed at the request of the transit sector. It will provide the industry with a transparent, replicable, and standardized approach to CCVAs for Canadian transit and passenger rail systems and provide guidance on how to treat the most common risks likely to be identified by these assessments. 

This will meet the strategic needs of the following key interests:

• Railway operators

• Railway owners / transit agencies 

• Railway maintainers 

• Potential contractors 

• Railway regulators 

• Potential suppliers

• Government bodies at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.