CAGIS Receive TRB Rail Safety IDEA Funding for RailRisk Advisor Project

Charlotte, NC — Researchers at the Center for Applied Geographic Information Science (CAGIS) have received funding from the Transportation Research Board’s Rail Safety IDEA program for a new project titled RailRisk Advisor: A Web-GIS Tool for Assessing Railroad Trespassing Risk and Recommending Countermeasures.

The 18-month, $100,000 project will begin on July 1, 2026, and will be led by Dr. Yuting Chen and Dr. Wenwu Tang.

RailRisk Advisor will develop a Web GIS–based decision-support system to proactively assess railroad trespassing risk and recommend targeted safety countermeasures. By integrating geospatial data, historical injury records, and expert-informed risk modeling, the system will help identify high-risk railroad segments and provide context-specific, evidence-based intervention strategies.

The project will include a pilot implementation in the Charlotte region, focusing on Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties. Through this pilot, the team aims to support transportation agencies, including the North Carolina Department of Transportation, in prioritizing rail safety investments and strengthening data-driven decision-making.

The TRB Rail Safety IDEA program supports innovative approaches that have the potential to improve railroad safety and performance. RailRisk Advisor aligns closely with this mission by combining geospatial analytics, safety modeling, and Web GIS technologies to address railroad trespassing risk before incidents occur.

CAGIS also recognizes Dr. Tianyang Chen for his contributions during the proposal preparation process.