National critical infrastructure and the Polish railway system

Ozog, Berenika (2012) National critical infrastructure and the Polish railway system. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discuss different approaches and sources of information about national critical infrastructure. Moreover, the Polish railway system was examined in this context in order to provide recommendations for particular critical elements of its infrastructure and suggest actions on how to protect it.

The method used was accumulating various documents and materials to obtain the definitions of critical infrastructure and protection measures. The research questions were stated and throughout the paper the answers for them were being searched. The first part discussed theoretical heritage of the critical infrastructure including such terms as business continuity or crisis management and their relevance. Next, critical infrastructure interdependencies and transport infrastructure itself were analysed. Then, the policy makers from the UK, USA, European Union and Poland were investigated to see how different countries perceive critical infrastructure. The next chapter considered the real life situations of train disasters caused by various issues. The part about Polish railway system gave a better glance on the problems and challenges that Polish railway is facing and give the possible choke points of the system that should be protected. After that, the rail infrastructure assessment was undertaken followed by the recommendations.

It was found that based on various sources, the definitions of critical infrastructure can vary significantly depending on the policy maker and perception of the country. However, it is always about those elements that if damaged, they would bring a significant loss to economy and society. The recommendations given for Poland included protection of HAZMAT trains, passenger trains and stations, natural disasters protection and special routes observation.

Item Type: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Depositing User: EP, Services
Date Deposited: 08 Apr 2013 13:15
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2017 13:10
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/25992

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