Evaluation of the current technologies used for the physical security and safety of selected railway tunnel portals as a case study in the Czech Republic

The security and safety of the railway tunnels require technical measures, information processes, and trained experts. Proper implementation and integration of these elements is crucial to protect lives, property, and the operation of the rail network. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe technological security and safety measures at the portals of selected railway tunnels greater than 1000 m in the conditions of the Czech Republic and their subsequent evaluation. The method of semi-structured interviews with experts with experience in the implementation of security and safety measures was used for the elaboration. SWOT analysis was used to assess the safety level of selected railway tunnels. The evaluation was carried out based on multi-criteria decision making and pairwise evaluation on the principle of Fuller’s triangle. The technical solutions of two currently known technological solutions in the case study for accident elimination based on lidar detection supplemented by cameras are characterized by fundamental differences. The solution in the Ejpovice tunnel focuses on the detection of objects in the immediate vicinity of the portal or already entered it. The solution in the Březenský tunnel focuses on a larger detection zone extending tens of meters in front of the tunnel portal and is divided into two parts with different logic, the pre-alarm and the alarm itself. Integration of individual elements into a proactive and automated system that uses modern AI-based analytical algorithms and respects the process and technology specifics of the railway environment is important for the safety and security of the railway tunnel.