1. Summary and Wrap-up Discussion 8 July 2015

2. Railway Engineering is the integration of:
Civil Engineering
Railway Engineering is the integration of:
Transportation Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Systems Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Safety Engineering

3. Summary of Presentations
Vision for Railway Engineering Education - Barkan
Introduction to Rail Transport & Fundamental Principles - Barkan
Introduction to Railway Infrastructure - Thomsen
Train Energy, Power and Traffic Control - Lipfert
Railway Intermodal Transportation - Clarke
Railway Alignment Design and Geometry – AREMA/FRA Basis - Loehr
Railway Alignment Design and Geometry – TCRP 155/FTA Basis - Loehr
High Speed Rail Design - Ruppert
Transit, Regional and Intercity Passenger Rail Transportation - Vuchic

4. Introduction to Rail Transport & Fundamental Principles
North American rail network and traffic growth
Railroads provide sustainable mobility
Physics of railroad efficiency
Fundamental characteristics enable infrastructure optimized for highly efficient performance
Efficiency leads to economic, energy and environmental benefits
Efficiency also poses some challenges
Rail safety and metrics
Rail safety trends and comparison to highway transport

5. Introduction to Railway Infrastructure
Types of track and components
Basic support, hardware and track system
Special trackwork
Diverging routes and crossings
Bridges and tunnels
Navigating topography
Stations, yards and terminal facilities
Sorting cars and making up trains
Passenger boarding and egress

6. Train Energy, Power and Traffic Control
Basic power and propulsion systems
DC vs AC power
Characteristics and applications of each
Introduction to train and traffic control systems
Signals, track circuits, block systems & interlockings
Automatic stop and speed control technology
Train control research opportunities
Leveraging PTC for capacity and energy efficiency
CBTC open architecture
Grade crossing continuous warning technology
Dispatching optimization to optimize: track capacity, rolling stock and operating crews
Simulation-based operational and traffic forecasting

7. Railway Intermodal Transportation
Passenger and freight rail intermodal transport
Definition of intermodal
Passenger – Aspects of connectivity
Physical, Temporal, Cognitive, Transactional, Comfort, Safety, Security and Reliability
Intermodal freight transport
Major source of rail freight traffic growth in recent decades
Hardware, technology and infrastructure
Future issues
Improving rail system capacity, service & efficiency
Funding improvements – private, public & partnerships
Short-haul rail intermodal competitive with truck

8. Railway Alignment Design and Geometry
Heavy rail systems
Distinction between rail and highway practice and terminology
Designs often must accommodate freight and passenger
Light rail systems
Distinction between light rail and heavy rail practice

9. High-Speed Rail Design
High speed rail is a system
Vehicle track interaction
Implicit in previous presentations but must be explicitly recognized in HSR
Definitions and Requirements
System and subsystems
Core Systems
Track Works
Civil Works
Maintenance Depots
Stations

10. High-Speed Rail Design
High speed rail is a system
System dynamics
Vehicle track interaction
Implicit in previous presentations but must be explicitly recognized in HSR
Definitions and Requirements
System and subsystems
Core Systems
Track Works
Civil Works
Maintenance Depots
Stations
Transport hub
Profit center

11. Transit, Regional and Intercity Rail
Urban transport modes and their evolution with cities’ growth
Rail transit modes definitions and descriptions
Rolling stock design and operations
Rail transit mode characteristics and comparisons
Intercity rail: Amtrak and High-Speed Rail
Advantages of high-speed ground transport

12. Questions and Discussion Points
Need to rebuild academic curricula at North American colleges and universities
Funding for academic rail research and education
Expand funding of “conventional” rail research and more basic topics
Develop new alternative rationale for funding to support sustainable growth
Engagement with rail community
Develop understanding of rail research questions and opportunities
Industry organizations – APTA, AREMA, TRB
Academic organizations – ASCE, ASME, IEEE, INFORMS
Participant questions and topics

13. Discussion
铁路运输及工程中心