School of Engineering and Technology, (SET)

This course aims to illustrate principles of rail system administration and management and their key components. Case studies of rail system reform and modernisation from various countries are given to facilitate discussions on implication and evolution of system administration and management. Relevant success stories and lessons learned are presented for the purpose of improving the rail systems in the inland AEC region. Freight operations and services are also included to complete the overview.

Upon completion of this course, it is expected that students will be able to:
  1. Acquire an outline of modern railway operations and projects; the key components of their management and administration; and reform and modernisation
  2. Evaluate railway operations and project performance and formulate corresponding management systems and planning
  3. Analyse financial models on railway operations and projects

None

1.       Common Issues of Rail System Administration and Management
  • Introduction of Railway Operations
  • Operations and Projects Planning
  • Organisations and KPIs
  • System Integration and Assurance
  • Incident/accident Management

2.       Reform and Modernisation
  • Railway Development
  • European Railway Traffic Management System
  • Technologies Evolution
  • Privatisation and Open Market
  • World Trend

3.       Freight Rail Operations and Services
  • Mixed Traffic Operations
  • Track Access Allocation
  • Tariff and Payload Management
  • Station Capacity
  • Theoretical vs. Practical Capacities

4.       Stakeholder Engagement and Financial Models
  • Sustainable Railway Operations
  • Lifecycle Cost Analysis
  • Development and Evaluation of Railway Operations and Projects

None

  • Handouts provided by the instructor
  • B.P.Y. Loo & C. Comtois (eds) (2015). Sustainable Railway Futures – Issues and Challenges, Ashgate Publishing.
  • Transportation Research: Part A:Policy and Practice, Elsevier
  • International Railway Journal, Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation
  • Lecture hours = 15 weeks * 3 hours (including exams)
  • Self-study and assignments = 15 weeks * 10 hours

 
  • Lectures and class discussions:  Students are provided with the weekly lecture schedule at the beginning of the course.  The students are requested to read relevant materials before coming to the class.  In class, the instructor will give the lecture and the students are expected to participate in group discussions.
  • Term project presentation:  Students are requested to individually deliver a term project presentation.  The students are expected to professionally deliver the presentation as well as submit a professional report.  The skills of using MS-Word and MS-PowerPoint will be provided as needed.

 

  • Class Participation/Assignment/Term Project               40%
  • Midterm Examination                                                 20%
  • Final Examination                                                      40%

Grade “A” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate thorough knowledge and mastery of concepts and techniques and understanding of subject matter with high degree of skill to relate with them real world examples. Grade “B” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate good knowledge and mastery of concepts and understanding of subject matter with good skill of relating them with real work cases. Grade “C” will be awarded if a student can demonstrate some knowledge of the concepts and understanding but lacks skill of relating them with real world cases. Grade “D” will be awarded if a student has poor understanding of concepts and techniques with no or little skill to relate with real world cases. Grade “F” will be awarded if student demonstrates very poor and limited knowledge and understanding of concepts and lacks the skill to relate with real world cases.

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