EPN-V2

MABY5040 Advanced Railway Engineering Course description

Course name in Norwegian
Advanced Railway Engineering
Study programme
Master’s Programme in Civil Engineering
Weight
10.0 ECTS
Year of study
2025/2026
Course history

Introduction

Railway transportation is one of the key and fastest modes of mobility for passengers and cargo in large quantities. This course covers both basic topics such as the key components of railway systems and their characteristics, track geometric design and speed limitation, and advanced topics including coupled train-track system, track dynamics and vibration, and geotechnical aspects related to railway tracks. In this course, different types of railway tracks, the interaction between the track and the rolling stock, the static and dynamic modelling and analysis, urban railway systems, high-speed rails, as well as the safety and maintenance of railway systems will be discussed.

Recommended preliminary courses

BYVE3610 Jernbaneteknikk

BYVE3620 Vei- og jernbaneteknikk

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, the student should have the following outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

Students have in-depth knowledge of:

  • various railway systems and vehicle and track structures
  • track geometry, superelevation and speed limitation
  • the interaction between the vehicle and the track
  • dynamic behavior of railway systems
  • high-speed rails, urban rails and design considerations

Skills

Students can:

  • select and design an appropriate track system
  • calculate the vehicle loads and speed limitation
  • perform computational modelling and analysis of coupled vehicle-track system
  • quantify the effect of railway imperfection and wear and tear

General competence

Students:

  • can understand the principles for geometric and structural design of railway tracks
  • are capable of conducting simple and complex train-track simulations with the aid of computational tools and programming languages
  • are familiar with railway maintenance requirements and techniques

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures, exercises and projects

If lectures are delivered online, they may be recorded, and the recordings will be made available to students on Canvas.

Course requirements

The following work requirements are mandatory and must be approved prior to the exam:

2 written group exercises. Each group should consist of up to 3 students.

Assessment

The exam consist of two parts:

1) Written group project report approx 30 pages, weighted 70 %

2) Oral examination of project presentation by the student group (approx 30 min), weighted 30 %

Each student should consist of up to 3 students. All assessment parts must be awarded a pass grade (E or better) in order for the student to pass the course.

Assessment part 1) can be appealed. Assessment part 2) can not be appealed.

Permitted exam materials and equipment

All types of materials and equipment are allowed.

Grading scale

Grade scale A-F

Examiners

1) One internal examiner,

2) Two internal examiners

External examiners are used regularly.

Course contact person

Jian Dai