CHALLENGES IN THE EDUCATION OF

RAILWAY ENGINEERS

Prof. Dr. Eng. A. LÓPEZ PITA

Technical University of Catalonia

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RAILWAYS AND THE FUTURE SCENARIO

RAILWAY BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT IN 2020
ðEnormous demand on the
rail transport system due to:
•Economic growth
•Ageing population
•Integration of new EU
members (560 million
members)
ðOverall passenger
transport demand: + 40% =
7.500 billon pkm
ðOverall freight transport
demand: + 70% = 6.000 billon
tkm

ðObjective for Railways: reach 15% for freight and 12% for passengers (it
means to double rail market share)
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CHALLENGES FOR THE RAIL SECTOR

ERRAC
CHALLENGES OF RAIL MARKET SHARE INCREASE CAN ONLY BE MET IF RAIL
TRANSPORT IMPROVES ITS SYSTEM AND ATTRACTS MORE CUSTOMERS

ðNew and innovative production models and concepts

ðCustomer service improvements
ðProductivity increases of infrastructure, rolling stock NEED FOR
and staff COLLABORATIVE
ðSignificant increase of reliability and punctuality EFFORT
ðReduction of door-to-door transit times
ðIncrease of comercial speeds

EDUCATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND SKILL

TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL FOR A COMPETITIVE RAILWAY INDUSTRY
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IN THE LAST 2 DECADES EUROPEAN RAILWAY COMPANIES

HAVE EXPERIENCED DEEP CHANGES

ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL

MODIFICATION OF HIGH-SPEED SERVICES
CONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE à NEW STANDARDS IN THE
INTO “BUSINESS UNITS” RAILWAYS OPERATION

MODIFICATION OF THE EDUCATION NEEDS

* DESCRIBE THE EVOLUTION ON THE EDUCATION ON THE LAST
YEARS AND THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES

* DISCUSS THE EDUCATION NEEDS FOR THE RAIL SECTOR IN

THE FUTURE
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EDUCATION IN THE RAIL SECTOR

RAILWAY AND ENGINEERS IN THE PAST

(UP TO 1980) IN WESTERN EUROPE

GENERALIST ENGINEERS ACQUISITION OF

(ONLY A SMALL SPECIFIC COMPETENCES
EDUCATION ON RAILWAYS) ð ON THE JOB

* A PERIOD WHEN IT COULD BE SAID THAT RAILWAY

ENGINEERS WERE SELF-SUFFICIENT TO PROVIDE ANSWERS
TO THE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS.

* RAILWAY ENGINEERS (IN THE NATIONAL RAILWAY

COMPANIES) FACED AND SOLVED, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE THE
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.
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RAILWAY RESEARCH:
“INSIDE” THE RAILWAY COMPANIES

RECORD OF THE
FERNAND NOUVION “LANDES” (1955)
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ANDRE PRUD’HOMME

VERTICAL STRESSES

TRANSVERSAL RESISTANCE OF
THE TRACK
 LA VOIE
par M. A. PRUD’HOMME
Ingénieur en Chef Hors classe
Chef de la division des Etudes et Recherches “Voie”
à la Direction des Installations Fixes de la S.N.C.F.

UNSPRUNG MASS
(m)

3t m 1,5t

VERTICAL STIFFNESS

150 KN/mm 90 KN/mm

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PROF. JOSEF EISENMANN

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RAILWAY AND ENGINEERS FROM 1980 UP TO TODAY

• THE CREATION OF THE SO-CALLED “BUSINESS UNITS” IN

SUBSTITUTION OF THE TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE
RAILWAY COMPANIES.

HIGH-SPEED TRAINS

LONG-DISTANCE RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORT

REGIONAL TRANSPORT

RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT

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• THE COMERCIAL ASPECTS BEGAN TO ACQUIRE

A MORE RELEVANT DIMENSION.

• THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS WERE OBSERVED FROM

AN “INSTRUMENTAL PERSPECTIVE”

“ THE HIGHER DEGREEE OF SPECIALIZATION

REQUIRED HAS SHOWN THE CONVENIENCE OF
TURNING TO THE EXPERTS OF THE
UNIVERSITIES WHENEVER THE SPECIFITY OF
THE RESEARCH REQUIRES IT”
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NORWEGIAN
RESEARCH GEOTECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES INSTITUTE CHALMERS
UNIVERSITY OF
“MOVED” TO TECHNOLOGY
OSLO
UNIVERSITIES OR DELFT
RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF
TECHNOLOGY
INSTITUTES GÖTEBORG
UNIVERSITY OF
HANNOVER

AMSTERDAM HANNOVER
TECHNICAL
INSTITUTE OF MUNCHEN UNIVERSITY
TECHNOLOGY OF MUNCHEN

ZURICH GRAZ

TORINO MILANO

TECHNICAL
BARCELONA UNIVERSITY
OF GRAZ

POLITECNICO
DE TORINO POLITECNICO
CENTER FOR
INNOVATION DI MILANO
IN TRANSPORT
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1989 COENRAAD ESVELD 1993

HEAD OF QUALITY PROFESSOR OF

CONTROL AND RAIL RAILWAY ENGINEERING
TECHNOLOGY
NS PERMANENT DELFT UNIVERSITY
WAY DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY
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1989 1993
KLAUS RIESSBERGER

PROFESSOR OF
HEAD OF PERMANENT RAILWAY ENGINEERING
WAY DEPARTMENT
PLASSER TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
OF GRAZ
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• NUMBER OF PAPERS 280

• PAPERS OF TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES 190 (68%)

• PAPERS OF RAILWAY ADMINISTRATION 90 (32%)

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EDUCATION NEEDS FOR RAILWAY ENGINEERS

IN THE MAIN RAILWAYS

MOST PART OF THE TIME THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES IS DEVOTED TO THE

MANAGING AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES

a) THE ENGINEERS SHOULD CONCENTRATE THEIR EFFORTS IN

ACQUIRING A GLOBAL VIEW OF THE ENTIRE RAILWAY SYSTEM
AS A TRANSPORT MODE
b) THE GLOBAL VIEW DOES NOT MEAN SUPERFICIAL VIEW

UNIVERSITIES SHOULD CONTRIBUTE WITH THE

NECESSARY COMPLEMENT
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UNIVERSITIES:
EDUCATION IN THE RAIL SECTOR
TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL
- 4 LEVELS OF UNIVERSITY DEGREES -

AAS: Associate of Applied Science

TECHNICIAN
BSc: Bachelor of Science
(2-3 YEARS)
BASc: Bachelor of Applied Science
BEng: Bachelor of Engineering
UNDERGRADUATE
BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration
(3-4 YEARS) LLB: Bachelor of Legal Letters- Law Degree
MS: Master of Science
POSTGRADUATE
MEN: Master of Engineering
(5-6 YEARS) MBA: Master of Business Administration
MJA: Master of Justice Administration
PHD OR MULTIPLE
DEGREES (6-9 PhD
YEARS) multiple degrees: MS+MBA, ...
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COMPETENCIES NEEDS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY (1)

Rolling stock and traction
Car body design and construction
Bogies, running gear and braking
Interiors, auxiliaries, HVAC Systems engineering
Traction and power supply Interoperability
System integration and engineering interfaces
Modelling and simulation
Testing, verification and qualification
Operation
Passenger
Freight
Resources management
Technical and commercial exploitation
Infrastructures
Security and safety
Track system
Intermodality
Switches and crossings
Civil engineering: stations, bridges, tunnels,..
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
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COMPETENCIES NEEDS IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY (2)

Control systems
Signalling, control-command and interlocking
Train control, positioning and communication
Electromagnetic compatibility Economics, business, regulations
Costs, asset management
Market analysis
Business management
Environment Regulations
Noise and vibrations Public service, social and political issues
Air pollution and energy savings

Multidisciplinary issues
Risk analysis and failure mode analysis
Human factors
Reliability, availability, maintenance and safety (RAMS)
Quality management
Computer technology and networking
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Constant CHANGES in the demand

q Growing of railway sector

q New railway services, consulting
organizations, regulatory bodies, …
q Changing nature of rail industry
New technologies, suppliers system,
integrators
Service providers
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Learning objectives & intended learning outcomes

Graduate
engineers should
be able to:
C onceive
D esign
I mplement
O perate
complex value-added
engineering (Rail) systems in a
modern team based global
environment
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TO FULFILL THE EDUCATION FOR THESE FUTURE PROFESSIONALS IT IS

NECESSARY THAT UNIVERSITIES ADAPT THEMSELVES

ðIMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY THE NEEDS OF THE RAIL INDUSTRY

ðCORROLATE WITH THE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL COURSES

This is beeing done in Europe that to the mechanisms like EURNEX (2004)

EURNEX
European Rail Research
Network of Excellence

One of the main objectives Looking for synergies on education & research
is to coordinate education European database on Rail courses
and research and fulfil New training courses
the rail sector needs International MSc, PhDs,…
CHALLENGES IN THE EDUCATION OF
RAILWAY ENGINEERS

Thank you for your attention !

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