TRANSPORTATION

ENGINEERING
HIGHWAY AND RAILROAD ENGINEERING
Why study Transportation Engineering?
• To provide general information about the practice of transportation
engineering for students who will practice other civil engineering
specialties
• To prepare students who will practice in transportation-related jobs
immediately upon graduation
• To provide the necessary background for students who wish to
pursue graduate studies in transportation engineering
Transportation Engineering
• Transportation engineering is the application of scientific principles
to the planning, design, operation and management of
transportation system.
The Transportation System
• A system is something that may be thought of as a whole consisting
of parts or components.
• The transportation system is a functional system that provides a
service (the movement of goods and people from place to place.
• Transportation is one of the major functional systems of modern
society.
As a major functional system..
• It is an essential feature in the economy and the personal lives of
people everywhere, most especially in the developed nations.
• A highly developed transportation system makes possible the
abundance and variety of goods and the high levels of personal
mobility that are the hallmarks of a wealthy society.
• At the same time, the transportation system is a major source of
resource consumption and environmental impact.
How does it look like in other countries..
How does it look like in other countries..
How does it look like in other countries..
How does it look like in the Philippines..
Components of Transportation System
• Physical Facilities | including streets, roads, and highways, railroads,
airports, sea and river ports, pipelines and canals.
• Fleets | of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft.
• Operating bases and facilities | including vehicle maintenance
facilities and office space.
• Organizations | (Facility-oriented organizations or Operating
organizations)
• Operating Strategies | including vehicle routing, scheduling, and
traffic control.
Effectiveness of Transportation System
• Effectiveness is described in terms of the accessibility of the mode,
the level of mobility it provides, and its productivity.
• Accessibility refers to the cost of getting to and from a place to
another and depends primarily on geographical extensiveness.
• Mobility is described in terms of speed or travel time.
• Productivity refers to some measure of the total amount of
transportation provided per unit time. The amount of transportation
is usually thought of as the product of the volume of goods or
passengers carried and distance.
Modes of Transportation
• The modes are distinguished in terms of their physical
characteristics, for instance, as highway, rail, air, and water
transportation.
Highways
• The highway system is the most dominant transportation mode.
• Very high accessibility to almost all potential destinations; direct
service with very low door-to-door travel time; moderate line-haul
speeds and; moderate capacities.
• Environmental impacts of the system are high, particularly in the
case of air pollution.
Urban Transit
• It includes traditional mass transit modes such as buses, streetcars,
and light rail and rail rapid transit, as well as paratransit modes such
as jitneys and dial-a-ride services.
• Commuters | making work trips into dense central business districts.
• Captive riders | those without access to automobiles.
• Line-haul speeds and door-to-door travel time vary.
• Environmental impacts are less than those of private automobiles.
Air
• The air transportation system includes commercial airlines,
airfreight carriers, and general aviation (private aircraft).
• High line-haul speed; accessibility is limited; capacities of individual
aircraft are moderate; capital and operating costs are both high but
high productivity results in moderate costs per passenger carried.
• Environmental impacts are significant, especially the noise impacts
of commercial aviation.
Rail
• The rail system provides moderate speeds and levels of accessibility,
but traditional operating practices, which involve relatively short
hauls between rail yards, where trains are broken up and
reassembled, lead to high and unreliable door-to-door travel time.
• Capital costs of locomotives and railcars, and maintenance costs for
track are also relatively high.
• Environmental impacts are comparatively low.
Water
• The domestic water transportation system consists of coastwise
ocean shipping and barge lines operating on inland waterways.
• Provides low speed and relatively low accessibility, but extremely
high capacities.
• Capital cost of vessels is high.
• Environmental impacts are relatively low but water pollution from
routine discharges of oil and other pollutants, as well as from major
oil spills involving tankers, is a significant problem.
Scope of Highway Engineering
• Development, planning, and location
• Highway design, geometric, and structure
• Traffic performance and its control
• Materials, construction, and maintenance
• Economic, finance, and administration
Civil Engineering Involvement in Transportation
Characteristics of Road Transport
• Roads are used by various types of road vehicles, like passenger
cars, buses, trucks, pedal cycle, and animal drawn vehicle.
• It requires a relatively small investment for the government.
• It offers a complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicle
from one lane to another and from one road to another according
to need and convenience.
• Speed and movement is directly related with the severity of
accident.
• Road transport is the only means of transport that offers itself to the
whole community alike.
Bibliography
• Hoel, L. A., Garber, N. J., & Sadek, A. W. (2008). Transportation
Infrastructure Engineering: A Multi-Modal Integration.

• Khanna, S. K., Justo C. E. G., & Veeraragavan A. (2014). Highway

Engineering. Nem Chand & Bros.