Railway engineering is a multi-faceted
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
systems. It includes a wide range of engineering disciplines, including(but not limited to)
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
,
computer engineering
Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software.
It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science.
Computer engi ...
,
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
,
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
,
industrial engineering
Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...
and
production engineering
Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering.
Manufac ...
.
History
With the advent of the railways in the early nineteenth century, a need arose for specialized
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
s capable of dealing with the unique problems associated with railway engineering. As the railways expanded and became a major part in logistics, more engineers became involved in the field, probably the most notable in Britain being
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He ...
,
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...
and
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
.
Subfields
*Mechanical engineering
* Electrical engineering
**
Command, control &
railway signalling
Railway signalling (), or railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight ...
***
SCADA
SCADA (an acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition) is a control system architecture comprising computers, networked data communications and graphical user interfaces for high-level supervision of machines and processes. It also cove ...
***
Network design
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
* Civil engineering
**
Permanent way engineering
* Railway systems engineering
**
Railway signalling
Railway signalling (), or railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight ...
**
Fare collection
**
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
**
Public address
A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
**
Intrusion detection
An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a device or software application that monitors a network or systems for malicious activity or policy violations. Any intrusion activity or violation is typically either reported to an administrator or collec ...
**
Access control
In physical security and information security, access control (AC) is the action of deciding whether a subject should be granted or denied access to an object (for example, a place or a resource). The act of ''accessing'' may mean consuming ...
* Computer engineering
**
Systems integration
System integration is defined in engineering as the process of bringing together the component sub-systems into one system (an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to deliver the overarching functionality) and ensuring ...
Professional organisations
* ''In the UK:'' The Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
* ''In the US:'' The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA)
* ''In the Philippines:'' Philippine Railway Engineers' Association, (PREA) Inc.
* ''Worldwide:'' The Institute of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE)
See also
*
Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight Rail transport, railroads of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States). Amtrak and some regional Commuter rail in North Am ...
*
Exsecant
The external secant function (abbreviated exsecant, symbolized exsec) is a trigonometric function defined in terms of the secant function:
\operatorname \theta = \sec\theta - 1 = \frac - 1.
It was introduced in 1855 by American civil engineer ...
*
Degree of curvature
Degree of curve or degree of curvature is a measure of curvature of a circular arc used in civil engineering for its easy use in layout surveying.
Definition
The Degree (angle), degree of curvature is defined as the central angle to the ends of ...
*
List of engineering topics
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to engineering:
Engineering is the scientific discipline and profession that applies scientific theories, mathematical methods, and empirical evidence to design, create, and ...
*
List of engineers
Types of engineer include:
* Chartered Engineer
* European Engineer
* Incorporated Engineer
* Professional Engineer
* Royal Engineer
Lists of individual engineers by discipline include:
* List of aerospace engineers
* List of canal enginee ...
*
Minimum railway curve radius
The minimum railway curve radius is the shortest allowable design radius for the centerline of railway tracks under a particular set of conditions. It has an important bearing on construction costs and operating costs and, in combination with ...
*
Radius of curvature (applications)
In differential geometry, the radius of curvature, , is the reciprocal of the curvature. For a curve, it equals the radius of the circular arc which best approximates the curve at that point. For surfaces, the radius of curvature is the radius ...
*
Track transition curve
A transition curve (also, spiral easement or, simply, spiral) is a spiral-shaped length of highway or track (rail transport), railroad track that is used between sections having different profiles and radii, such as between straightaways (tangen ...
*
Transition curve
= Glossary
=
*
Light rail systems
*
On-track plant
*
Train control systems
**
Cab signalling
Cab signalling is a railroad, railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab (locomotive), cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is con ...
*
Rolling resistance
Rolling resistance, sometimes called rolling friction or rolling drag, is the force resisting the Motion (physics), motion when a body (such as a ball, tire, or wheel) Rolling, rolls on a surface. It is mainly caused by Plasticity (physics), non- ...
**
Curve resistance
*
Wheel–rail interface The wheel–rail interface is the area of contact between wheels and rails of railways
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel ...
**
Hunting oscillation
Hunting oscillation is a self-oscillation, usually unwanted, about an Mechanical equilibrium, equilibrium. The expression came into use in the 19th century and describes how a system "hunts" for equilibrium. The expression is used to describe phe ...
*
Energy electrification
**
Third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...
***
Fourth rail
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or Rail freight transport, freight in separate cars), electric multiple units (Passen ...
**
Overhead contact system
External links
Institution of Mechanical Engineers - Railway DivisionAAR
References
Engineering disciplines
Rail technologies
Transportation engineering
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