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Concept
Railway engineering
Summary
Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and production engineering. A great many other engineering sub-disciplines are also called upon.
With the advent of the railways in the early nineteenth century, a need arose for a specialized group of engineers capable of dealing with the unique problems associated with railway engineering. As the railways expanded and became a major economic force, a great many engineers became involved in the field, probably the most notable in Britain being Richard Trevithick, George Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Today, railway systems engineering continues to be a vibrant field of engineering.
Mechanical engineering
Command, control & railway signalling
Office systems design
Data center design
SCADA
Network design
Electrical engineering
Energy electrification
Third rail
Fourth rail
Overhead contact system
Civil engineering
Permanent way engineering
Light rail systems
On-track plant
Rail systems integration
Train control systems
Cab signalling
Railway vehicle engineering
Rolling resistance
Curve resistance
Wheel–rail interface
Hunting oscillation
Railway systems engineering
Railway signalling
Fare collection
CCTV
Public address
Intrusion detection
Access control
Systems integration
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.
Official source
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Related concepts (4)
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 superelevation (difference in elevation of the two rails) in the case of train tracks, determines the maximum safe speed of a curve. The minimum radius of a curve is one parameter in the design of railway vehicles as well as trams; monorails and automated guideways are also subject to a minimum radius.
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. The degree of curvature is defined as the central angle to the ends of an agreed length of either an arc or a chord; various lengths are commonly used in different areas of practice. This angle is also the change in forward direction as that portion of the curve is traveled. In an n-degree curve, the forward bearing changes by n degrees over the standard length of arc or chord.
Track transition curve
A transition curve (also, spiral easement or, simply, spiral) is a spiral-shaped length of highway or railroad track that is used between sections having different profiles and radii, such as between straightaways (tangents) and curves, or between two different curves. In the horizontal plane, the radius of a transition curve varies continually over its length between the disparate radii of the sections that it joins—for example, from infinite radius at a tangent to the nominal radius of a smooth curve.