Introduction to railway technology. Track technology. Rail vehicles - overview. The railway and the environment: energy consumption, air pollutions, external noise, external vibrations. Railway traffic development and future. Rail vehicles - technical basis. Aerodynamics and running resistance. Running gear, bogies and car body tilting. Traction technology: traction motors, transmission, traction mechanics and current collection. Braking technology. Car bodies. Passenger environment, interior design and auxiliary power. Internal noise, internal vibrations and climate resistance. Rail vehicle market and development.

The course gives a short introduction to railway systems and then focuses on rail vehicles.

The course aim is to give you the fundamentals of railway systems and, in particular, to describe the components and functions of rail vehicles as well as the various demands a rail vehicle must fulfil. The course should give you a good platform for work in the field of railway engineering.

After a completed course you should be able to:

• clarify the different parts in railway systems and their possibilities and limitations
• explain how bogies, carbody tilting, traction and brake systems work and can be improved
• calculate train performance like acceleration and braking capacity, average speed and energy consumption
• determine outer dimensions and interior design for a train at a given operational task
• discuss the trends and future potential for railway traffic

Lectures: the most common type of meeting, where different teachers from the Rail Vehicles unit or industry (Alstom, WSP) show the theoretical principles in the course. 

Exercise sessions: seminars where a teacher solves from basic problems to typical exam exercises. 

Project task: Work carried out in groups of 2-3 people where students design a fast train for regional commuter traffic. The project task runs parallel to the lectures, where students use the theory that has been presented each weekfor designing and dimensioning different components and subsystems of the train. It includes an Intermediate presentation, a Final presentation, and a project report.

Study visit: in december, one morning 8:00 to 12:00 a study visit to Hagalund SJ Depot will be scheduled. There you will be able to see a great variety of vehicles to see all the different concepts and systems that we are studying in the course. There are usually many different rail vehicles, coaches, locomotives, commuter trains and/or the X2 tilting train depending on what is there at that specific time (and what is waiting outside the maintenance halls).

Activities for HT22 (Course offering Starting 2022-10-31)

Lecture rooms:

• VEL = Vehicle Engineering Laboratory, Teknikringen 8, ground floor
• HGL = Hagalund Depot

Teachers:

• CC = Carlos Casanueva, associate professor; course responsible
• MB = Mats Berg, professor 
• SSt = Sebastian Stichel, professor
• ZL = Zhendong Liu, PhD, researcher
• RP = Rickard Persson, PhD, researcher
• SKA = Sai Kausik Abburu, PhD candidate 
• UW = Ulf Westberg, PhD, Senior Advisor at WSP

150 university credits (hp) In engineering or natural sciences and documented proficiency in English corresponding to English B.

“Rail Systems and Rail Vehicles, part 2”, E. Andersson, M. Berg, S. Stichel, C. Casanueva, 2018

A printed textbook is also available for 300 SEK for programme students in the student office in Teknikringen 8D (600 SEK for people taking SD2307 as a single course; “fristående studerande”)

Digital documentation consisting of slides and lecture recordings, as well as project task information and sample exams, is available in the course management system, Canvas.

Reading instructions: 

During the course additional indications will be given for sections of the book that are not covered by the course and are therefore not evaluated in the final exam.

The book chapters covered by each lecture is specified in the course schedule.

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

Students are welcome to contact the course responsible if they need specific accommodations outside of what Funka offers.

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• PRO1 - Project Task, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F
• TEN1 - Examination, 4.5 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

The number of points achieved for TEN1 and PRO1 are summed. The final grade is based on this sum.Grading scale: A-F

Examination details

Project Task (PRO1; 3 hp; P/F)

Work carried out in groups of 2-3 people on “Principle design of a fast train for regional traffic”. The task includes two compulsory meetings:

• Intermediate presentation in VEL (typically week 47)
• Oral examination/Final presentation in VEL (typically week 50) - 45 min slot for each group where they shortly present the work and they participate in an oral examination of the theory behind the project task. 

A project report is to be submitted by the 22^nd of December. 

UIUC and Online students: presentation slides are to be sent to the course responsible (Carlos C.) the day before each presentation. A videoconference schedule will be arranged for each group the week before the KTH presentation. A project report is to be submitted by the 15th of December.

Written Exam (TEN1; 4,5 hp; P/F)

A one and a half hour long written exam given typically in week 2 the 12th of January 2022, 08:00-13:00. Details for the exam will be explained in due time. A max or imum of 40 points can be achieved; for pass at least 20 points are required.

The Written Exam includes theory and practical problems and is based on both the lectures and the project task.

UIUC and Online students: For UIUC students, an earlier exam will be arranged during week 51, exact day to be defined before December. Other online students who need special arrangements please contact the course responsible (carlosc@kth.se).

Grading

The separation between PRO1 - Project Task and TEN1 - Examination gives a rough estimate of the time dedicated in the course to the different activities. The final grade is a combination of theoral exam based on the Final Presentation of the project task, addressing the theoretical part of all the Intended Learning Outcomes (70% of the grade) and a written problem solving examination that covers ILO1 and ILO2 (30% of the total grade).

Written Exam (TEN1; 4,5 hp; P/F), compulsory.

Project Task (PRO1; 3 hp; P/F), compulsory.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.