2026
Railway Engineering
Compendium
Foreword
This compendium is prepared for students taking TBM4282 Road and Railway Engineering 1 and TBA4225 Railway Engineering 2 at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Its aim is to bring the course material together in one coherent book and give students a structured overview of railway infrastructure, from traffic loading and track components to geometry, capacity, signalling, maintenance, and railway-specific environmental effects.
The present edition builds on course material developed and delivered over several years. Marie Husum Malvik and Julie Hjortland made important contributions to the first versions of the compendium, and their work formed the foundation for its further development. Alf Helge Løhren, John Våge, Kjell Arne Skoglund, Thomas Vatn Bjørge, Trine Bye Sagen, Christian Knittler, Kristin Guldberg, Stefano Derosa, and Leiv Jørgen Tofte Husøy contributed lecture materials and other teaching resources, including practical examples, figures, photographs, and illustrations, that have substantially strengthened the compendium. The text is also informed by established railway engineering books, standards, technical references, and examples from practice.
Special thanks are due to KONNEKT and Bane NOR for their valuable and sustained support of the teaching and development work behind this compendium. Their support has helped refine the material, strengthen the connection between academic knowledge and railway practice, and make the learning resources more accessible to students.
ChatGPT and Claude have been used as supporting tools for language checking, editorial consistency, technical review, document refinement, visual layout review, and selected visual generation. NotebookLM has been used to produce brief explanatory videos and podcasts as optional supplements to the written material.
This compendium will continue to be refined as the courses develop, as standards change, and as new examples become available. Feedback from students, colleagues, and industry partners is therefore an important part of improving both the technical accuracy and the readability of the material.
Albert LauAssociate professor, Dr. Ing.Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringNorwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
The compendium
Chapters
Railway Traffic Loading
How traffic loads enter the railway and spread through rail, sleepers, ballast, and formation.
→ 02Track Superstructure
Rails, fastening systems, sleepers, and slab track as one load-bearing assembly.
→ 03Ballast
Why ballast shape, grading, depth, drainage, and maintenance determine track quality.
→ 04Track Damage and Defects
Defect mechanisms, inspection evidence, risk, and intervention priorities.
→ 05Railway Machinery
Machines, work sequences, production constraints, and quality checks behind track work.
→ 06Track Substructure
Tunnels, cuttings, embankments, slopes, frost protection, and drainage below the track.
→ 07Geometric Design of Track Systems
Curves, cant, transitions, gradients, and vertical alignment.
→ 08Railway Operation and Capacity
Headways, capacity, timetable robustness, and delay propagation.
→ 09Train–Track Interaction
The coupled vehicle–track system, dynamic response, resonance, and load amplification.
→ 10Wheel–Rail Interaction
Contact geometry, forces, adhesion, wear, rolling contact fatigue, and stability.
→ 11Continuously Welded Track
Thermal forces, neutral temperature, buckling resistance, and safe CWR management.
→ 12Railway Noise and Vibration
Sources, propagation, measurement, assessment, and mitigation.
→ 13Signal and Interlocking System
Train detection, movement authority, interlocking, block systems, and ERTMS.
→ 14Structure Gauge
The spatial envelopes that keep vehicles, infrastructure, platforms, and loads compatible.
→ 15Railway Catenary System
Traction power, overhead-line geometry, current collection, and electrical interfaces.
→ 16Switches and Crossings
Turnout geometry, components, forces, layouts, inspection, and special trackwork.
→ 17Railway Track Maintenance
Inspection and intervention planning, including effective use of the railway machinery introduced in Chapter 5.
→Daily railway podcasts
These daily railway podcasts are produced using an AI-assisted workflow, primarily for the author's own interest and learning.
The narration is generated using text-to-speech (TTS), so names and specialist terms may occasionally be mispronounced. Episodes may also contain technical inaccuracies or omissions. Please use them with care and verify important information against the written compendium, current standards, and authoritative sources.
Railway Daily
A daily railway story in English for students, engineers, and curious listeners.
Jernbane daglig
En daglig jernbanehistorie for studenter, fagfolk og nysgjerrige lyttere.
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