Home » Rail Transport and Rail Planning

Rail Transport and Rail Planning

Overview

As the global railway industry continues to expand, the need for infrastructure specialists with a deep understanding of integrated transport systems is more critical than ever. This specialised module equips professionals with the essential knowledge and skills to plan and design modern rail infrastructure that meets the evolving demands of today’s urban and intercity transport networks.

Learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of rail infrastructure planning principles, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between track layout and vehicle dynamics.

The module is delivered by a German expert and veteran in railway track design, construction, and maintenance. He currently chairs the EU’s working group on “Ballastless Track Systems” under CEN TC 256 SC1. This group is responsible for developing the first set of European standards for ballastless track systems, bringing cutting-edge expertise directly to the classroom.

Who Should Attend

Railway professionals who are new to field of rail infrastructure design and development as this module touches upon the basics of infrastructure planning.

What You Will Learn

Introduction; Rail transport and rail vehicles
Traction and Braking, Driving resistance forces
Wheel-rail Contact; Principles of wheel set guidance, Equivalent Conicity, critical speed; Track quality
General rail track design requirements and limits; Safety, Passenger Comfort, Wear
Cant, Cant Deficiency, Ramps and Transition Curves, Measures to increase speed on existing rail infrastructure; Tilting Trains
Track Alignment (Mainline Rail); Horizontal alignment and vertical rail level
Tutorial: Track Alignment Planning
Turnouts (switches and crossings); Design and Track layout
Stations: Operational demands and Track layout
Tutorial: Station Planning
Cross-section design of railway tracks
Trackside Installations for train control and signalling systems.

Certification

Participants will be awarded a Certificate of Attendance (Professional Certificate) upon completion of the course, issued by TUM Asia.

Attending the written examination is optional for those pursuing the Professional Certificate.
Participants who take the examination will receive a TUM Asia transcript with the corresponding grade.
A Certificate of Attendance will be issued to participants who meet the minimum attendance requirement of 75%.

Stack Your Modules to a Higher Qualification

This course (module) is stackable towards a Graduate Diploma in Railway Engineering. Participants who complete all six core modules will earn the Graduate Diploma, which can also be stacked towards a TUM’s Master of Science in Rail and Urban Transport.

Schedule

Date	Duration	Delivery
6 – 17 Oct 2025	45 hours spread across 2 weeks with each day comprising of 4 to 4.5 hours	Blended learning

Instructor

Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Lechner

Chair and Institute of Road, Railway and Airfield Construction (Prof. Freudenstein)

After receiving his Dipl.-Ing. (M.Sc.) degree Dr. Bernhard Lechner joined the transportation infrastructure industry by working as a site manager of “Heilit+Woerner” construction company at the new Munich Airport (MUC). Beside other works the contract covered mainly the installation of the runways, taxiways and apron areas using concrete pavement technology. The environmental effects on such kind of pavements and the respective integration into the design tools for safe and sustainable airside infrastructure were focused by his doctoral thesis (Dr.-Ing. 1996, summa cum laude). Since 1998 he is senior researcher at the pavement and railway track laboratory and lecturer for road, airfield and railway design, construction and maintenance.

Beside teaching and research activities on international level Dr. Lechner is member of several boards and working groups to maintain his strong collaboration with transportation infrastructure industry, administration and academia. E.g. since 2012 he is the chairman of EU´s working group “Ballastless track systems” of CEN TC 256 SC1. This working group is actually implementing the first set of European standards for ballastless track systems.

Fees

The fee for each participant per module is SGD 2,398.00 (GST inclusive).

Registration closes one week prior to the module start date. Payment must be completed before the module begins.

TUM Asia reserves the right to make changes to the published course information – including dates, times, venues, fees, and instructors – without prior notice.