Have you ever wondered what it takes to get your train on the right platform at the scheduled time every day? Journey with us into the world of rail – a complex system that connects people, cities and countries. Railway systems entail much more than a train and a track. They are based on advanced technical and operational solutions, dealing with continuously changing demands for more efficient transport for both passengers and freight every day. Each system consists of many components that must be properly integrated: from trains, tracks, stations, signaling and control systems, through monitoring, maintenance and the impact on cities, landscape and people. This integration is the big challenge and the source of many train delays, inconvenient connections and other issues that impact our society. This engineering course attempts to tackle those issues by introducing you to a holistic approach to railway systems engineering. You will learn how the system components depend on each other to create a reliable, efficient and state-of-the-art network. We will address questions such as: How do railways work and how did they evolve over time? How do different components of the railway system interact? What is the effect of railways from an urban, social and economic point of view? What can be done to improve the monitoring and maintenance of tracks? How are timetables designed in a way that balances passenger demand with the capacity of the railway and is adaptable to handle unexpected disturbances? How to prevent and deal with disturbances caused by external factors? How does the design of railways influence their performance over time? A new serious game has been designed for this course to guide you through the process of decision making while building a rail network and maintaining it. Cities have to be connected in an ever-changing setting, dealing with wear, capacity, developments and disturbances. How will your choices affect the performance of the system? This first ever MOOC on railway systems engineering is delivered by the renowned experts of TU Delft and leading professionals working in the industry. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical examples, with the main objective to maintain a high degree of reliability under predictable and unknown circumstances. If you want to learn about the science behind the exciting world of railway systems – whether train, metro or tram – this course will set you on the right track!
An excellent online course offered by edX: how it works
edX courses consist of weekly learning sequences. Each learning sequence is composed of short videos interspersed with interactive learning exercises, where students can immediately practise the concepts from the videos. The courses often include tutorial videos that are similar to small on-campus discussion groups, an online textbook, and an online discussion forum where students can post and review questions and comments to each other and teaching assistants. Where applicable, online laboratories are incorporated into the course.
edX offers certificates of successful completion and some courses are credit-eligible. Whether or not a college or university offers credit for an online course is within the sole discretion of the school. edX offers a variety of ways to take courses, including verified courses where students have the option to audit the course (no cost) or to work toward an edX Verified Certificate (fees vary by course). edX also offers XSeries Certificates for completion of a bundled set of two to seven verified courses in a single subject (cost varies depending on the courses).
An edX learning programme under Other Experiences
