‘...an excellent reference work for anyone who is interested in finding out how a railway line is designed and constructed. By also including detailed analysis of aspects such as traffic forecasts, operating costs and infrastructure charging, it provides a very thorough view of railway management and engineering.’

Professor Andres Lopez Pita, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Transport, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (CENIT), Spain

In order to meet the challenge of increasing competition in all sectors of transportation, railways are restructuring their management and technology. New methods of organization are being introduced, commercial and tariff policies are changing radically, new high-speed tracks are being constructed and high-comfort rolling stock vehicles introduced. Awareness of environmental issues and the search for greater safety gives the railways a new role within the transportation system. Meanwhile, methods of analysis have significantly evolved, principally due to computer ap

Μια νέα προσέγγιση των προβλημάτων των σιδηροδρόμων, σε μια αγορά μεταφορών που χαρακτηρίζεται από τον ανταγωνισμό, την απελευθέρωση και την ανάγκη για βελτίωση της ποιότητας υπηρεσίας και περιστολή του κόστους, είναι απαραίτητη. Ταυτόχρονα, νέες υπολογιστικές μέθοδοι, νέα υλικά και νέες τεχνολογίες αλλάζουν άρδην τους γνωστούς μέχρι σήμερα τρόπους κατασκευής, συντήρησης και λειτουργίας μιας νέας ή υφιστάμενης σιδηροδρομικής γραμμής.

Some of the topics developed in the book are the following:

Position of railways in the transport market worldwide,
Liberalization and competition,
Traffic and Productivity,
High speeds,
Policy and Legislation,
European legislation,
Separation of Infrastructure from Operation,
Forecast and Models of demand,
Cost of construction and operation of track and rolling stock,
Pricing of Infrastructure,
Pricing of Passenger and Freight,
Planning, Management and Organization of Railways,
Mechanical behaviour of track,
Geotechnical and hydraulic analysis of subgrade,
Seismic effects,
Rail,
Sleepers
Fastenings,
Ballast
Track sections,
Layout
Surveying
Line Changes,
Line laying and maintenance, Line errors,
Fixed Subsidy - Line on concrete slab,
Train dynamics,
Tunnels
Rolling stock,
Tilting trains,
Magnetic levitation,
Diesel and electric traction,
Signalling,
Safety,
Interoperability
Vibrations and noise from railways,
Environmental effects.

"In the 500 pages of the book, all aspects, organization, and technology of railways are analyzed, as they have developed on a global scale."