Master in Railway Engineering KTH Royal Institute of Technology

The master's programme in Railway Engineering covers all aspects of railways from a systems perspective, integrating elements from both mechanical, civil and electrical engineering. It is given together with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Students learn how to design vehicles, infrastructure and control systems that perform optimally together. The importance of the railway in the transition to sustainable transport drives the demand for skilled railway engineers.

Railway Engineering at KTH

Railway transport is experiencing a worldwide renaissance. It offers substantial economic benefits, energy efficiency, and environmental and safety benefits. Rail is widely viewed as a vital component of the integrated transportation system for sustainable societies of the future. There is substantial demand for engineers with an integrated knowledge of railway subsystems (infrastructure, vehicles and traffic control) who understand how to maximise the performance of the whole system.

The master's programme in Railway Engineering is among the very few programmes in the world that cover all aspects of rail engineering, and none offers the international perspective afforded by this one. KTH offset the programme in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where students in the programme spend one semester.

The programme focuses on the system aspect, which is extremely important in railway systems. Vehicle, infrastructure and control systems have to be designed to work optimally together. Therefore, the programme contains courses in mechanical, civil as well as electrical engineering. The programme starts with mandatory courses during the autumn semester. Two of them are online courses from UIUC. During the spring semester, there is a mix of mandatory and conditionally elective courses. During the third semester, you will take courses on-site at UIUC.

The programme is mainly based on classes, with lectures, assignments and exams, but also includes projects and individual studies. All teachers are also active researchers and will include new research trends in their course content. Many students carry out their master's degree projects in industry, with a railway operator or a consultancy company.

This is a two-year programme (120 ECTS credits) given in English. Graduates are awarded the degree of Master of Science. The programme is given mainly at KTH Campus in Stockholm by the School of Engineering Sciences (at KTH).

Collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC)

About half of the courses are given by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) and KTH, respectively, and the programme includes international mobility. At least 15 ECTS credits must be taken on-site at the partner university. Many courses for this programme are taught online by KTH and UIUC exclusively. Please note; due to US visa regulations, there is no guarantee that fee-paying students can study in the US. If the visa is denied, these students will be offered an alternative study plan.

Topics covered

Vehicle and track design, vehicle-track interaction, traction systems, railway signalling systems, high-speed rail systems and railway traffic planning.

Sustainable development

Graduates from KTH have the knowledge and tools for moving society in a more sustainable direction, as sustainable development is an integral part of all programmes. The international environment of the master's programme in Railway Engineering provides different societal perspectives that will be very helpful for understanding the challenges of global sustainability. The three key sustainable development goals addressed by the programme are:

• 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
• 13 Climate Action

Due to the inherent climate-positive qualities of railway systems, all courses incorporate sustainability-related knowledge. You will acquire a systems perspective that forms the basis for rethinking transportation while allowing you to design and create innovative solutions for problems that will appear in the future. With this expert knowledge and the technical breadth and international experience that you will acquire, you will learn how to contribute towards global sustainable development.

The broad array of courses in the programme will engage you in different technical and societal aspects directly related to sustainability, such as designing technical solutions with demands on energy and material consumption, or human-centred aspects such as comfort, interoperability and friendly transport system environments. In the master’s degree project you will expand your knowledge about technological development and project management in relation to sustainability.

Railways will play an important role in the sustainability of our societies as we know them. As a railway systems expert with a strong international perspective, you will be able to join any workgroup around the world, work with other experts in adjacent fields, and lead the development of technical innovations that contribute towards a sustainable infrastructure system, energy-efficient transportation and climate-friendly technical innovations.

The technical challenges associated with meeting the growing demand for railway transportation in an efficient and sustainable manner require a considerable number of engineers with an education in the field of railways worldwide. A large percentage of railway industry engineering staff are nearing retirement; consequently, there is a strong and growing demand for graduates with an education in railway engineering. With one focus of the programme being system aspects, it is foreseen that many graduates will hold management positions in the organisations they work in.

The programme provides an excellent basis for pursuing a career in the global vehicle industry, at consultancy companies, research institutes, and universities. The cooperation between the Swedish industry and the Department of Engineering Mechanics is very close. There are several major ongoing research programmes in which KTH, key manufacturers and the transport administration are involved. Both universities also offer the possibility of continuing as a PhD student. Graduates from the master's programme in Railway Engineering are strong candidates for the limited number of positions available.

After graduation

Vehicle or track design engineer, signalling engineer, procurement or maintenance engineer at an operator, researcher or railway consultant.