Railway Engineering KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Overview

Throughout this Railway Engineering MSc degree from KTH Royal Institute of Technology you will learn to design vehicles, infrastructure and control systems for safe, efficient and sustainable transportation. Investments in railways are rising worldwide to decarbonise passenger transport and freight, creating a vast demand for skilled railway engineers.

Railway transport is experiencing a worldwide renaissance. It offers substantial economic benefits, energy efficiency, and environmental and safety benefits compared to road transport. Railway transport can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, one of the primary sources of global warming. As a result, passenger railways such as trains, trams and subways are being built in many regions of the world to meet the growing demand for mobility, sustainability and increasing urbanisation. At the same time, the European Commission has set targets to shift more road freight to rail transport to reduce emissions and congestion. This move towards railways has created a 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 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology  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 all 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 and electrical engineering.

 The programme starts with mandatory courses during the autumn semester. You will meet different active researchers in the field in the seminar-based course on research methodology with a connection to sustainable development for a climate-neutral society. You will also gain a solid understanding of the system as a whole, mixing online courses from UIUC and onsite courses at KTH, combining the best aspects of these universities. For example, you will learn the fundamental economics of rail transportation, decision-making and optimisation, consideration of railroad rolling stock design, running gear and other mechanical components, such as the train braking system, and design a commuter-type train in project task. During the first spring semester, there is a mix of mandatory and conditionally elective courses in which you can start to tailor your path. During the third semester, particular emphasis is placed on the unique engineering elements of high-speed railway engineering technology. At UIUC, you are allowed to continue forming and strengthening your path, selecting conditionally elective courses that will eventually end up in the last semester's thesis work. As field trips and design and analysis tools for rail systems are a natural part of the programme, you will have a solid base when starting your master's’s degree project in the last semester.

Career opportunities:

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.