| NuRail Project ID | NURail2012-UIUC-E02 |
| Project Title | Develop & teach graduate course in shared rail corridor engineering and transportation |
| University | UIUC |
| Principal Investigator | Barkan, Saat |
| PI Contact Information | Phone: (217) 333-6974 Email: mohdsaat@illinois.edu |
| Funding Source(s) and Amounts Provided (by each agency or organization) | $50,000 UIUC internal funds; $50,000 USDOT RITA |
| Total Project Cost | $100,000 |
| Agency ID or Contract Number | DTRT12-G-UTC18 |
| Start Date | 1/1/2012 |
| End Date | 7/31/2012 |
| Brief Description of Research Project | This course introduces graduate students to the engineering, operational and institutional requirements and challenges of operating higher-speed (greater than 79 mph) passenger trains on infrastructure also used for heavy-axle-load (ca. 40 ton) freight trains. The class will focus on identification and understanding of the most critical infrastructure, rolling stock, traffic control, operations, line capacity and institutional constraints affecting the combination of these two types of operation. Particular attention will be focused on understanding how the requirements of the systems differ and potentially conflict and on understanding potential solutions or compromises required to resolve or reduce such conflicts. In addition to understanding the technical elements of the course material, an important objective of the course will be development of students’ ability to review and critically analyze scientific and engineering literature pertinent to the subject and use the dialectic to develop and sharpen their skills in evaluating these works and synthesize the information. Students will participate in a bi-weekly class meeting in which they will work in teams and engage in a structured critical evaluation of advanced technical reports and academic journal articles pertaining to shared rail corridor engineering and operations. These critical evaluations will employ the dialectic approach to formally consider works in terms of their experimental, analytical and logical rigor and evaluate the process used to develop and support the conclusions. Students will also participate in class projects focused on some aspect of shared corridor engineering or operations in which they will review the literature, synthesize the information, write an academic journal quality report and make a presentation on the subject. |
| Describe Implementation of Research Outcomes (or why not implemented) | |
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