Advanced Railway Infrastructures Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

The European Commission is developing the Single European Transport Area and has promoted a modal shift from road to rail to achieve a more competitive and resource-efficient transport system (Shift2Rail Masterplan 2014). The European Commission outlines several targets, and one of them is to shift 30% of the road freight over 300 km to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050, facilitated by efficient and green freight corridors. To meet this goal, many actions will be required to provide appropriate infrastructure. Past research has emphasized the applications of technology in solving problems in the railway industry. Although practical knowledge has been developed alongside corporate knowledge, science and technology are still deficient to innovate and revolutionize the railway industry from a fundamental principle viewpoint. This Special Issue will bring together the latest research studies, findings, and achievements regarding advanced planning, design, construction, monitoring, maintenance, and management of railway infrastructures. Theoretical, experimental, and computational investigations (or a combination of these) will be appreciated.

This Special Issue will accept various novel and original research topics related to railway infrastructure systems, including, but not limited to the following:

• Stability and dynamics
• Safety, risks, and uncertainty
• Infrastructure engineering
• Structural engineering and materials
• Transportation geotechnics and train-induced ground vibrations
• Rail transportation
• Mechanics, prognostics, and diagnostics
• Health monitoring, inspection, NDT&E (non-destructive testing and evaluation), and signal processing
• Big data analytics and railway operations
• Multi hazards and climate change adaptation
• Train–track interaction, vehicle–infrastructure interaction, and wheel–rail interface
• Safety, reliability, and runnability of railway infrastructure in strong winds and/or earthquake-prone areas
• Drainage, surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, and drone technology
• Intelligent railway and transportation technologies
• Structural integrity, fatigue, and residual lifetime
• Weigh-in-motion and wheel defect detection of the railway, damage detection of rolling stocks

We are looking forward to receiving your contribution.

Dr. Araliya Mosleh
Dr. José A.F.O. Correia
Dr. Diogo Ribeiro
Dr. Anna M. Rakoczy
Guest Editors

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