Rail Transportation Engineering System - Essay Example

 RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM CASE STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report reviews the literature on a rail transportation system, which is an Engineering Systems (ES) and analyses the key elements of the rail transportation system, the interactions involved and the context for the operation of such an Engineering System. This report will also set out the aim of analysing this particular engineering system, and outline some issues affecting the operation of rail the transport system. There will also be an identification of the rail system’s key elements, structure, and interactions that contribute towards the overall system behaviour. Several ongoing problems affecting rail transportation systems are highlighted in this report, as well as the major areas that should be addressed by future engineers and scientists. INTRODUCTION Engineering Systems like the rail transportation system analysed in this report, are characterised by a high level of technical complexity, social intricacy, and elaborate processes that are aimed at fulfilling important functions in the society. Usually, various disciplines are required for input into developing solutions for Engineering Systems, and adopting a systems approach is quite beneficial. The aim of this analysis is to identify the key elements of the rail transportation system, and the interactions involved in operating such a system. This rail transportation system was selected for this report because rail transport is an emerging field of engineering and transport that seeks to provide solutions for some important socio-technical problems in society. There have been numerous studies in the past, carried out with the aim of investigating the individual aspects of socio-technical problems in order to find solutions to these problems. Some of these studies went to great lengths to isolate the smaller pieces of the bigger problem. (Sterman, 2000) Although Engineering Systems seek to expand perspectives form smaller pieces to a bigger picture, the bigger picture should be viewed as a system, with interactions explored within the system. Rail transportation systems can be classified as engineering systems because rail transportation involves a high degree of technical complexity and elaborate processes with the goal of fulfilling the function of cost-efficient transportation of goods and personnel in the society. SYSTEM OVERVIEW The key elements of the rail transportation system include environmental friendliness, speed, low energy consumption, high safety standards and limited land usage. Rail transportation also makes use of its own transportation lines, and is relatively free from time wastage as a result of traffic jams and hold-ups. (Ellis, 1986) The structure of rail transportation systems consists of rail line infrastructure, human resources, vehicles, norms and procedures that will enable the system to operate as an effective mode of transportation. Railway infrastructure includes all the fixed installations in train stations and railways necessary for the running of trains. The operation of rail transportation consists of vehicles that are steered through a dedicated area and on a track by the use of a signalling system. Rail line infrastructure also includes the construction, operation, management and maintenance of the rail lines. The activities involved in vehicle operation are vehicle maintenance, vehicle abilities and cultivation. A rail transportation system offers a solution to mobility as well as environmental issues, and there has been an increase in the number of train passengers in recent years. This suggests that public desire for rail transport systems is on the increase, even though a large number of people prefer to use their private motor vehicles as their main mode of transportation. There is also the issue of Service quality, which is a measure of the conformity between customer expectations and the level of service delivered to the customers. The delivery of quality service entails conforming to the expectations of the customers on a consistent basis. (Lewis and Booms, 1983). In order to fully appreciate the complex and interconnected systems involved in rail transportation, there must be a systems view that combines management and social science insights with the known traditional engineering approaches. The ultimate goal of this combination would be to enable the modelling and prediction of how the complex systems would behave in their full contexts. SYSTEM INTERACTIONS The major system components of the rail transport system include traction motors, motor blowers, wheel squeal, horns and brakes. The high‐level interactions between these major system components contribute towards the overall system behaviour. Rail transport is modelled by an operation that involves the movement of some subset of trains on the railway onto successor segments. This makes the system very difficult to determine, as the system does not constrain which particular trains will move, and does not always determine each train that moves, or the successors that are chosen. In some instances, this non-determinism of the system is a desirable characteristic, since system the safety should rely minimally on environmental assumptions. The rail transport system involves the movement of trains, which consist of a series of connected rail vehicles which run on the train tracks. The propulsion system of the trains is provided either form a separate locomotive, or from single motors engines inside self-propelled multiple units. This separate locomotive is designed to pull the train with multiple or singly powered vehicles that are located in front of the train. The system also involves the use of railcars, which are single, self-powered train cars. “A railroad car is a vehicle used for the haulage of either passengers or freight. The engine driver controls the locomotive or other power cars, although people movers and some rapid transits are driverless.” (Hylton, 2007) The trains carry multiple units with powered wheels that can be used for tram and rapid transit systems, and also long-haul and short-haul passenger trains. SYSTEM CONTEXT The proper environment for the functioning of rail transportation systems is an innovative and analytical environment with the aim of finding more tools that can help bring about a better understanding and better perspective of how the industry operates. This would result in a better understanding of the elements of cause and effect as regards organizational behaviour in the rail transport system. New technologies involving intermodal equipment could have an effect on the rail transport industry. This includes “new computer, information, and communications systems, sensing and measurement technologies incorporating nanotechnology; and analysis, modelling, advanced structural and material technologies, propulsion, energy and other advances in environmental engineering.” (American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Committee, 2003) There are several social, technical, environmental, political, cultural and economic issues which affect rail transportation systems, although there is a rising level of political and community support for rail transportation. This is evident in the public response to surveys. The economic issue of costs is also a major factor in the implementation of rail transportation, as the high cost of gasoline for motor cars must be considered. Noise-levels are a major concern to the environment in which trains operate. The noise generated in the rail transport system can originate come from various areas, like from the components of train system or from vehicle itself (i.e. aerodynamic noise). The mitigation of noise from high-speed rail operations is a potentially expensive endeavour, and can actually impede the high-speed deployment in the rail transport system. Thus, it is important to assess, the ways by which railroad noise can be minimised. FUTURE CHALLENGES There are several challenges facing rail transportation today, including the lack of adequate and dedicated funding, and proper maintenance of existing infrastructure. There is also the issue of the way that the general public perceives public transportation. Scepticism about public transportation leads to opposition of additional fees or taxes as a result of rail transport systems. For effective rail transportation systems, there are some areas that must be addressed in the future, such as research and customer satisfaction surveys that should be conducted on a regular basis, as the degree of customer satisfaction is liable to change from time to time. This process and the analysis of the survey results can also be complemented with other methods in order to reach more accurate conclusions. Areas that must be addressed by engineers and scientists in the future for the successful operation of rail transport systems include issues of system safety for commuter, inter-city passengers, freight, and high-speed passenger railroads, as well as information security, physical security in the rail transport system, noise levels, fuel consumption, electro-magnetic field effect, possible air-pollution from emissions, and other environmental issues that relate to railroad operations. It is also important to develop an integrative, holistic approach to rail transportation systems that would take the issues associated with engineering systems into account. It is evident that such a holistic approach is what the field of engineering systems is mainly about in the first place. CONCLUSION Engineering systems such as the rail transport system analysed in this report provide for much of the functions of modern society. Engineering systems are critical to the development of technology, and are also significant in enterprise-level interactions and socio-technical interfaces. These interfaces are critical in the determination of adequate designing and operation of rail transport systems. The systems involved in rail transportation are interconnected, thereby making up a ‘system of systems’. For instance, the railway traffic control system is interconnected with the mobility system and the communication system for rail transport, and failures in one system can have long-term negative effects on the others. A systems approach makes it possible to handle the uncertainties and complexities of the rail transport system, and offers a more reliable method of handling rapid technological advancements. Further research is also needed to address environmental issues associated with railroad operations such noise levels, fuel consumption, electro-magnetic field effect, possible air-pollution from emissions, system safety for commuter, inter-city passengers, freight, and high-speed passenger railroads, as well as information security, physical security in the rail transport system. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lewis, R. C., & Booms, B. H. (1983). The marketing aspects of quality. Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association. Sterman, J. D., (2000) Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modelling for a Complex World. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Hylton, Stuart (2007). The Grand Experiment: The Birth of the Railway Age. NJ: Ian Allan Publishing. Ellis, H. (1986). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways. Hamlyn Publishing Group. American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association Committee - Education and Training. (2003). Practical Guide to Railway Engineering Read More