1、History
The Department of Railway Engineering offers Railway Engineering Program. The predecessor of this program was Traffic Engineering, which was established in 2005 under the name of Urban Rail Transit Engineering. As an industry-university-research strategic platform in partnership with Shanghai Shentong Metro, this program strives to prepare application-oriented engineering talents who has the technical competency for rail and civil engineering. As part of the urban rail transit program group, which has gone through the development of National-Level Specialized Programs for Colleges and Universities, Shanghai’s Undergraduate Education Heights (Phase III), Shanghai Municipal Education Commission’s Key Disciplines (Phase V), and Shanghai Higher Education “085” Program, this program has achieved significant progress in personnel training and scientific research.
Since long, the Ministry of Education has associated traffic engineering with road traffic construction, operation and management. However, the University positions traffic engineering program on the basis of rail transit civil engineering and construction. According to the Ministry of Education, an engineering program must be included in the Undergraduate Program Catalogue with appropriate education plans in order to be certified. The Traffic Engineering program of the University started the certification process for engineering program in 2014. Through comparison of training plans with the Railway Engineering Program of Southwest Jiaotong University and the Traffic Engineering Program of Southwest Jiaotong University, the results showed over 90% match with the former and merely 20% match with the latter. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education approved the establishment of the Railway Engineering Program (081007T) in 2014. Since then, universities such as Central South University and Southwest Jiaotong University have set up railway engineering programs for student enrollment, training and management.
After analysis of the personnel demand in the rail transit industry and the dynamics of railway engineering programs in related colleges, and taking into account the School’s “Transport Specialization” positioning and “Three Collaboration” training approach, as well as the operation resources available, the Traffic Engineering Program was renamed Railway Engineering Program in 2018, and started enrollment for the 4-year undergraduate program in autumn 2018.
2. Program features
The Railway Engineering Program is one of the members of the Railway Engineering Teaching Steering Sub-Committee, Civil Engineering Teaching Steering Committee under the Ministry of Education, and grants both academic and professional master’s degree in Traffic Engineering. This program cooperates with Shanghai Rail Transit Vibration and Noise Control Technology Engineering Center, Shanghai Rail Transit Operation Safety Inspection and Evaluation Service Collaborative Innovation Center, Rail Transit Testing CMA Laboratory, and other provincial and ministerial level platforms, taking advantage of the leading experts in the field of railway engineering. It also seeks international cooperation with foreign universities in training and teaching, with a focus on rail transit infrastructure testing, environmental control technology, and engineering management.
The rapid development of urban rail transit and high-speed railways results in high demand for talents specialized in rail transit construction, maintenance and management. This program integrates the application and practice of artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and other innovative technologies in the field of smart transportation. Focusing on both theory and practice of the design, construction, maintenance and management of rail transit infrastructure (rails, tunnels, bridges, stations and other projects), this program delivers global-minded, inter-disciplinary advanced engineering professionals to companies engaged in the survey, design and construction, intelligent detection and maintenance, engineering management and consulting of transportation projects.
3. Faculty
There are currently 13 faculty members in the Department of Railway Engineering, including 3 professors, 5 associate professors, 3 lecturers and 2 experimenters. One faculty member has been selected for the National Talent Program of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC. All faculty members are graduates of renowned universities (Southampton University, National University of Singapore, Tongji University, Southwest Jiaotong University, Beijing Jiaotong University, etc.).77% of them have Ph.D. degrees and 46% have studied or exchanged in high-level universities overseas. More than 20 senior corporate professionals and technicians work as part-time faculty members and corporate mentors.
4. Employment
The rapid development of rail transit has brought favorable employment prospects to students of this program. In the past 5 years, the employment rate of graduates has been 100%. Smart construction and intelligent transportation are the main areas of employment for graduates. Employment opportunities exist across the whole life cycle management of the transportation and civil engineering industries, including transportation infrastructure design and construction, project management and consulting, structural protection and restoration, intelligent railway operation and maintenance, application of virtual reality technology, engineering economy, and other related enterprises and public institutions. Potential employers include Shanghai Railway Bureau, Shanghai Shentong Metro, China Railway Construction and China Railway Shanghai Design Institute.
5. Teaching programs and outcome
As a member of the National Railway Engineering Teaching Steering Committee, the Department of Railway Engineering actively participates in teaching exchanges and development. It has published several textbooks on urban rail transit engineering and developed 3 university-level excellent courses. The Department has well-established laboratories for rail engineering, geotechnics, engineering measurement, structural testing and construction materials, as well as innovation studios for students. It has also collaborated with other programs in setting up a railway line engineering lab and virtual simulation technology lab. The program has off-campus internship and practice bases featuring school-enterprise collaboration, resource sharing, and complementary advantages for cultivating technical application capabilities of students with professional and skill training. These internship bases are mainly supported by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd. and highlight the connection between university and industry. In addition, internship and practical training bases have been established in cooperation with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., Ltd. Rail Transit Training Center, Technology Center, and Shanghai Rail Transit Maintenance and Support Center Engineering Company. According to the program features and curriculum requirements, the Railway Engineering Program also works with other entities (including: Shanghai Basic Engineering Group Co., Ltd., China Railway Shanghai Group, China Railway Shanghai Design Institute Group, and Shanghai Bridge Disease Exhibition Hall) to establish industry-university-research cooperation relations. The laboratories and practice bases of this program are practice-based teaching bases for the College and the University, and are part of the National Practical Teaching Demonstration Center and Shanghai Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center.
In recent years, the Department of Railway Engineering has completed a total of 19 teaching reform and innovation projects, organized the curriculum system of Railway Engineering Program, explored the method of simulation teaching system, and formed a distinctive urban rail transit and railway engineering curriculum system.
Table 1: Major teaching reform projects completed by the Department of Railway Engineering
Project start and end dates | Name | Responsible person |
2006.3~2008.3 | Textbook development of Urban Rail Transit Engineering Management | Shi Rong |
2009.3~2011.3 | Experimental development project on Soil Mechanics | Shi Rong |
2012.6-2014.5 | Experimental development project on Structural Inspection and Experiment of Rail Transit Engineering | Wang Lei |
2012.3~2014.3 | Experimental development project on Railway Inspection Technologies | Shi Rong |
2013.5-2015.4 | Practical teaching project on Railway System Engineering | Li Zaiwei |
2014.5~2016.4 | Curriculum development of Underground Engineering | Liu Shannan |
2014.1-2016.12 | Curriculum development of Bridge Engineering | Song Yumin |
2015.3-2017.2 | Curriculum development of Soil Mechanics and Foundation | Wang Lei |
2015.3~2017.3 | Curriculum development of Introduction to Civil Engineering | Shi Rong |
2016.1-2018.1 | Practical teaching project on Building Structure Course Design | Yan Xilin |
2016.1-2018.1 | Curriculum development of English for Traffic Engineering | Wu Jun |
2016.1-2017.12 | Textbook development of Introduction to Urban Rail Transit Engineering | Li Zaiwei |
2018.9-2020.9 | Postgraduate curriculum development of Advanced Soil Mechanics | Wu Jun |
2018.1-2019.12 | Postgraduate curriculum development of Structural Dynamics | Song Yumin |
2019.2-2020.1 | Curriculum development of Structural Design of Buildings | Yan Xilin |
2019.1-2019.12 | Reconstructing the practice teaching system of railway engineering program based on the new engineering concept | He Yuelei |
2019.2-2020.1 | Curriculum development of Engineering Survey | Liu Jun |
2020.1-2021.12 | Postgraduate curriculum development of Railway Track Dynamics | Li Zaiwei |
2020.1-2021.12 | Virtual reality experiment-based teaching project of railway track inspection technologies | He Yuelei |
With great emphasis on the quality of courses and teaching, the Department of Railway Engineering has developed 3 university-level excellent courses which won several prizes in university-level teaching competitions.
Table 2: Teaching outcome of the Department of Railway Engineering
Year | Name | Level | Responsible person |
2015 | Excellent lecturer | University-level | Liu Shannan |
2016 | Underground Engineering | University-level excellent course | Liu Shannan |
2018 | The 2nd Teaching Competition for Young Teachers of the Shanghai University of Engineering Science | Second prize | Li Zaiwei |
2019 | Soil Mechanics and Foundation | University-level excellent course | Wang Lei |
2019 | English for Traffic Engineering | University-level excellent course | Wu Jun |
6. Scientific research and achievements
The Department of Railway Engineering grants both academic and professional master degrees in Traffic Engineering. This program cooperates with Shanghai Rail Transit Vibration and Noise Control Technology Engineering Center, Shanghai Rail Transit Operation Safety Inspection and Evaluation Service Collaborative Innovation Center, Rail Transit Testing CMA Laboratory, and other provincial and ministerial-level platforms. It benefits from the international leading competence in railway engineering of Professor Wang Anbin, an expert of the National Talent Program of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the CPC. Through joint research with universities such as the University of Wisconsin and Plymouth University, the International Laboratory for Maintenance and Repair of Rail Infrastructure was established to conduct scientific research in rail transit infrastructure inspection, rail transit environment and noise control technology, and rail transit engineering planning and management.
In recent years, the faculty of the Department of Railway Engineering has served extensively in major projects of rail transit development. Achievements include provincial and ministerial awards such as the First Prize of Scientific and Technological Progress in Henan Province (2016), the First Prize of Scientific and Technological Progress in Beijing (2018) and the Third Prize of Scientific and Technological Progress in Shanghai (2019); seven national-level projects such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) key and general projects; about ten provincial and ministerial projects from the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, China Postdoctoral Foundation Committee, and Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Department. The faculty have also hosted and participated in corporate projects amounting to a total of more than 20 million yuan. In terms of academic papers, the Department has published more than 50 SCI and EI papers and over 100 Chinese core papers in important academic journals at home and abroad. The disciplines of the Department of Railway Engineering have been widely recognized in China, especially in the field of vibration and noise control in rail transit environment, which leads the sector.
Table 3: Major research projects of the Department of Railway Engineering
Type | Year | Name | Responsible person |
Key Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2019.1- 2022.12 | Research on the generation mechanism, propagation law and control measures of high-speed railway noise | Wang Anbin |
General Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2020.1-2023.12
| Characterization of chaotic dynamics of ballastless tracks damage in high-speed railways | He Yuelei |
Regional Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2015.1- 2018.12 | Long-term performance and service life of urban tunnel lining structures in Northwest erosion environments | Li Zhong |
Regional Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2018.1- 2021.12 | Study on performance degradation and whole-life stability control of prestressed anchor structures on permanent high slopes in western mountainous areas | Li Zhong |
General Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2019.1- 2022.12 | Research on the damage and vibration response of shields and ancillary plants of nuclear power plants under impact of large passenger aircraft | Wu Jun |
Young Talent Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2019.1- 2021.12 | Theory of unsaturated land base consolidation under axisymmetric conditions and its validation study | Wang Lei |
Young Talent Projects of National Natural Science Fund | 2019.1- 2021.12 | Chaotic fractal-based high-speed railway track geometry and shape evaluation method and its impact on service reliability | Li Zaiwei |
National Key Research and Development Program (Special Project) | 2020.1- 2023.12 2023.12 | Mechanisms of deterioration, healthy evolution and diagnostic evaluation methods for swelling soil landslides and engineered slope protection works | Wang Lei |
Gansu Provincial Natural Science Found Committee | 2012.1- 2014.12 | Computational theory and experimental study on stability control of active reinforcement of soil slopes in road graben | Li Zhong |
Gansu Province Science and Technology Major Project | 2019.10- 2021.10 | Research on the disease mechanism and new remediation technology of ballastless track and roadbed system of Northwest high-speed railway | He Yuelei |
Key Support Projects of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality | 2017.7- 2020.6 | Development of rail dynamic dampers and their use in the management of small radius curve vibration noise | Wang Anbin |
Key Support Projects of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality | 2017.1- 2019.12 | Research and development of motion detection portable equipment for rail traffic limits | He Yuelei |
Key Support Projects of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality | 2017.1- 2019.12 | Development of a non-contact detection device for interlayer damage in ballastless track structures based on air-coupled Ram waves | Li Zaiwei |
General Projects of China Postdoctoral Foundation | 2019.1- 2020.12 | Study of axisymmetric unsaturated land base consolidation characteristics considering sand well smearing action | Wang Lei |
Pre-research Projects (Component) of the Space Systems Department | 2019.9- 2020.9 | Sea ice information extraction and monitoring of ice floes in arctic waterways, seaworthiness analysis study | Liu Jun |
Research and Innovation Projects of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission | 2014.1- 2016.12 | Theoretical study on the detection and evaluation of short-wave unevenness of tracks based on neural networks | Li Zaiwei |
Beijing Subway | 2020.1- 2023.12 2020.12 | National Key Research and Development Program Urban Rail System Safety and Security Technology (2016YFB1200402), urban rail transit line status long-term monitoring, evaluation and early warning platform and equipment research and development project | Li Zaiwei |
Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Railway Line Co., Ltd | 2018.7- 2019.12 | Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway CRTSII slab track online performance monitoring project | He Yuelei |
Research Projects of China Railway Shanghai Group | 2017.1- 2018.12 | Study on CRTSⅡ slab track structural disease early warning and maintenance strategy | He Yuelei |
Research Projects of China Railway Shanghai Group | 2017.1- 2018.12 | Information model management technology for railway station expansion projects | He Yuelei |
Cooperative Research Projects with Enterprises | 2016.5- 2019.12 | Study on the standardization of construction parameters for oversized slurry balance shield tunneling | Liu Shanan, Wang Lei, Wu Jun |
Enterprise Technical Service Projects | 2015.12- 2017.3 | Qingdao intercity rail transit U-beam temperature field testing and temperature effect test study | Song Yumin |
Enterprise Technical Service Projects | 2019.9- 2021.12 | Research on key technologies and load test methods for large-span simple-supported U-beams in urban rail transit | Song Yumin |
Table 4: Major research awards of the Department of Railway Engineering
Type | Year | Name | Award | Responsible person/contribution |
Henan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award | 2018 | Rail vibration and rail wave wear control technology and applications in urban rail transit
| First prize | Wang Anbin/1st |
Science and Technology Progress Award of Ministry of Education | 2010 | Performance and safety control technology of urban cross-river tunnel structure | First prize | Li Zhong/13th |
Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award | 2019 | Key technology and engineering application of ultra-high-speed rail smoothness and high precision measurement and control | Third prize | He Yuelei/1st, Li Zaiwei/2nd, Lu Hongyao/6th |
Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award | 2013 | Analysis and design of seismic action of permanent flexible slope support structures | Second prize | Li Zhong/4th |
Gansu Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award | 2016 | Research on key technologies and applications for comprehensive evaluation of large-section tunnels | Second prize | Li Zhong/3rd |
Science and Technology Progress Award of China Railway Shanghai Group | 2018 | Study on the service performance and monitoring system of CRTS II slab track of Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway | Second prize | He Yuelei/2nd |
Lanzhou Science and Technology Progress Award | 2017 | Study on the working performance and stability control of prestressed anchor pile structure in wet loess high slopes | Third prize | Li Zhong/2nd |
Science and Technology Progress Award of China Railway Shanghai Group | 2017 | Vibration performance study of small radius-curved bridge at railway hub | Second prize | Song Yumin/11th |
Table 5: Outstanding high-quality papers of the Department of Railway Engineering
Journal | Name | Publication date/page | Author and order | Type |
Computers and Geotechnics | Consolidation of unsaturated composite ground reinforced by permeable columns | 2020, 125:103706 | Wang Lei 1/4 | SCI |
Computers and Geotechnics | Semi-analytical solutions to the two-dimensional plane strain consolidation for unsaturated soil with the lateral semi-permeable drainage boundary under time-dependent loading | 2020, 124:103562 | Wang Lei 1/5 | SCI |
International Journal of Geomechanics | A series of semianalytical solutions of one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soils | 2020, 20(6):06020005 | Wang Lei 1/5 | SCI |
Journal of Vibration and Shock | High and low unevenness frequency characteristics of bulging plate disease and their assessment methods | 2020, 39(13): 110-115 | Li Zaiwei 2/5, He Yuelei 3/5 | EI |
Mathematical Problems in Engineering | Fractal Characteristics of Transverse Crack Propagation on CRTSII Type Track Slab | 2019 | He Yuelei 1/4 | SCIE |
Sensors | Identification of Temperature-Induced Deformation for HSR Slab Track Using Track Geometry Measurement Data | 2019, 19(24): 5446 | Li Zaiwei 1/3 | SCIE |
Computers and Geotechnics | Semi-analytical solutions to two-dimensional plane strain consolidation for unsaturated soils under time-dependent loading | 2019, 109:144-165 | Wang Lei 1/4 | SCI |
International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics | Semi-analytical solutions of two-dimensional plane strain consolidation in unsaturated soils subjected to the lateral semi- permeable drainage boundary | 2019, 43(17):2628-2651 | Wang Lei 1/4 | SCI |
Journal of Vibration and Shock | Stochastic finite element-based ballastless track service reliability analysis | 2019, 38(16):239-244 | Li Zaiwei 1/4 | EI |
Engineering Mechanics | Derivation of the geometric equation for a curved beam | 2019, 36:12-16 | Song Yumin 2/2 | EI |
Computers and Geotechnics | Semi-analytical solutions to two-dimensional plane strain consolidation for unsaturated soil | 2018, 101:100-113 | Wang Lei 1/4 | SCI |
International Journal of Geomechanics | A semi-analytical solution to one dimensional consolidation for unsaturated soils with exponentially time-growing drainage boundary conditions | 2018, 18(2): 04017144 | Wang Lei 1/4 | SCI |
Rock and Soil Mechanics | Analysis of one-dimensional consolidation properties of fractional-order visco-elastic saturated soils under semi-permeable boundaries | 2018, 39(11):4142-4148 | Wang Lei 1/4 | EI |
Materials and Design | Experimental and numerical study on soft-hard-soft (SHS) cement based composite system under multiple impact loads | 2018, 139:234-257 | Wu Jun 1/5 | SCI |
Journal of the China Railway Society | Experimental study on vehicle-induced vibration of small-radius reverse curve bridges | 2017, 39:126-133 | Song Yumin 1/3 | EI |
Archives of Civil Engineering | Semi-analytical Solution for Free Vibration Differential Equations of Curved Girders | 2017, 63:115-132 | Song Yumin 1/3 | EI |
Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering | A new method for the numerical simulation of rail short-wave irregularities | 2016, 16(1): 37-45 | Li Zaiwei 1/3 | EI |
Construction and Building Materials | Parametric study on cement based soft-hard-soft (SHS) multi-layer composite pavement against blast load | 2015, 98:602-619 | Wu Jun 1/3 | SCI |
Rock and Soil Mechanics | MPGA-based slope stability analysis for complex stress state slopes [J]. | 2015, 36(5). 1488-1495 | Li Zhong 2/1 | EI |
Construction and Building Materials | Field performance and numerical model of multi-layer pavement system for blast load | 2014, 52:177-188 | Wu Jun 1/3 | SCI |
Scientific World Journal | Stability Calculation Method of Slope Reinforced by Pre-stressed Anchor in Process of Excavation [J]. | 2014, 1:1-7 | Li Zhong 3/1 | SCI |
Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering | Research on the whole process risk management model for construction of large-section urban tunnels [J]. | 2014, 33(10): 2085-2094 | Li Zhong 3/1 | EI |
Journal of Railway Engineering Society | Characterization of the orbital spectrum under different metro line conditions | 2014,31(07):99-104 | He Yuelei 1/4 | EI |
7. Student innovation and competition awards
In recent years, faculty members of the Department of Railway Engineering have been actively guiding and instructing students to participate in national, Shanghai and university-level innovation programs, entrepreneurship projects, as well as various academic competitions, which have brought about remarkable achievements.
Table 6: University innovation programs and competition awards of the Department of Railway Engineering
Type | Year | Name | Instructor |
National Innovation Program for University Students | 2020 | Time-of-day and station-accurate advertising analysis based on different passenger flows in the subway | Shi Rong |
Municipal Innovation Program for University Students | 2020 | Measuring tracks with virtual reality | Lu Hongyao |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2020 | Thermal imaging for track slab damage identification and detection | Li Zaiwei |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2020 | Innovations in metro accessibility | Li Zaiwei, Li Zhong |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2020 | Design and fabrication of large-span space structure models | Liu Shanan, Yan Xilin |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2020 | Bamboo multi-storey house structure with roof water tank | Yan Xilin |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2020 | Research on the application of modern engineering measurement techniques for basic BeiDou satellite system | Song Yumin |
Municipal Innovation Program for University Students | 2019 | An innovative wind-resistant seismic device for high-rise buildings | Yan Xilin |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2019 | Feasibility study of new structures for long-span bridges | Yan Xilin |
Municipal Innovation Program for University Students | 2018 | Development of experimental device for uneven settlement of rail traffic | Wang Lei |
Municipal Innovation and Training Program for University Students | 2018 | Research on the construction of China's urban underground pipeline logistics and transport system | Shi Rong |
University-level Innovation Program for Students | 2018 | Development of new street tree covers | Wang Lei |
National Higher Education Institutions | 2015~2020 | The first, second and third prizes of “THS Cup” BIM Application Skills Competition in China | Shi Rong |
Shanghai University Student Structural Design Competition and National University Student Structural Design Divisional Competition | 2019 | First prize and third prize of the 3rd Shanghai University Student Structural Design Competition and the 13th National University Student Structural Design Divisional Competition | Yan Xilin |
Shanghai University Student Structural Design Competition and National University Student Structural Design Divisional Competition | 2019 | The 3rd Shanghai University Student Structural Design Competition and the 13th National University Student Structural Design Divisional Competition | Yan Xilin |
