Rail Fundamentals

This three day programme has been designed to introduce delegates unfamiliar with, or just starting in, the railway industry to understand the key principles underlying its commercial and practical operation. Running a system such as a railway is quite a challenge, but running it successfully requires a good ‘feel’ of many disciplines, in order to be able to make the many trade-offs which occur e.g. between operability and commercial success. In this programme the delegates will gain knowledge and business acumen on key subjects including: How to structure and manage railways How to finance and fund railways How to understand customer behaviour How to operate railways safely How to profit-maximise Who should attend? Investors Equity analysts and bankers Legal advisors Government officials Industry regulators Business development managers Civil engineering contractors Equipment Manufacturers Rolling stock providers Programme Objectives By the end of programme delegates will be able to: Gain a broad perspective of the railway industry Understand the key principles underlying the successful commercial operation of railways Understand the key terms used within the railway Take multi-disciplinary decisions within the overall railway system Training Methodology This programme involves considerable interaction with delegates, and includes a wide range of worked examples and case studies based on real life. The concepts presented here are supported by pictures and video clips from railways around the world, helping those on the course to visualise problems in their context, and hence to understand and develop solutions to typical problems.
Day 1 Introduction The Railway Industry Course Objectives Attendees’ Objectives Railway Management & Business Planning Railway Objectives Railway Efficiency Returns to Scale Market Positioning Management Structures Railway Ownership & Structure Ownership Fragmentation Methods of Privatisation Concessioning and Franchising Case study: East Coast main line, UK Funding the Railway Industry Structures Roles for the Private Sector Road and Rail: the background Macro-economic drivers Modal Factors Methods of analysis Inherent profitability Examples for discussion Drinks Reception and Visit, Waterloo Station - tbc Day 2 Generalised Cost Theory Demand Curves The Theory of Generalised Cost Classwork: Worked example Values of Time Fares and Funding Elasticities Implications for service planning Fares Policy Classwork: Worked example Funding Case studies: New York subway; Hong Kong MTRC Assembling a Business Case Estimating Demand and Revenue Technique Typology Demand Forecasting Methods Complications Why things go wrong Case Studies: Nottingham heavy rail & Sheffield Supertram, UK Rail Freight Trends Costs Terminal requirements Specific sectors e.g. intermodal Estimating freight demand International links Future Prospects Day 3 Railway Safety Principles of safe operation Automatic Operation Station Capacity and Evacuation Capability Risk Analysis Accident Prevention & Analysis Case study: Santiago de Compostela, Spain Major Projects: Engineering and Managing the Railway as a System Capital Costs Systems Integration Case study: tbc Rolling Stock Appropriate Technology Fundability including PPP Public Consultation Inter-country Comparison Stations: Managing the railway as a system Station Stop Times: Infrastructure, Train Service & Rolling Stock Case study: Sydney Trains, Australia Infrastructure Design Railway Capacity Number & Alignment of Tracks Impact of Single-track sections Introduction to Train Graphs Junction Types Design trade-offs Assessing Punctuality Case study: Fen Line, Britain Timetabling & Resource Requirements Appropriate Frequencies Regularity & Frequency Basic-Interval Timetabling Combining traffic types: flighting Minimising rolling stock needs Worked example: Gatwick Express Maximising punctuality Staff Rostering Course summary and close