The course includes strategic, tactical and operational planning in the following five fields:

The railway system

• Infrastructure planning and the national transport plan
• The structure of the infrastructure and maintenance of railway
• The environmental impact of the railway
• Risk Management and accident risks

Passenger traffic

• Vehicles for passenger traffic
• Supply and demand in passenger traffic
•  Cycle planning of vehicles

Freight

• Vehicles for freight
• Supply and demand in freight traffic
• Train formation and marshalling

Capacity and punctuality

• Capacity assignment and capacity calculations
• Timetable planning
• Punctuality and disturbances

Traffic control

• Signal and safety systems
• Traffic management

The course is intended to give the students general knowledge about the railway system and the train traffic and its planning in both strategic and tactical and operational time horizons.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to: 

• Understand the structure and function of the railway system
• Be able to design a schedule and analyse capacity utilization and robustness
• Have knowledge of the different preconditions of passenger traffic or freight and be able to include demand and economic analysis in planning of traffic systems

The course consists of lectures, seminars and study visits, along with exercises and a project. A written exam takes place at the end of the course. 

Attendance and active participation are compulsory for two of the exercises and at the project presentation seminar.

Important dates and deadlines

Deadlines for the mandatory project and exercise submissions, class sessions with mandatory attendance, and the date for the written exam are found in the following table. Study visits (not mandatory but highly recommended) are also included.

Course compendium, lecture notes and other handouts available on Canvas.

A laptop is needed for at least one exercise. A graphing calculator is needed for at least one exercise and the written exam.

One of the exercises requires you to have Matlab and MS Excel (or equivalent spreadsheet software) installed on your laptop.

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

• TEN1 - Written exam, 4.5 credits, grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• ÖVN1 - Exercises, 1.5 credits, grading scale: P, F
• PRO1 - Project assignment, 1.5 credits, grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

If the course is discontinued, students may request to be examined during the following two academic years.

PRO1 - Project assignment, 1.5 credits

For pass (P), the project must have been presented at a project seminar, a peer review must have been performed, and the final report must have been graded with a pass. In case of late report submission (after the specified deadline), the submission may not be corrected until after the end of the course. The course's ethical approach is applicable.

TEN1 - Written exam, 4.5 credits

A graphing calculator is allowed on the exam.

ÖVN1 - Exercises, 1.5 credits

For pass (P), all six mandatory exercises must have been graded with a pass. Two of the exercises require attendance and active participation, and four of the exercises require individually submitted assignments. In case of late submission (after the specified deadline), the submission may not be corrected until after the end of the course. The course's ethical approach is applicable.

For final grade, attendance at compulsory course elements is required

The grade is assigned based on how well the student has reached the three intended learning outcomes, which are examined across the course modules.

Assignment of grades

The score obtained on the written exam (TEN1) is calculated as a percentage of the total exam score. The exam grade is assigned according to the following table.

The grade on the written exam (TEN1) determines the final grade of the course, provided that the project (PRO1) and the exercises (ÖVN1) have passing grades.

In the case of grade Fx, a supplementary examination is required within 15 working days from the grade Fx being reported in Ladok. If the student passes the supplementary examination they receive the grade E. Otherwise the grade is F. The examiner contacts the student to initiate the supplementary examination.

An approved grade can be raised by re-taking the written exam.

Attendance and active participation are compulsory in two of the exercises, the presentation seminar for the project, and the written exam.

In case of absence from a mandatory exercise, a make-up session is scheduled.

In case of absence from the project presentation seminar, a make-up seminar is scheduled.

In case of absence from the written examination, the student is referred to the re-exam in June.

The grade is reported in Ladok.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.

Course policy for generative AI

No use of generative AI tools allowed

All use of generative AI is prohibited in the course's examination and graded assignments. You are also advised to avoid the use of generative AI in your own studies and during class time. This is based on the fact that the use of generative AI is considered to have a negative impact on students' ability to meet the course's learning objectives, as you as students, without the help of generative AI, are expected to be able to:

• Understand the structure and function of the railway system
• Be able to design a schedule and analyse capacity utilization and robustness
• Have knowledge of the different preconditions of passenger traffic or freight and be able to include demand and economic analysis in planning of traffic systems

The ban on generative AI means that

• All examination and graded assignments must be carried out without the help of generative AI.
• All submissions must be completely human-generated.

You as a student are fully responsible for all material you submit and must be able to defend and explain it completely without the support of generative AI.

Students are also advised to avoid using generative AI for support and guidance during their own study, as the answers are unreliable and may omit important parts of the course. Instead, seek support from your fellow students and teachers for guidance and support, and use the course literature for facts.

Disciplinary action for unauthorized use of AI

Everything you submit must be your own work. Using generative AI in the course's examination and graded assignments is considered unauthorized assistance and may result in disciplinary action.

Questions or concerns?

Contact the course coordinator for guidance and clarification of this information, or if you are wrongly accused of using generative AI in the course's examination and graded assignments.