Railway Education Today and Steps Toward Global Education

Both passenger and freight railway transportation has changed dramatically during the past decades in most parts of the world. Many new technologies have emerged or have been increasingly applied in rail industry to improve the competitiveness of the mode. At the same time, globalization and changes in the political landscape have contributed to the growing pressure to expand the use of rail transportation across national boundaries. All the development is accelerating the need for international cooperation in railway design, construction and operation and the educational framework should shift accordingly to consider rail transportation beyond national boundaries. In addition to discussing the changes with global dimensions that are taking place in the railway industry, this paper reviews the history and current status of university level railway education in the world, including examples from the USA, Russia, China and selected countries in the European Union (EU). The paper also reviews some of the current methods and approaches used by the other industries and engineering fields to improve the global reach and cooperation in education. Based on these proven concepts, the paper provides some recommendations and suggestions for the railway industry how it can start taking its first steps toward a more global railway education.