This master thesis investigates the possibilities of using GPS-information from trains to create a model of a Railway system, register the routes of the the trains and predict how the trains will travel in the Railway system.The thesis work was done at Icomera AB which is a company that specializes in internet connected vehicle solutions.We describe how the GPS-information is sent from the trains in the form of samples and investigate limitations and possibilities with the available information. About three million samples from 83 SJ-trains were analysed and the samples were filtered with the intent of removing erroneous information. We here found that about 30 % of the samples from the trains were unreliable.A solution for how the samples from the trains can be used to create a model of the Railway system traveled by the trains is presented. We use a large set of historical samples and use cluster nodes and Hermite curves to generate a graph that represent the Railway system with stations, nodes and the Railway itself. A fully automatic solution is not presented since it did not fit into the time frame of the thesis; instead we created a simple tool which can be used to manually finish the model of the Railway system.Furthermore, we describe how the Railway system and the samples from the train can be used to register the routes the trains travel.

For several years Uppsala University together with several companies has been involved in a WISENET project aimed at improving Railway transport security. By placing a sensor system near the wheels of each wagon, the temperature of the bearings can be measured and transmitted to a collector placed centrally on the wagon. This in turn transmits the collected data to RFID receivers placed intermittently along the Railway.As the signals are transmitted wirelessly, problems may occur as the antennas get dirty or coated with ice and snow. To determine the effects of these coatings, several tests were performed examining the reflection coefficient S11, the impedance Z11 and the efficiency eta of an antenna, and how they varied when various coatings were placed over the antenna. Examined coatings were ice, snow and water to determine the effects of weather, and various metal-based coatings: powdered iron both pure and partially oxidized, and iron ore granules.

For several years Uppsala University together with several companies has been involved in a WISENET project aimed at improving Railway transport security. By placing a sensor system near the wheels of each wagon, the temperature of the bearings can be measured and transmitted to a collector placed centrally on the wagon. This in turn transmits the collected data to RFID receivers placed intermittently along the Railway.As the signals are transmitted wirelessly, problems may occur as the antennas get dirty or coated with ice and snow. To determine the effects of these coatings, several tests were performed examining the reflection coefficient S11, the impedance Z11 and the efficiency eta of an antenna, and how they varied when various coatings were placed over the antenna. Examined coatings were ice, snow and water to determine the effects of weather, and various metal-based coatings: powdered iron both pure and partially oxidized, and iron ore granules.

This master thesis investigates the possibilities of using GPS-information from trains to create a model of a Railway system, register the routes of the the trains and predict how the trains will travel in the Railway system.The thesis work was done at Icomera AB which is a company that specializes in internet connected vehicle solutions.We describe how the GPS-information is sent from the trains in the form of samples and investigate limitations and possibilities with the available information. About three million samples from 83 SJ-trains were analysed and the samples were filtered with the intent of removing erroneous information. We here found that about 30 % of the samples from the trains were unreliable.A solution for how the samples from the trains can be used to create a model of the Railway system traveled by the trains is presented. We use a large set of historical samples and use cluster nodes and Hermite curves to generate a graph that represent the Railway system with stations, nodes and the Railway itself. A fully automatic solution is not presented since it did not fit into the time frame of the thesis; instead we created a simple tool which can be used to manually finish the model of the Railway system.Furthermore, we describe how the Railway system and the samples from the train can be used to register the routes the trains travel.

En studie om hastighetsbegränsningar i banöverbyggnaden och kontakledningsystemet på Västkustbanan Helingborg - Lund..

The society of today is dependent of secure transports and deliveries of electrical power. Interruptions in different activities because of fallen trees cost a great deal of money in form of reparations and claimed damages for transport companies and electrical suppliers. Fallen trees along some Railway sections are a severe problem. For instance, to repair the damages of the storm of week 5 year 2002, costed 2 800 000 SEK for the line region of Hässleholm. Today, the Banverket railroad company has no norms in general for how close to the Railway the forest is allowed to grow.

This thesis examines the deregulation reform of the Swedish railroad industry, focusing on passenger transport between 1988 and 2005. The purpose of the thesis is to examine the effects from the deregulation reform on prices, market concentration and to determine whether SJ (the state owned incumbent) has been conducting strategic behaviour in order to prevent new entrants to the market. The chosen method consists of interviews with the MD at SJ between 1988 - 1998 Mr Karl-Erik Strand, the transportation researcher at SSE Mr Gunnar Alexandersson. Statistical sources and companies financial reports have also been used. The results that I have found were besides the fact that the market concentration is still significant high and the profitability among the operators low, is that the prices has increased more than CPI during the period but the competitive tendering has resulted in lower government subsidies after the deregulation.

Abandoned and unused Railway structures often possess great potential if they are reclaimed and reused for new purposes. The thesis focuses on the global trend of restoring and revitalizing these areas, converting them into park areas, rail trails and green corridors in the city landscape, while preserving their ecological, social, esthetic and historic values. These rail areas were often abandoned when industries moved out from the cities, either to industrial areas or abroad. The use of Railways for transporting industrial goods was also replaced to a large extent my motorized road vehicles in the mid 20th century, leaving the rails under-utilized. Because of their location and intrinsic values, they can be reused for important functions, such as green areas in the city environment, providing space for recreational activities and exercise and social meetings and interactions. I have closely investigated the three park areas High Line in New York, Promenade Plantée in Paris and Schöneberger Südgelände in Berlin, which have all gone through this transformation in recent years. I have summarized my conclusions in three key concepts to consider: design for social values, preserve the architectural history, and leave room for future evolution. The final part of my work is a design program for an abandoned Railways area in Stockholm: Eriksdal Railway area.

In this thesis, the Train Power System Simulator (TPSS) has been compared and verified with the commercial simulator TracFeed® Simulation (TracFeed). The basis for the comparison was a given part of the Swedish Railway system, with steel transportation trains. Primarily, emphasis was placed on running time and energy consumption in simulation results. Two transformer systems were analyzed, booster and auto transformers. The high voltage transmission line, parallel to the railroad track, was disconnected in some simulations.

The stability of Railway embankment is essential for safe transport. In order to ensure safe transport, water should be allowed to freely drain. Furthermore, as the engine driver has to be able to see signs, and people working on the embankment are supposed to easily see flaws on the rails to ensure safety for the passing trains, plants should not be allowed to grow on the embankment. In Sweden there are 12 000 kilometers of Railway tracks and 25?30 % of them are treated for weed control every year.

NCC has given us a commission to investigate a planned housing area in Haga, Karlstad, situated close to the traffic route Hagaleden and the Railway. The housing area consists of one hundred apartments in five different houses. The houses are linked to each other by balconies with glass panels. A long carport is situated between Hagaleden and the housing area to absorb part of the noise from the road. The design of the housing area is creating a silent backyard.

In Sweden whenever trains or maintenance workers want access to the Railway system, their requests of usage and movements are being supervised, granted and handled by train dispatchers. The profession holds a key role in making the complex Railway system work in terms of efficiency, safety and delivering on-time arrivals. This master thesis, delegated by the Swedish Transport Administration, has been carried out at the Division of Human Computer Interaction at Uppsala University and at the train traffic control center in Gävle. The aim has been to map what information the train dispatchers use in order to make safety-related decisions concerning their working goals. And further to describe and analyze how the train dispatchers, visavi their tools and systems in the work domain, gather necessary information.The result indicates a complex, diverse and spread out setting of different programs, procedures and tools that make satisfactory fulfilment of efficiency, safety and punctuality in relation to the time table hard.

The Swedish Transport Administration manage nearly 4,000 Railway bridges in different condition and age around the country. These bridges is in constant need of maintenance and requires continuous inspections. This thesis is designed as a damage investigation on a single-track Railway bridge south of Solvarbo in Säter municipality. The Railway bridge is in operation and serves over 10,000 trains a year, everything from speed trains to freight trains. The bridge is built as a beam bridge, simply supported over a road.

As we travel more and more by train it becomes increasingly important that the time we spend traveling, is of great quality. This has been the foundation of this master thesis and has shaped the outcome of it. The traveling experience, that is, the experience of the landscape that flashes by outside the train window, is an important aspect in Railway planning and an aspect that should be taken into greater consideration. The purpose of this master thesis has been to examine how to compose or improve the travel experience for an already planned high speed Railway and how the travel experience can be combined with other aspects, which have claims on the landscape. This thesis is based on a literature study and a case study of Ostlänken. The work describes Ostlänken, a planned high speed Railway in Sweden between Järna and Linköping, with top speeds at 300-320 kilometers per hour.

Sveriges järnvägsnät är gammalt och utsätts för en allt högre belastning varje år i takt med att trafiken på spåren ökar. Detta medför att slitaget på järnvägarna ökar och en väldigt känslig del är spårväxlar. Då ca 20 % av alla fel beror på problem med spårväxlar läggs fokus i rapporten på att utreda denna problematik. Syftet med arbetet är att kartlägga vilka spårväxelfel som uppstår och orsaken till dessa, samt att komma med åtgärdsförslag för att minska problemen med spårväxlar som leder till förseningar och stopp i trafiken. Rapportens inledande del består av ett teoriavsnitt som beskriver hur en växel är uppbyggd och hur den fungerar.Tre bandelar i Sverige har studerats, en i norr, en i söder och en i Stockholm.