Professional Certificate: Railway Engineering

Professional Certificate

Develop the proficiency and expertise that employers are looking for with specialized training and professional education. Earn a microcredential, providing you with a way to share your achievement with employers.

4 Courses in program
6 weeks per course
4 - 5 hours per week
English language

Improve your strategies and decision making in the design, operations and performance of both infrastructure and rolling stock. Learn and apply the skills and knowledge needed to deal with the multifaceted aspects of railway systems to achieve a more reliable, safe and high-comfort railway network, transporting people and goods in a fast and efficient way.

This Professional Certificate Program in Railway Engineering offers a Microcredential – which is an additional quality certification awarded as a digital badge that can be easily shared and verified. It consists of the following three career-oriented courses and a capstone project:

Railway Engineering: Track and Train Interaction
Railway Engineering: Real Time Operations
Railway Engineering: Performance over Time
Railway Engineering: Capstone Project

This highly practical program will provide you with the appropriate tools and valuable insights in how to adopt this new systems approach to railway engineering and operations.

Throughout the program you will work on many small projects and real-life cases and then conclude with a capstone project where you will work on a real-life project (either your own project or one provided by the course team) and you will receive personal guidance and feedback throughout.

Is this program for you?

This program is aimed at professionals working in the railway sector. From rail engineers and specialists/experts in rail systems, rail maintenance, track maintenance, and safety to operations managers, asset managers (track/train) and other professionals in managerial or advisory roles. It equips them to develop a good operational understanding of a systems view of railway networks to enhance the quality of their work, investment decisions, innovation initiatives, analysis of technical failures, project documentation and system optimization.

For more details about each course (including dates and syllabus) go to Details.

Discounted Program Fee
You can enroll in our courses separately but if you join the full program you will follow the courses in our suggested order and benefit from our package price.

Full Professional Certificate Program - consisting of three courses plus a staff guided capstone project: € 1600 (saving up to € 400). Individual courses are € 450 per course. The capstone project is € 650 and is only available to learners who complete all three courses.

Identify opportunities to improve the performance and reliability of a railway network, based on your analysis of interfaces and interactions between track, train, traction and civil structures.
Design and improve reliable and robust train service that can respond more effectively to unforeseen circumstances and unexpected situations.
Develop strategies to optimize the use of the railway network by recognizing infra-capacity, availability of rolling stock, deployment of staff, communication methods and new technologies.
Create a robust railway system, ensuring comfort, reliability and safety, while making the best possible use of the existing (or potentially new) infrastructure.
Design an integral monitoring and maintenance solution using a systems perspective.

To keep trains running, improve services over time and offer faster and more comfortable travel, the rail industry is in need of professionals with the knowledge and skills to support innovation and provide sustainable and low-cost solutions. This entails the smart use of resources and the ability to meet the demands and requirements of all stakeholders involved. To do this successfully, experts need not only to master their own area of specialization, but be able to understand railway operations from a broader systems perspective. They need to be able to control, oversee and derive benefit from the connections and interactions between all the parameters, processes and interfaces of these complex technical systems, including those of a political rather than a technical nature.

Through understanding how all the interfaces relate, affect each other and influence the system, professionals can deploy more efficient ways of planning and implementing operational and maintenance strategies. This will ultimately have an impact on their decisions about investment, innovation and optimization.

This Professional Certificate Program in Railway Engineering consists of the following three career-oriented courses and a capstone project:

Railway Engineering: Track and Train Interaction (your start date is February 26, 2025)
This course will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to apply a systems approach to railway engineering and a proactive approach to problem solving. This will enable you and your organization to make smarter choices when dealing with current or potential problems. It will also strengthen your ability to think systematically, prevent problems or deal with them more efficiently and improve the railway system as a whole. Read more | Download Syllabus
Railway Engineering: Real Time Operations (your start date is May 7, 2025)
This course will enhance your decision-making abilities and provide you with strategies to ensure greater reliability in ever-changing situations. You will learn how to optimize the operation and capacity of the railway network and structure, align and optimize the various transport modes, and manage the planning and phases of complex railway systems in a real-time environment. Read more | Download Syllabus
Railway Engineering: Performance over Time (your start date is September 3, 2025)
This course will enable you to apply a systems approach to monitoring and maintenance of railway assets to enhance their performance and availability. By predicting defects through health condition monitoring and assessing the life-cycle-costs of maintenance operations, we can determine the optimal preventive maintenance actions, to ensure safety at all times while minimizing costs. Read more | Download Syllabus
Railway Engineering: Capstone Project (your start date is October 29, 2025)
The Capstone Project, which is a case/project-based course, will finalize your Railway Engineering program. You will not receive additional lectures, but instead will work on a design project that integrates the knowledge and skills gained from the first three courses. You will work on either your own project or on a project provided by the course team. The capstone project will be staff-graded and you will receive personalized guidance and feedback throughout.

Watch sample video lectures

Company benefits

With an integrated approach rail professionals can develop a wider focus. Without the right skills and knowledge, the choices they make will adversely affect performance. The resulting cost and time issues will impact negatively on both their companies and our wider society. TU Delft's unique systems approach to the engineering aspects of rail infrastructure and rolling stock will strengthen the operations, management and investments of the organizations in this sector. Companies will see an increase in their employees' quality of work and their potential to innovate.

More information?

See the Frequently Asked Questions on this program.

A Microcredential is an additional quality certification that shows what knowledge, competence and experience the participant has gained upon successful completion of a program. A Microcredential is awarded in the form of a digital badge which can be shared and is instantly verifiable.

More information

There is increasing pressure on the labor market for railway engineers with integral knowledge of railways to deal with projects, operations and maintenance more efficiently. This has been reported as ongoing for many years but it is currently increasing every year. In the Netherlands alone, 40 new master-level railway engineers are needed every year. This does not even include the demand for professionals in the field of train operations.
And it is an international issue too: "Transportation and logistics companies, including rail, will have a harder time employing workers with the needed skills, in the right place, at the right time. Strategies for managing talent are now on top of the CEO agenda: in a recent survey by PwC, 66% of CEOs say that a lack of the right skills is their biggest talent challenge." (source: SIAF International - Edition 2016).

"With the existing infrastructure and the current mobility needs in big cities, railway companies need to find innovative ways of handling disturbances and dealing with the maintenance of railway networks. This unique program will allow rail professionals to apply an integrated railway systems approach so they can implement appropriate innovations needed to optimize maintenance time, costs and safety." - Taco Sysling - Head of Civil Engineering, Department of Asset Management, ProRail

Marco Langwadt
"Additionally it gives you networking possibilities and a nice overview of what is happening in railways all over the world."
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Davel Sihombing
"I had gained most of my knowledge and skills from within the railway industry and I felt it would be better to add an academic perspective to this knowledge."
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Elias Abou Mrad
"Make better-informed decisions in relation to railway planning, urban planning, and policy recommendations."
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Certificates

If you successfully complete this program you will earn a Professional Education Certificate and you are eligible to receive 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

View sample certificate

This program is primarily geared towards working professionals.

To fully benefit from these courses you should have basic knowledge and working experience in railways. This program is particularly aimed at Rail engineers, Rail system specialists, Rail system experts, Rail maintenance specialists/experts, Track maintenance specialists/experts, Safety specialists, Operations managers, Asset managers of track/train, and other professionals in managerial or advisory roles working in the railway sector.

This Professional Certificate Program has been designed so that knowledge is acquired gradually. We therefore expect learners to follow the courses in the order (and dates) presented on the program website at the time of enrollment. The last course (Capstone Project) is only available to learners who complete all three courses.

What is a Professional Certificate Program (PCP) in Railway Engineering?
It is a series of three career-oriented courses plus a capstone project specifically designed for professionals working in the railway sector who wish to build up their technical and systems knowledge. The program is offered by TU Delft and endorsed by industry partner ProRail and KIVI.

How many courses does this PCP have?
This online program consists of three courses and a capstone project. That is four courses in total.

What courses are part of this PCP?

Railway Engineering: Track and Train Interaction
Railway Engineering: Real Time Operations
Railway Engineering: Performance over Time
Railway Engineering: Capstone Project

How much time do I need to spend on each course?
Each course runs for 6 weeks. Learners are expected to invest approximately 4-5 hours per week. Based on the total length of the courses and their weekly effort, you can expect 100-120 hours of workload for the whole program throughout the year.

What does each of the courses consist of?
The courses vary a little but in general they consist of lecture videos, assignments, forums, interactive images and videos, ask-the-professor feedback and real-life cases. There is usually at least 1 quiz and 1 activity per week in each course and a final assignment. Unlike MOOCs, which are easy videos followed by quizzes, these career-oriented courses do demand the full time required.

Learners are assessed in the course through small assignments, which can be self or peer graded. Only final assignments and the Capstone Project are staff graded.

In the first 3 courses, the structure is:
5 x quizzes (20% of grade, 1 per week for 5 weeks)
5 x graded discussions (15% of grade, 1 per week for 5 weeks)
2 x mini-cases (15% - placement differs per course)
1 x final assignment (50% grade, begins in week 4, deadline in week 6)

The quizzes are based on the provided material. The graded discussions frequently ask you to bring in your knowledge from your own background, and will usually ask you to provide links to resources to support your arguments/facts. The mini-cases vary, some are calculations based on a specific contextual issue, while others provide a case for you to assess, argue for/against, reflect on or come up with a solution.

The final assignments are specific to each course, but these usually take the most time to prepare which is why week 6 has no additional content, and hence full time is needed to work on the assignment itself.

The Capstone Project requires you to work on a project that integrates the knowledge and skills gained from the first three courses.

What are the requirements to enroll in this PCP?
There are no formal admission requirements to enroll in the first three courses. However, the fourth course (Capstone Project) is only available to learners who complete the first three courses.

To fully benefit from these courses you should have basic knowledge of and working experience in railways, and maths at bachelor (or at least high school) level. This program is particularly aimed at Railway engineers, Railway system specialists, Railway system experts, Railway maintenance specialists/experts, Track maintenance specialists/experts, Safety specialists, Operations managers, Asset managers of track/train, and other professionals in managerial or advisory roles.

Do I need to take the introductory MOOC (Railway Engineering: An Integral Approach) before enrolling in these advanced courses?
No, this is not required.

How can I enroll in the full PCP?
If you wish to enroll in the full program simply click the Enroll Now button. You can also enroll in the program courses separately but in this case you will not benefit from our program package price.

Do I receive any credentials or qualifications after taking this program?
Completing all three courses and the capstone project leads to a Professional Certificate Program from TU Delft.

Based on the total length of the courses and their weekly effort, you can expect about 100-120 hours of workload for the whole program throughout the year. Besides the program certificate you will be eligible to receive 12 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if you complete the full program.

Do I receive any credentials or qualifications if I take the program’s courses separately?
After completing every course you will receive a certificate of completion and CEUs. The last course (Capstone Project) is only available to learners who complete all three courses and it does not lead to a separate certificate. Completing the capstone project means that you have already finished all four courses and therefore you will be entitled to the program certificate.

Do I have to follow all courses to receive a Professional Certificate Program credential?
Yes, you need to complete all three courses and the capstone project to obtain the program certificate. That is four courses in total.

If you decide to take one or more courses separately and you are not interested in the full program you will (only) receive a certificate of completion after successfully finishing each course.

Do I need to take the courses in the order proposed?
This program has been designed so that knowledge is acquired gradually. We therefore expect learners to follow the courses in the order presented on the program website. However, if you do not want to pursue the full program you may choose to enroll in any course of your choice based on your background knowledge or experience.

The last course (Capstone Project) is only available to learners who complete all three courses.

How much does it cost to join this program?
The full Professional Certificate Program, which consists of all three professional education courses plus an individual guided Capstone Project, is offered at a package price of €1600.

If you are only interested in one course the fee is €450 per course. The price of the Capstone Project is €650 but this will be only available to learners who complete the first three courses.

Can I partially unenroll from this program?
If you would like to stop your participation in a program and have already started one or more courses, you are subject to the following policy:

Learners will receive a refund of the amount they paid, minus the regular (i.e. undiscounted) course fee for individual courses started, minus the administration fee for each course the learner cancels.
The refund for the courses not taken is subject to the tuition refund policy for individual courses with respect to the cancelation period.

What materials and books do I need to be able to participate in this PCP?
All materials, readings and lectures are included in the course. In a few cases complementary or extraneous materials might only be published on YouTube or by 3rd parties with a direct link.

What will the capstone project look like?
This case/project-based course will finalize this program. You will not receive additional lectures, but instead will work on a design project that integrates the knowledge and skills gained from the first three courses. You will work on either your own project or on a project provided by the course team. The capstone project will be staff-graded and you will receive personalized guidance and feedback throughout.

Can I access the course and/or course materials after the end date?
After the course ends, you will have 6 more months to access and view the course content.

Is the content of the course downloadable as PDF?
TU Delft does not offer the option of downloading an entire course. Only selected readings, video transcripts, etc. are downloadable; these are indicated by an active download link within the course.
The course content is available during the duration of the course plus additional 6 months.

If I enroll in the full program and I miss or skip a course, can I still follow the program and receive the program certificate later?
If you enroll in the full program you are expected to follow the courses in the order and dates presented on the program website at the time of enrollment. If you miss or skip (a) course(s) you can join the next available run(s) of the missed/skipped course(s) paying 75% of the individual course(s) fee. Please be aware that the program courses have a 2 year validity towards the program certificate. This means that from the time of the registration into the first course, you have two years to complete the full program so that you are eligible for the program certificate.

If you have any questions about this course or the TU Delft online learning environment, please visit our Help & Support page.