| Brief Description of Research Project | Due to the scarcity of rail-related educational programs, railroads have relied heavily on recruiting from traditional engineering disciplines. The downside of this approach has been high attrition rates in the first five years of employment, as new hires to the railroad are often unprepared or underprepared for the demands of the job [1]. For this reason, railroads and transit agencies have approached the academic community to develop rail-related engineering programs such as the Rail Transportation Engineering (RTE) program at Penn State Altoona. At least two major studies have been conducted to assess railway education in the United States. In 2011, Sunderland and Hughes prepared a report for APTA entitled, “Transit and Rail Educational Programs in the United States and Abroad” [2]. Another report, entitled, “A Guide to Building and Retaining Workforce Capacity for the Railroad Industry” was published by the Transportation Research Board in 2015 as part of the National Cooperative Rail Research Program (NCRRP) [3]. The RTE program at Penn State Altoona was identified in both studies as the only undergraduate degree in Rail Transportation Engineering in the nation. Additionally, the only other countries identified in the reports that offer the equivalent of a Bachelor’s Degree in Rail Transportation Engineering were China/Taiwan and Germany. Thus, the Penn State RTE program is unique both nationally and internationally. While considerable demand exists for college graduates with railroad engineering expertise, universities have been slow to adopt rail-focused educational programs. The RTE program at Penn State Altoona is seeking to meet the educational need within the industry by providing both undergraduate education and professional training opportunities. |
