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Appropriately planned and properly implemented as part of a larger public transportation network, urban rail systems can provide rapid urban mobility and vital access to city centers from surrounding districts. Improving transportation enhances quality of life by giving citizens access to employment opportunities, essential services, urban amenities, and neighboring communities.
Rising urban populations are putting pressure on urban transportation systems, which must expand to meet growing mobility and accessibility needs in cities around the world. To serve this increasing demand for mobility without the congestion, air pollution, road safety, and social exclusion associated with motorization, many cities are looking to rapid transit systems to provide high-capacity and high-quality transportation that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. When appropriately planned and properly implemented as part of a larger public transportation network, urban rail systems can provide rapid urban mobility and enhance quality of life. Therefore, urban rail projects must be carefully approached as development projects.
This e-learning course is based on The Urban Rail Development Handbook, a recent publication from the Transportation and Digital Development Global Practice of the World Bank that brings together the expertise of World Bank staff and numerous international specialists to synthesize international “good practice” for the development of urban rail projects.
This course is organized into 7 modules that walk through critical considerations at each stage of project development, empowering you to ask the right questions and introducing you to the key tools available to answer them: system and corridor planning, preliminary design, detailed design, procurement and financing, construction, and operations and maintenance.
This course will help you navigate the critical considerations involved in each step of urban rail project development.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
This course consists of 7 weeks.
Week 1: Introduction
This module, defines urban rail systems and other urban rapid transit investments and introduces the steps involved in developing an urban rail project.
Week 2: Deciding Whether to Develop Urban Rail
This module, discusses how to decide which rapid transit alternative is the most appropriate choice given the needs of all residents of the city. This module presents a sequence of six steps that objectively and transparently guide decision-makers from diagnostic study through the evaluation of transportation alternatives to making an informed decision on whether or not to develop an urban rail project. This module covers the first two steps of the project development process: system planning and corridor planning. We will lay out an objective and transparent process by which decision-makers can come to an informed choice on whether or not to develop an urban rail project
Week 3: Governance and Project Management
This module, outlines the key institutional roles involved in urban rail governance and explains the fundamentals of project and risk management to control project cost, schedule, and scope.
Week 4: Addressing Critical Impacts of Urban Rail Development
This module, discusses the many potential environmental and social impacts of urban rail development. It briefly introduces the tools needed to assess these impacts and incorporate them into project planning and design.
Week 5: Design and Optimization
This module, addresses the significant complexity involved in designing urban rail systems and discusses the role of internal staff and external experts in project optimization.
Week 6: Procurement and Financing
This module, considers the many procurement strategies available for urban rail projects as well as the different options for funding and financing them.
Week 7: Financial and Operational Sustainability and Resilience
This module, discusses long-term operations and maintenance of the urban rail system, including the importance of continual improvement in service and infrastructure resilience.
