High-Speed Rail—a new focus for Railroad Program at Illinois
高聰忠兼任教授
學歷：美國加州柏克萊大學大地工程所博士
研究領域/專長：地震工程、凍土工程、大地工程、工程管理、專案管理
現況：目前於美國伊利諾大學短期任教，主要教授課程為高速鐵路工程；高教授以多年的高鐵工程經驗，針對高鐵工程施
工及營運部分做相關課程的介紹；除此之外也帶給學生高鐵工程的最新消息，對於學生、老師和相關產業都有相當
大的收穫。以下為相關報導
High-speed rail is the next big thing in railroad engineering in the United States, and the University of Illinois’ Railroad Engineering Program is assuming a leadership role in bringing the latest information about this hot topic to students, fellow educators, and the industry.
“There will be expanded opportunities for civil engineering students as a result of this initiative in the United States,” Barkan remarked.
The high-speed rail course at Illinois owes its genesis to former Illinois' student Yung-Cheng (Rex) Lai (MS 2004, PhD 2008), who is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University. Lai introduced Barkan to National Taiwan University colleague T.C. Kao, PhD, PE, a one-time student of former CEE faculty member Ralph Peck who teaches about high-speed rail and project management.
Kao has spent his career working in
railroad engineering and served as vice president of the Taiwan High-Speed Rail
Corporation. In that capacity, he worked on all aspects of Taiwan’s high-speed
rail project. Barkan and Kao began discussing the possibility of a high-speed
rail class at Illinois, and Barkan saw the benefit of bringing Kao’s expertise
to Illinois, particularly in the face of the country’s new momentum in
high-speed rail.
“Professor Kao has excellent academic credentials, and when you combine that
with a lifetime of experience working in the rail industry, it’s a rare blend,”
Barkan said, “He has seen every single aspect of the planning, design,
construction and operation of a high-speed rail system. And this is coming
through very nicely in the class. The Taiwan system is one of the newest in the
world, so he’s got a very current understanding of the state of the art of
high-speed rail. I’ll also add that he’s a fantastic teacher.”
Kao, who has written a book about his experiences bringing high-speed rail to
Taiwan, was eager to share his passion for high-speed rail internationally.
“The development of high-speed rail has pushed rail technology to new frontiers—the aerodynamic design of the train, the more powerful propulsion system, more energy-efficient braking system, the digital automatic train control system, the use of GSM [Global System for Mobile Communications] for data transmission, slab track which gives more track strength and stability with much less maintenance, disaster warning systems, innovative financial approaches,” Kao said. “And more technology development is under way. I think high-speed rail will bring a renaissance to passenger rail transportation in this country.”
About 40 students are taking Kao’s course,
which covers all aspects of a high-speed rail system from the technology behind
it to operation and management, project planning, and project implementation.
Given the national interest in high-speed rail, Barkan, who chairs the American
Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Rail Transportation Committee, thought the
topic was a natural choice for the 2010 Joint Rail Conference, which is being
cosponsored this year by ASCE, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
IEEE, the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and
the Transportation Research Board. This year, the conference will be hosted at
the University of Illinois April 27-29 and is expected to draw several hundred
attendees from industry, government and academia. Highlights include a session
on the Asian high-speed rail experience with invited speakers from China, Japan,
Korea and Taiwan. Another session will focus on the U.S. Department of
Transportation High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program and will feature
presentations by Mark Yachmetz, Associate Administrator for Railroad Development
for the Federal Railroad Administration, and by others involved with that
program.
The topic is of particular interest in the state of Illinois, which will receive some of the stimulus money for development of a high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis. The near-term plan in Illinois, Barkan said, is to upgrade the existing rail line to allow a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour. To achieve considerably higher speed would require a brand new system with its own, dedicated right-of-way. It would cost much more but enable trains to travel at 220 miles per hour, providing a competitive alternative to driving or air travel.
According to Kao, Taiwan’s high-speed rail system transports 100,000 passengers a day—people who would otherwise travel by car or plane, resulting in a much larger carbon footprint. It’s a compelling idea for the United States and one whose time is coming quickly.
“I think this country needs it,” Kao
added. “This country needs high-speed rail.”
資料來源：Christopher Barkan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering