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Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

Published in Association with Institution of Mechanical Engineers

eISSN: 20413017 | ISSN: 09544097 | Current volume: 238 | Current issue: 4 Frequency: 8 Times/Year

 

The Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit is devoted to engineering in its widest interpretation applicable to rail and rapid transit. The Journal aims to promote sharing of technical knowledge, ideas and experience between engineers and researchers working in the railway field.

"The IMechE was founded by George Stephenson in 1847 and Part F of the Proceedings (the Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit) aims to continue the strong tradition of informing railway engineers of innovative concepts and advances in knowledge as well as examples of practical developments and applications. Basic research with potential rail applications is also included in the Journal's scope." Professor Simon Iwnicki - Huddersfield University, UK


This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

For more information about the Journal please contact jrailrapid@sagepub.co.uk

Recommend this journal to your library

The Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit publishes peer-reviewed articles devoted to all engineering disciplines applied to rail and rapid transit. It provides a continuing means of sharing technical knowledge, ideas and developments between industry and academia.

The Journal seeks to encompass innovative concepts, advances in analytical methods, and examples of actual developmental work. Basic research with identified rail applications is included in the Journal's scope.

The scope extends to all aspects of trailway science and engineering including:

  • Motive power, traction and rolling stock;
  • Passenger and freight;
  • Mainline and suburban railways;
  • Light rail / urban transit;
  • Metros;
  • Maglev;
  • Track systems;
  • Interaction of vehicles with the infrastructure and the environment;
  • System infrastructure and interfaces;
  • Inter and multi-modal transport;
  • Human factors;
  • Command and control;
  • Reliability and safety;
  • Inspection and maintenance;
  • Customer interfaces;
  • Data and the digital railway;
  • Railway engineering trends.

Editor
S D Iwnicki Huddersfield University, UK
Associate Editors
S Bruni Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Marco Carnevale University of Pavia, Italy
C Casanueva KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
K Oldknow Simon Fraser University, Canada
W Powrie University of Southampton, UK
M Spiryagin Central Queensland University, Australia
Editorial Board
J D Andrews The University of Nottingham, UK
C Baker University of Birmingham , UK
A Broadbent Hitachi Europe Ltd., UK
M Burstow Network Rail, UK
D Cadet Alstom-Transport, France
Y Chen Zhejiang University, China
C Cole Central Queensland University, Australia
D Connolly Heriot-Watt University, UK
M Esmaeili Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran
David Fletcher University of Sheffield, UK
R Fröhling Transnet Freight Rail, South Africa
A Haigermoser Siemens AG Österreich, Austria
D Hill University of New York, USA
S Hillmansen University of Birmingham , UK
Stasha Jovanovic University of Belgrade, Serbia
A Kapoor Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
S Koizumi Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Japan
K Lee Korea Railroad Research Institute, Korea
R Licciardello Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy
R Lundén Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
M. Rosário M. R. Macário Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
E Magel National Research Council, Canada
A Mills Rail Safety and Standards Board, UK
A Orlova St. Petersburg State Transport University, Russia
M Petkova Crossrail, UK
O Polach Independent consultant, Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland
M Roney Canadian Pacific Railway, Canada
Conrad Ruppert University of Illinois, USA
A A Shabana University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Maggie Simpson Rail Freight Group, UK
M Sitarz University of Dabrowa Górnicza, Poland
Klaus Six Virtual Vehicle, Austria
D J Thompson University of Southampton, UK
T Tomioka Akita Prefectural University, Japan
J Tunna Independent Consultant, USA
J Vinolas Nebrija University, Spain
N S Vyas Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Chris Ward Rail Accident Investigation Branch, UK
W Zhai Southwest Jiaotong University, China
  • Applied Science & Technology Abstract
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  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

    This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jrrt to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
      2.3 Acknowledgements
      2.4 Funding
      2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
      2.6 Research Data
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. Preparing your manuscript
      4.1 Formatting
      4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
      4.3 Supplementary material
      4.4 Reference style
      4.5 English language editing services
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. On acceptance and publication
      6.1 Sage Production
      6.2 Online First publication
      6.3 Access to your published article
      6.4 Promoting your article
    7. Further information

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article Types

    Original Article: Describes a piece of original or substantially original research, or some aspect of design development, manufacture, operation and maintenance, or engineering education
    Review Article: A critical review of the state-of-the-art with examples of applications in design and profitable manufacture without extensive analysis
    Case Study: Describes the application of a technique, procedure or management concept in a real situation
    Technical Note: A short, interim statement on a research project or description of some new development

    Length

    1. In general, Original Articles, Review Papers and Case Studies should not normally exceed 5000 words (with up to 10 illustrations). Longer articles will be considered, however, as our criterion is that the content justifies the length of the article.
    2. Technical Notes should not exceed 1500 words and 5 illustrations.
    3. Discussions on papers already published should not exceed 500 words and 2 illustrations.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

    •  The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors

    •  The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper

    •  The author has recommended the reviewer

    •  The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution). 

    2.2 Authorship

    Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

    The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

    • Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
    • Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
    • Approved the version to be published,
    • Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

    Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

    Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and your References.

    2.3.1 Third party submissions

    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
    • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
    • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.3.2 Writing assistance

    Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance”).

    It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

    2.4 Funding

    Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

    It is the policy of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

    Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

    2.6 Research Data

    The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

    Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

    • share your research data in a relevant public data repository
    • include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
    • cite this data in your research

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

    Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    Preferred formats for the text and tables of your manuscript are Word DOC, RTF, XLS. LaTeX files are also accepted. The text should be double-spaced throughout and with a minimum of 3cm for left and right hand margins and 5cm at head and foot. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.  

    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

    4.3 Supplementary material

    This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.

    4.4 Reference style

    Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit adheres to the Sage Vancouver reference style. View the Sage Vancouver guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Vancouver EndNote output file.

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jrrt to login and submit your article online.

    IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

    5.1 ORCID

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage has become a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID.

    ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognised.

    The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one.

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.3 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    Sage provides authors with online access to their final article

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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    7. Further information

    Publishing Editor 
    Sage Publications Ltd
    1 Oliver's Yard, 55 City Road
    London, EC1Y 1SP
    UK

    Email: jrailrapid@sagepub.co.uk

     

    Institutional Print subscription inclusive of free online access

    Subscription Information

     

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