Handbook Railway Infrastructure

This handbook reflects the breadth and complexity of railway systems, featuring contributions from over 50 experts across all areas of railway infrastructure in Germany and Austria. Railway infrastructure encompasses a wide variety of systems with complex interrelationships. The work presents the current state of the art and incorporates current regulations. The interconnected chapters detail the technical and operational fundamentals and interrelationships of railway infrastructure, as well as the interaction between infrastructure and rolling stock. Track alignment and layout, track superstructure, cable systems, safety, maintenance, and asset management are just some of the topics covered. The concise yet fact-filled and detailed presentation, including images, drawings, diagrams, and tables, allows for quick access to specific information and reference details. Cross-references further enhance understanding of the complexity and close interrelationships within the various engineering disciplines involved in railway infrastructure.

This handbook is a translation of the original German 4th edition Handbuch Eisenbahninfrastruktur by Jochen Holzfeind, Jia Liu and Ferdinand Pospischil, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2025.

Target group
It is aimed at practicing engineers, planning and consulting engineers as well as managers and decision-makers in companies in the rail sector. The book is also suitable as a comprehensive reference work for students and lecturers in transportation and civil engineering courses.

The Editors
Dr. techn. Jochen Holzfeind is CTO/COO Fixations Systems at voestalpine Railway Systems GmbH, Austria.Professor Dr.-Ing. Jia Liu is the head of the Institute for Transportation Infrastructure at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.
Professor Dr. techn. M.Sc. Ferdinand Pospischil is the head of the Institute for Railway Infrastructure Design at the Graz University of Technology, Austria.