Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
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INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT -2
Module Code: CIVL 0014
Module Name: Railway Engineering
Level: 3
Max. Marks: 100 to be scaled down to out of 50)
Instructions to Student
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Answer all questions.
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Deadline of submission: 06/06/2021
23:59
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The marks received on the assignment will be scaled down to the actual weightage
of the assignment which is 50 marks
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Formative feedback on the complete assignment draft will be provided if the draft is
submitted at least 10 days before the final submission date.
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Feedback after final evaluation will be provided by 13/06/2021
Module Learning Outcomes
This coursework intends to address three of the six learning outcomes stated in the module descriptor
(MD) as follows.
 Employ methods of analysis for railway economics.
 Calculate and tabulate data for plain line design.
 Apply industry standards in gauging and clearances design, including use of software, and
demonstrate understanding of situations in which standards are not appropriate.
Assignment Objective
The aim of this task is to evaluate the economic importance of the railway project in Oman and determine
the maximum stress between layers. In particular, this assignment will enhance the critical awareness and
the ability to evaluate and knowledge and develop an analytical understanding of the complex
components of railways, and to provide students with an understanding of the economics of designing,
and renewing them.
Task 1: Proposal (5 %)
Date of Submission: Week 8 (25/04/2021)
Each student has to submit a proposal within one week of assignment 1 discussion. Separate link will be
created in Moodle for assignment 1 proposal submission (400 words, 10% more/less).
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
The proposal should include;
 The introduction
 Objectives and outcomes
 Clear idea on the tasks given in the assignment and plan of completing the tasks.
 References & Citations
Date of Submission Finally Report:
max by Week 13 (06/06/2021)
Task 2:
Since the last ten years, Omani government at the state as well as at the local level had created various
policies and plans to improve public transportation especially in the main cities as Muscat, Sohar and
Salalah. To date, significant improvement on public transportation had been seen in Muscat. To illustrate
the importance of public transport in Sultanate of Oman and especially in the Muscat, discuss the issues
involved;
 The economic importance of the railway project in Oman
 Evaluation of public bus transportation in Muscat.
Note:
 Your answer should be based on official statistics and the expert opinions
 If you have more information you can propose after module leader approval.
Task 3
Participation and completion of pre-class, in-class and post-class activities.
(10 %)
Students are required to actively participate/complete pre-class, in-class and post class activities as given
by ML in Moodle. Marks will be allotted based on % of activities completed. For example if there are total
such 10 activities and student has completed 8 out of it, student will be securing 80% of the weightage
allotted to this task.
Task 4
By assuming load uniformed distribution principle, when railway structure are:
Train Speed
Case 1 = 100 km/h
Case 2 = 110 km/h
Rail/wheel contact
1500 cm2
Static wheel-set load
5 ton
Half sleeper/ballast Contact area
2500 cm2
Impact factor
Schramm formula
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
And when pattern of wheel load distribution in longitudinal section is following as below:
Schramm dynamic augment:
1) Determine the maximum stress between rail and ballast when running speed is 100 km/h.
2) Demonstrate mathematically reduction stress ratio between rail contact pressure and ballast
pressure under sleeper in the event that speed 110 km/h.
3) Evaluate increased percentage of rail/sleeper and ballast contact pressure when train is speeded
up from 100 to 110 km/h
Rules & Regulations:
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All resources should be cited using CU Harvard style.
The final assignment must have a Title page, Table of Contents, References/ bibliography using
CU Harvard Style and page numbers.
Title Page must have Assignment Name, Module name, Session, your name, ID, and the name of
the faculty.
Softcopy in word format is to be submitted through Turnitin link on Moodle.
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Guidelines:
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Assignment must be computer typed.
The word count for proposal is around 400 and 1500 words for the report
No submission without references (referring to Journal Papers is obligatory).
It is preferable to place figures within the text rather than group them at the end of the report.
For Fonts
o Times New Roman
o Regular Style
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
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o 12 point font size
Heading should be with Font Size 14, Bold, Capital and Underline.
Use the following margin spacing
o Top: 1.0 inches
o Left: 1.5 inches
o Right: 1.0 inches
o Bottom: 1.0 inches
The spacing of the lines must be 1.5 inches, using ‘justification’ alignment for the running text,
‘center justification’ for the chapter heading, and ‘left justification for the section heading/sub
heading if any.
The page number should be in the ‘footer’ at the middle. The page number in the ‘Table of
Contents’ where there is the ‘List of Tables’, ‘List of Figures’ must be in Roman numerals, (e.g. i,
ii, ii,…) and all other pages must be assigned a running Arabic number (1,2,3,…) starting from 1.
Every figure and table must have a figure number in an Arabic numeral (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 .
and Table 1, Table 2,…). The figure title is centered at bottom of figure. The table name is centered
at the top of the table. Appendices are not required in this report.
Add a brief, informative caption to the figures and tables. Critical discussion for the any inserted
figure and tables has to be provided.
Explain with suitable diagrams wherever required. Diagrams must be drawn using suitable
software or by pencil.
Each student has to do the assignment individually / Students have to do the assignment
collaboratively and each student should write a brief reflection on their contribution and learnings
from group work.
You can refer books in e-Library or use internet resource. But you should not cut and paste
material from internet nor provide photocopied material from books. The assignment answers
should be in your own words after understanding the matter from the above resources.
Report should include the source from website journals and reference. A Minimum of 15 recent
references should be cited. Students have to cite resources that are authentic (e.g. peer reviewed
materials). You need to go through the resources in the reading list (e.g. in MIG)
Report Section
The report should contain the following sections:
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Introduction
Main body ( Task 2 and Task 4)
Conclusions
References
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
1.
Introduction (maximum 200 words)
In the introduction part of your report, you are attempting to inform the reader about the rationale behind
your work and what is your product. In other words, you are justifying why your work is an essential
component of the module you are taking (CIVL 0014 - Railway Engineering). The introduction is written
with the view of introducing the topic of your report and setting it into a broad context, gradually
narrowing down to your learning outcomes. You may also state what type of approach you will be using
in your report for the entire discussion of your topic. Suffice to write a maximum of half page introduction
(200 words is OK).
2. Main body (maximum 1100 words)
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Answer to the mentioned items above( Task 2 and Task 4)
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Get the results and analysis if any.
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Headings should be informative and descriptive providing a clue to the contents of the section.
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Use suitable and accurate references for each paragraph that you take from others.
3. Conclusions (maximum 200 words )
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Synopsis
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State briefly, what the major specifications are and provide tabular data.
4. References
List alphabetically your references which should include: Journal papers, proceedings, books, book
chapters, internet sources etc.
Important Policies to be followed
1. Student Academic Integrity Policy*:
MEC upholds the spirit of academic integrity in all forms of academic work and any form of violation
of academic integrity shall invite severe penalty. Any benefit obtained by indulging in the act of
violation of academic integrity shall be cancelled.
All cases of violation of academic integrity on the part of the student shall fall under any of the below
mentioned categories:
1.
Plagiarism
2.
Malpractice
3.
Ghost Writing
4.
Collusion
5.
Other cases
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
If the student fails a module and has a proven case of academic integrity violation in this module, the
student is required to re-register the module. This is applicable to first and second offenders of
plagiarism.
1. Plagiarism
A. First offence of plagiarism
I.
If a student is caught first time in an act of plagiarism during his/her course of study in
any assignment other than project work, the student will be allowed to re-submit the
assignment once, within a maximum period of one week. However, a penalty of
deduction of 25% of the marks obtained for the resubmitted work will be imposed.
II.
Period of re-submission: The student will have to re-submit the work one week from the
date he or she is advised to re-submit.
III.
If the re-submitted work is also found to be plagiarized, then that assessment will be
awarded a zero mark. Re-submission of the work beyond the maximum period of one
week will not be accepted and the assessment will be awarded a zero mark.
B. Second offence of plagiarism
If any student is caught second time in an act of plagiarism during his/her course of study (in a
subsequent semester), the student will directly be awarded zero for the work in which plagiarism
is detected. In such cases, the student will not be allowed to resubmit the work. A warning of
suspension shall be issued, and student has to sign an undertaking and undergo counselling
session in such cases.
2. Malpractice/Ghostwriting/Collusion
A. First offence of Malpractice/Ghostwriting/Collusion
If a student is caught in an act of Malpractice/Ghostwriting/Collusion for an assessment
component irrespective of coursework or end semester, the student shall fail the module
and shall be required to re-register the module
B. Second Offence of Malpractice/Ghostwriting/Collusion
If a student is caught a second time in an act of Malpractice/Ghostwriting/Collusion for
an assessment component irrespective of coursework or end semester, the student
shall fail the module. A warning of suspension shall be issued, and student has to sign
an undertaking and undergo counselling session in such cases.
3. Third Offence of Academic Integrity Violation
If a student is caught a third time in an act of Academic Integrity Violation for an assessment
component irrespective of coursework or end semester (in a subsequent semester), the student
shall fail the module and also shall be suspended for one semester from the College, as
recommended by institutional level academic committee, Chaired by the Associate Dean, Academic
Affairs.
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
4. Fourth Offence of Academic Integrity Violation:
If a student is caught a fourth time in an act of Academic Integrity Violation for an assessment
component irrespective of coursework or end semester (in a subsequent semester), the student shall
fail the module and also shall be expelled from the College, as recommended by institutional level
academic committee, Chaired by the Associate Dean, Academic Affairs.
5. Other cases
If a student commits an act of academic integrity violation as per the definition of “other cases”
mentioned in the previous section or of a different nature, student’s case shall be forwarded to an
institutional level academic committee, Chaired by the Associate Dean, Academic Affairs. The
committee shall investigate the case by means of a viva and/or a disciplinary hearing and shall take
appropriate decision. The penalty that can be granted to a proven case of academic integrity violation
which falls in this category of “other cases” can be a warning/component zero/ module
fail/suspension/expulsion depending on the nature and gravity of the offence.
6. Types/Variations of Cases:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
If plagiarism is detected in any component of one assessment, the deduction in marks will be
applicable for the whole assessment, even if only the component or part submission alone needs
to be resubmitted.
If plagiarism is detected in a group assessment, all students of the group will be considered as
having committed an act of plagiarism and the policy will then be applied to all students
If plagiarism is detected in any component of a group assessment, the deduction in marks will be
applicable for the whole assessment even if only the component or part submission alone needs
to be resubmitted.
All students of the group would be considered as having committed an act of plagiarism and the
policy will then be applied to all the students of the group.
If the assessment consists of components or part submissions that could be a group assessment
component (e.g. group assignment) and an individual assessment component (e.g. individual
reflection), the following will be applicable:
a.
If plagiarism is detected in the group assessment component, all students of the group
will be considered as having committed an act of plagiarism, The policy will then be
applied to all students of the group. Group assessment component will be resubmitted
as per the policy.
b.
If plagiarism is detected in the individual assessment component, the individual
assessment component will be resubmitted and the policy will then be applied to that
student alone.
c.
For both (a) and/or (b), the deduction in marks will be applicable for the whole
assessment.
* For further details Refer to MEC Student Academic Integrity Policy in Student Handbook.
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
2. Late Submission Regulations:
It is the students’ responsibility to check all relevant timelines related to assessments.
As per the Assessment Policy at MEC, late submissions are allowed for one week (5 working days)
for all UG modules with a penalty. In such cases, a deduction of 5% of the marks obtained for the
submitted work shall be imposed for each working day following the last date of submission
till the date of actual submission. Assessment documents submitted beyond a period of one
week (5 working days) after the last date of submission will not be accepted and will be awarded
a zero for that assessment. In cases where the submission has been delayed due to extenuating
circumstances, the student may be permitted to submit the work without imposing the late
submission policy stated above. The extended period of submission will be one week from the
original last date of submission. In such cases, the student is expected to submit the supporting
certificates on or before the original last date of submission of the assessment and the decision
of extension rests with faculty responsible for the assessment .The late submission policy shall be
applied if the student fails to submit the work within one week of the original last date of
submission.
Students may contact their teachers for clarification on specific details of the submission time if
required.
3. Research Ethics and Biosafety Policy
To protect and respect the rights, dignity, health, safety, and privacy of research subjects involved
including the welfare of animals and the integrity of environment, all student projects are
expected to be undertaken as per the MEC Research Ethics and Biosafety Policy. Accordingly the
following shall apply.

Research and other enterprise activities shall be conducted by maintaining the high ethical
standards consistent with national and international standards and conventions.

Any research at MEC that is categorized as high-risk research shall be subject to review and
approval by the Research Ethics and Biosafety Committee.

Research activities involving collection of human or animal tissues and manipulation of microbial,
animal or plant cells shall be subject to review and approval by the Research Ethics and Biosafety
Committee.

Participants involved in research must be informed about the purpose of research and intended
uses of research findings. Written consent must be obtained from people involved prior to the
commencement of research.

Data obtained from participants must be treated with high confidence and should be used only
for the intended purpose of research.
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
Assessment Evaluation Criteria
Classification
And % Range <to be given
as per requirement>
Outstanding
Excellent
Very Good Quality
Good (Acceptable)
Adequate/ Satisfactory
Weak /Poor
(all learning outcomes not
adequately met)
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Reflection and critical
analysis.
Highly
competent
analytical
skills
and
reflective
practice,
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
professional values and
principles and professional
development planning.
Strong analytical skills and
reflective practice used,
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
professional
values,
principles
and
competencies
and
professional development
planning.
Good use of analytical skills
and reflective practice
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
professional
values,
principles
and
competencies
and
professional development
planning.
Acceptable use of analytical
skills and reflective practice
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
professional
values,
principles
and
competencies
and
professional development
planning.
Adequate use of analytical
skills and reflective practice
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
professional
values,
principles
and
competencies
and
professional development
planning.
Little use of analytical skills
and reflective practice
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
competencies
and/or
professional development
planning.
Professional
values and principles not
reflected in the submission.
and/or
Insufficient/no use of
analytical
skills
and
reflective
practice
demonstrating
personal
learning
and
growth,
insight
into
required
competencies
and
professional development
planning
Knowledge and
Understanding/
Application of Theory
Extensive knowledge and
depth of understanding of
principles and concepts
and /or outstanding
application of theory in
practice.
Evidence of Reading
Referencing and
Bibliography
Presentation, Grammar
and Spelling
Evidence of reading an
extensive range of
educational
literature/research and
where applicable
workplace strategies,
policies and procedures.
Accurate referencing and
bibliography correctly
using appropriate
referencing style
Excellent presentation,
logically structured, using
correct grammar and
spelling, excellent crossreferencing and links to
supporting evidence
Excellent knowledge and
understanding of principles
and concepts and /or
excellent knowledge and
understanding
of
the
application of theory in
practice
Evidence of reading a wide
range
of
educational
literature/research
and
where
applicable,
workplace
strategies,
policies and procedures.
Appropriate
referencing
and bibliography correctly
using
appropriate
referencing style
Good
presentation,
competently
structured,
using correct grammar and
spelling, clear and easy to
use links to supporting
evidence
Good knowledge or key
principles and concepts
and/or good knowledge of
the application of theory in
practice
Evidence of reading a good
range
of
educational
literature/research
and
where applicable workplace
strategies, policies and
procedures.
Generally well referenced
with correct use of the
appropriate
referencing
style
Reasonable presentation,
completely
structured,
acceptable grammar and
spelling, acceptable links to
supporting evidence
Acceptable knowledge of
key principles and concepts
and/or knowledge of the
application of theory in
practice
Evidence of reading an
appropriate
range of
educational
literature/research
and
where applicable, relevant
workplace policies and
procedures
Adequate
referencing.
Generally accurate use of
appropriate
referencing
style
Adequate presentation and
structure,
acceptable
grammar and spelling,
adequate
links
to
supporting evidence
Adequate knowledge of key
principles and concepts
and/or
satisfactory
evidence of the application
of theory in practice.
Evidence
of
minimal
reading
of educational
literature/research
and
where applicable relevant
workplace policies and
procedures
Adequate
referencing.
Appropriate
referencing
style used but may contain
some inaccuracies.
Weak
presentation
,
satisfactory
structure,
grammar and spelling, links
to supporting evidence
Little evidence of
knowledge of key
principles or concepts
and/or little evidence of
the application of theory in
practice
Little or no evidence of
reading outside of the
course textbook and/or
reference to relevant work
place policies and
procedures
Little or no referencing,
incorrect style, or very
inaccurate use of
appropriate referencing
style
Poor presentation,
grammar and spelling, links
to supporting evidence
and/or
and/or
No evidence of knowledge
of key principles or
concepts and/or no
evidence of application of
theory in practice
No evidence of reading
outside of the course
textbook and/or reference
to relevant workplace
policies and procedures
and/or
Unacceptable
presentation, grammar
and spelling, structure is
very poor, links to
supporting evidence
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
Department of Civil Engineering
Railway Engineering (CIVIL 0014)
Proposal Marking Criteria
Student ID:………………………….
No
Description
Outstanding
Student Name:…………………………..
Excellent
Very Good
Quality
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Total
Marks
1
Introduction
15
2
Objectives
Expected
results
Time plan
References &
Citations
20
30
3
4
5
Awarded
Marks
20
15
Total mark out of 100
Penalty
Proposal mark out of 100
proposal Mark out of 5
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Railway Engineering (CIVL 0014) – Spring 21 – CW (Assignment 2) – QP
Scoring Matrix (Main Report)
Student ID………………………………: Student Name: ……………………………………………………………….
Course work
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Task
Outstanding
Excellent
Very Good
Quality
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Marks
Marks
Awarded
5
Report format
10
Introduction
25
Task 2
10
Task 3 (Activities)
25
Task 4
15
Conclusion
10
Determinative Pictures and
References
/ 100
Total
Activity
Total mark out of 100
Marks
100
Penalty
Final mark out of 100
Mark out of 95
Proposal mark out of 5
Overall mark out of 100 (Proposal
+ Report )
100
95
5
100
Module Leader Signature.
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