Back to MOVE hub
LAB · 03 / RAIL

CE-Rail@UEH

A Center of Excellence for urban rail and high-speed rail — combining a physical Rail Systems Lab (rolling stock, signalling, PTC/CBTC, SCADA) with a Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab that treats a real urban rail corridor as an open-air testbed for TOD, multimodal integration, and passenger-flow experimentation.

Rail Systems Lab Smart Corridor Living Lab TOD & Green Finance PPP / PPPP
RAIL MANAGEMENT CENTRE · CE-RAIL@UEH · ISCM · UEH

Building Capacity in Modern
Rail Systems Management

CE-Rail@UEH is a dedicated railway laboratory focused on operations management, maintenance, signalling systems, and safety certification for modern urban rail. Through small-scale simulation testbeds — rolling stock mock-ups, PTC/CBTC trainers, and SCADA sandboxes — and a real-world Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab, the centre delivers practical training, professional certification, and strategic consulting for Vietnam's growing rail network.

Rail Operations Maintenance Management CBTC / PTC Signalling SCADA Systems Safety Certification TOD Consulting
CBTC Rail Yard Simulation — Block Sections · Interlocking · Train Protection — Click Trains & Signals
CE-RAIL@UEH · CBTC RAIL YARD SIMULATOR
Block CLEAR
Block CAUTION
Block OCCUPIED
CBTC · PTC · SCADA · ATP · ATO
CLICK A TRAIN OR SIGNAL to inspect block authority, ATP status, and real-time train management data. Drag to orbit.
Component 01 · Rail Systems Lab

Small-Scale Simulation Testbed

A practical simulation environment housing rolling stock mock-ups, CBTC/PTC signalling trainers, and SCADA sandbox systems for operations management training. Delivers scenario-based certification for railway technicians and students in a safe, repeatable environment.

Rolling stock mock-up & signalling simulator
PTC / CBTC training modules
SCADA sandbox & operations certification
Component 02 · Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab

Real-World Urban Rail Testbed

A real urban rail corridor used for site visits, field training, and applied research. Focuses on passenger flow management, TOD planning, last-mile multimodal integration, and PPP/Green Finance structuring — inspired by Tokyo Metro collaborative research programmes.

Passenger flow experimentation & optimisation
TOD prototype & land-value capture strategy
PPP / Green Finance structuring for rail + TOD
Pham Nguyen Hoai
LAB LEAD
Pham Nguyen Hoai, PhD
CE-Rail@UEH · ISCM–UEH
Nguyen Duc Thanh Binh, M.Sc · An Le, PhD Candidate
RAIL SYSTEMS · CE-RAIL@UEH RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Rail systems intelligence for Vietnam's urban transit future
CBTC SIMULATION · MOVING BLOCK TRAIN CONTROL Block section management · ATP/ATO logic · Train position tracking · Headway optimisation CBTC TRAIN OPERATIONS · TIMETABLING & ENERGY Dwell time optimisation · Regenerative braking energy · Driver advisory system · Incident management Operations RAIL-CITY CORRIDOR · INTERMODAL CONNECTIVITY TOD station catchment · Bus-rail interchange · Urban rail demand modelling · Smart corridor design Corridor CAPACITY BUILDING · PROFESSIONAL TRAINING Rail engineer certification · Train driver simulation · Regional knowledge transfer · Industry curriculum Training CE-RAIL PLATFORM Rail Systems Research & Training Simulation · Certification · Policy Evidence Urban Rail · CBTC · Smart Corridor TRAIN SIM CBTC testbed CERT rail engineer certification URBAN RAIL policy guidance RAIL SYSTEMS INTELLIGENCE FOR VIETNAM'S URBAN TRANSIT FUTURE
STRUCTURE · 02

Two complementary platforms under one roof

CE-Rail@UEH is organised around a training & simulation hub and a city-scale living lab. Together they connect the classroom, the laboratory bench, and the operating corridor.

01

Rail Systems Lab

A teaching and research facility that concentrates the core subsystems of a modern railway into a single hands-on environment: a rolling-stock mock-up for driver and maintenance training, a signalling simulator, basic PTC/CBTC training devices, and a SCADA supervisory-control sandbox. Students, engineers, and policymakers can experience the interaction between vehicle, track, control, and operations without interrupting a live network.

  • Rolling-stock mock-up for driving & maintenance drills
  • Signalling & interlocking simulator
  • PTC / CBTC training devices
  • SCADA supervisory-control sandbox
02

Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab

A real urban rail corridor operated as an open research corridor: TOD prototypes around stations, passenger-flow experimentation and optimisation, last-mile integration with e-mobility and micro-mobility, and a shared digital twin for operators, authorities, and researchers. Inspired by collaborative city-operator research programmes such as the Tokyo Metro site programmes.

  • TOD station-area prototypes
  • Passenger-flow experimentation & optimisation
  • Last-mile & micro-mobility integration
  • Shared digital twin for operators and authorities
SCOPE · 03

Strategic consulting & research scope

CE-Rail@UEH advises ministries, cities, operators, and financiers on the full life-cycle of urban and high-speed rail — from workforce strategy to green-finance structuring.

A

Strategic Consulting and Development Projects

  • Strategy for Building the Railway Workforce
  • Integrated Urban Rail & City Development Advisory
  • Operations & Safety Management for Urban Rail
  • Smart Mobility Data & Digital Twin
  • Green Finance & Lifecycle Costing
  • Human Factors, Accessibility & Inclusive Station Design
B

Research & Consulting on Urban Development, Finance & Sustainability

  • Social-Economic & Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Multimodal Integration & Last-Mile Connectivity
  • Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Models
  • PPP / PPPP Models & Green Finance Structuring
  • Urban Mobility & Land Value Capture
  • Resilience & Climate Adaptation
  • Smart Mobility Analytics & Forecasting
EQUIPMENT · 04

Rail Systems Lab — core platforms

A compact, modular equipment stack that covers vehicle, control, supervision, and operations under one teaching facility.

01

Rolling stock mock-up

A full-scale driving cabin and carriage section used for train simulation, driver training, and maintenance drills — from braking profiles to door-cycle diagnostics.

02

Signalling simulator

Interlocking logic, route-setting, and track-circuit behaviour reproduced in software, so students can run realistic scenarios including degraded-mode operation and recovery.

03

PTC / CBTC training devices

Basic Positive Train Control and Communications-Based Train Control training kits for learning movement authority, automatic train protection, and on-board–wayside communication.

04

SCADA supervisory sandbox

A supervisory control and data acquisition sandbox covering power, tunnel ventilation, and station systems — connected to the signalling simulator for integrated operations exercises.

DEMO · 05

Rail-City Smart Corridor explorer

Slide along a 5-station corridor and toggle overlays — TOD density, last-mile reach, passenger flow — to see how the Living Lab treats the corridor as an instrumented testbed.

CURRENT: Tech Park · TOD 65% · Daily Flow 24k
SIMULATION · 05B

Rail Operations Control — Interactive SCADA Demo

A live rail management simulation showing CBTC signalling, train movement authority, and SCADA supervision. Click a train to inspect its status; use the controls to adjust speed or inject a fault scenario.

Sim Speed 1.0×
● CBTC NORMAL
SELECT A TRAIN — click any train on the canvas to inspect its CBTC status, movement authority, speed profile, and headway.
TIMELINE · 06

Roadmap — from foundation to regional centre of excellence

  1. Phase 1
    2025 — 2027

    Foundation Building

    Stand up the Rail Systems Lab, establish the first international MoUs, launch the undergraduate programme, and deliver the first ministerial-level policy advisory projects.

  2. Phase 2
    2028 — 2032

    Expansion and Enhancement

    Open the Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab, introduce master's programmes and international joint programmes, and scale the consulting portfolio across TOD, green finance, and digital twin.

  3. Phase 3
    2033 — 2035

    Scaling Up

    Train tens of thousands of students and professionals, deliver large-scale consultancy for national rail programmes, and anchor multi-country research collaborations.

  4. Vision
    to 2045

    Regional Centre of Excellence

    CE-Rail@UEH becomes a recognised regional hub for urban and high-speed rail research, education, and policy — serving Vietnam and partner countries across Southeast Asia.

LIVING LAB · 07

Focus areas of the Smart Corridor Living Lab

Three experimentation themes run continuously along the corridor, each producing data, prototypes, and policy briefs.

F1

TOD prototypes

Station-area design prototypes — land-use mix, public space, pedestrian networks — tested with operators, local authorities, and residents.

F2

Passenger flow experimentation & optimisation

Sensor-based flow measurement, wayfinding experiments, and operations-side scheduling trials to smooth peaks and improve accessibility.

F3

Last-mile integration

Integration with e-mobility and micro-mobility — bike-share, e-scooters, shared shuttles — including interchange design and fare integration.

Inspired by collaborative city-operator research programmes such as Tokyo Metro site programmes, where live stations and corridors are opened up as shared research infrastructure.

OUTCOMES · 08

Expected outcomes by phase

P1

Phase 1 · 2025 — 2027

  • 1 international MoU
  • 2 ministerial-level policy advisory projects
  • 1 undergraduate degree programme
  • 2 supplementary modules
  • 3 short-term training programmes
P2

Phase 2 · 2028 — 2032

  • 2 laboratories / living labs completed
  • 3 associate / second-degree programmes
  • 2 master's degree programmes
  • At least 1 international joint programme
P3

Phase 3 · 2033 — 2035

20,000
students and professionals trained
15
consultancy projects
5
international collaborations
PUBLICATIONS · 09

Selected publication

2026

Sử dụng dữ liệu mở trong phân tích cấu trúc đô thị và đánh giá tiềm năng TOD tại TP. Hồ Chí Minh

Trịnh Tú Anh

Hội thảo quốc tế TOD với phát triển đường sắt đô thị, TP. Hồ Chí Minh, 2026 (tr. 444–453). NXB Xây Dựng.

Open data TOD HCMC
STAKEHOLDERS · 10

Stakeholders & benefits

CE-Rail@UEH is built as a shared platform — each partner group gets a specific set of benefits and a specific role.

S1

Students

  • Hands-on training in the Rail Systems Lab (rolling stock, signalling, PTC/CBTC, SCADA)
  • Real-world experimentation in the Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab
  • Practical knowledge in TOD, multimodal integration, smart mobility
  • Enhanced skills for careers in urban rail and high-speed rail
S2

Universities & Educational Institutions

  • Support for new undergraduate and master's programmes
  • Development of advanced simulation and living labs
  • Strengthened research capacity in urban rail and high-speed rail
S3

Authorities & Government

  • Evidence-based policy advisory on TOD, land value capture, green finance
  • Data and insights from the living labs
  • Contributions to national policies for sustainable urban development
S4

Industry Partners & Rail Operators

  • Access to a trained workforce
  • Real-world testing of TOD prototypes
  • Collaboration in PPP models, digital twin, green infrastructure
PEOPLE · 11

Core team

Pham Nguyen Hoai, PhD

Lecturer · Rail Systems

Leads the rolling-stock and signalling track of the Rail Systems Lab and coordinates the operations-management research line.

Nguyen Duc Thanh Binh, MSc

Researcher · Smart Mobility

Works on smart mobility analytics and the digital-twin layer of the Rail-City Smart Corridor Living Lab.

An Le

PhD Candidate · TOD & Land Value Capture

Researches TOD prototypes and land-value-capture mechanisms for Vietnamese urban rail corridors.