University of Salford

Analysis of Highway Links and Junctions
Traffic flow theory: speed flow and density relationships; queuing, vehicle interaction and bottleneck formation. Highway link capacity: factors affecting practical capacity. Non-signalised junctions (major/minor and roundabouts): basic aspects of layout, operation and design; capacity prediction; ARCADY software (including computer assignment). Traffic signals: alternative systems and applications; equipment, operation, layout and design; capacity prediction (including fieldwork). Statistical analysis: regression techniques and their application to junction analysis.

Traffic Management and Road Safety
Road safety: context, data sources, methods for accident reduction and accident prevention, approaches for urban safety management; analytical techniques including contingency tables and tests of proportion; examples of current policy and practice (including fieldwork). Traffic management, traffic calming techniques, reallocation of road space and priority facilities for friendly modes, urban design and streetscapes. Vehicle parking: parking layout and design; examples of current practice (including seminar work).

Evaluation of Transport Schemes
Current approaches to evaluation and appraisal (‘New Approach to Appraisal’). Transport impact assessment for developments. Economic Evaluation: user benefits, behavioural costs for evaluation, resource costs, fixed and variable trip matrices, value of time, stated and revealed preference methods, vehicle operating costs, accident rates and costs, net present value and discounting, introduction to cost benefit analysis. Environmental Evaluation: manual of environmental appraisal, discussion of impacts including noise, air pollution, landscape, heritage and biodiversity , use of ‘calculation of road traffic noise’ manual, methods to predict pollution concentrations, mitigation and reduction of impacts.

Integrated Transport Planning
Topics may be drawn from the following areas: Transport, Spatial Development and Land-Use; Responsibilities for Transport Planning; Regulation and Ownership of Public Transport; Planning Policy and Guidance; Local Transport Plans; Multi-Modal Studies and Multi-Modal Models; Developing Urban Strategies and Strategic Models; Walking and Cycling Strategies; Demand management techniques (including road pricing and transport plans); Strategic modelling.

Traffic Data Collection and Analysis
Traffic and road user characteristics; traffic surveys and data collection techniques; data presentation; random sampling; standard statistical distributions; confidence intervals; significance tests and sample sizes. Applications in the field (survey design; traffic estimation, variability and uncertainty; vehicle speed distributions).

Transport Modelling
Trip generation; trip distribution; mode choice; highway-traffic assignment; passenger-transport assignment; matrix estimation, micro-simulation.

Transport Planning Principles
Accessibility, mobility and social inclusion: definitions, measurement and influential factors. Matrix representation of travel demand. Network representation of transport supply. Generalized cost. Car-ownership models. Principles of transport models. Transportation elasticities, National Road Traffic Forecasts (NRTF). Surveys and data collection. TRIPS.

Transport Systems Design
Geometric Design of Highway Links: route location; geometric design principles including speed and sight distances; horizontal and vertical alignment. Geometric Design of Road Junctions: design of major/minor junctions - types of junction, general design principles, design standards. Grade-separated intersections - justification, types of junction and interchange, general design principles, design standards. Pavement design – principles of design, assessment of traffic, elements of pavements, flexible, rigid and composite pavements. Highway maintenance - assessment of structural condition, skid resistance and riding quality. Railway Technology: Modern motive power and rolling stock. Track gauge and loading gauge. Vertical and horizontal alignment. Permanent way formation and design. Unconventional track design. Track maintenance. Mass Transit Systems: types of system, system characteristics, examples. Cycling Infrastructure: principles; designing for links and junctions; special issues and innovations. Transport Telematics: introduction and principles underlying the application of telematics to transport systems, including appropriate case studies. Bus Engineering: general overview.

Top of page

Funding Possibilities

Some funding support for full time UK students is available, although it is limited as EPSRC no longer funds Masters courses. Click here to find out more.

Transport as a Career

The UTP is supported with funds from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which provides monies for studentships as well as co-operative activities.