Journal profile · TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
International Journal of Rail Transportation
ISSN 2324-8378 · eISSN 2324-8386 · TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD · ENGLAND
International Journal of Rail Transportation: CAS Zone 2 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.62; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; no APC; median 135 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 13% (journal website); 60 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal of Rail Transportation is published by TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD and is in Zone 2 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Railway Engineering and Dynamics, Railway Systems and Energy Efficiency and Geotechnical Engineering and Underground Structures, together about 46.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Civil and Structural Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The unprecedented modernization and expansion of rail transportation system will require substantial new efforts in scientific research for field-deployable technologies. The International Journal of Rail Transportation (IJRT) aims to provide an open forum for scientists, researchers, and engineers in the world to promote the exchange of the latest scientific and technological innovations in rail transportation; and to advance the state-of-the-art engineering and practices for various types of rail based transportation systems. IJRT covers all main areas of rail vehicle, infrastructure, traction power, operation, communication, and environment. The journal publishes original, significant articles on topics in dynamics and mechanics of rail vehicle, track, and bridge system; planning and design, construction, operation, inspection, and maintenance of rail infrastructure; train operation, control, scheduling and management; rail electrification; signalling and communication; and environmental impacts such as vibration and noise. The editorial policy of the new journal will abide by the highest level of standards in research rigor, ethics, and academic freedom. All published articles in IJRT have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymous refereeing by independent experts. There are no page charges and colour figures are included in the online edition free of charge.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Wanming ZhaiPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 67%); most named Mainland China 2, United States 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Railway Engineering and DynamicsEngineering29.7%
- Railway Systems and Energy EfficiencyEngineering9.7%
- Geotechnical Engineering and Underground StructuresEngineering7.5%
- Civil and Geotechnical Engineering ResearchEngineering7%
- Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics ResearchEngineering5.9%
- Mechanical stress and fatigue analysisEngineering5.3%
- Transportation Planning and OptimizationSocial Sciences4.2%
- Structural Health Monitoring TechniquesEngineering3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Transportation Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Transportation Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Transportation Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, RePEc, Transportation Research Information ServicesPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.62LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 8.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.99LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.99Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.12LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 2.12Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 44OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 220OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 5.81%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 58LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 59,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 442 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 4 | 8 |
| 2025 | 60 | 9 | 130 |
| 2024 | 56 | 10 | 369 |
| 2023 | 42 | 8 | 483 |
| 2022 | 55 | 10 | 870 |
| 2021 | 38 | 10 | 882 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
135 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 108 days – 164 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 11 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 146 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (111 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 13%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 41 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 13 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted2
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 7 Aug 2026Length not stated
- review articleReview Article | Published online: 27 Aug 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
No page charges; colour figures free in online edition. Model summary
There are no page charges and colour figures are included in the online edition free of charge.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
International Journal of Rail Transportation is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial editor screening and anonymous refereeing by independent experts. Model summary
All published articles in IJRT have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymous refereeing by independent experts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2324-8378
- Electronic ISSN
- 2324-8386
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 14, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal of Rail Transportation
What CAS zone is International Journal of Rail Transportation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal of Rail Transportation is in Zone 2 of Engineering, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Transportation Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of International Journal of Rail Transportation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.62; CiteScore 8.6, h-index 44.
How long does peer review take at International Journal of Rail Transportation?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 135 days (interquartile range 108–164 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 13%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is International Journal of Rail Transportation in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Engineering.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal of Rail Transportation based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 67%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (2) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal of Rail Transportation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal of Rail Transportation is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is International Journal of Rail Transportation open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal of Rail Transportation is a hybrid journal. It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .