Journal profile · TRANSPORTATION
Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management
ISSN 2210-9706 · eISSN 2210-9714 · Elsevier
Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management: CAS Zone 3 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,070; review about 235 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 46 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Railway Systems and Energy Efficiency, Transportation Planning and Optimization and Railway Engineering and Dynamics, together about 49.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The focus of the Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management (JRTPM) is scientific and applied research that addresses developments and applications in the field of rail transport. The journal encompasses the design, planning and management of rail transport and operations for both passenger and freight trains, covering the whole range of light rail, metro, mainline, high-speed and other rail systems. The intelligent core of the journal is on the side of rail transport, not on rail assets or technology.The Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management encourages the integration of quantitative methods from different scientific disciplines such as transport modelling, scheduling, operations research, control theory, systems engineering, mathematics, complex networks, computer science, artificial intelligence, economics and transport policy analysis.A non-exhaustive list of topic includes: transport demand estimation, railway network design, line planning, capacity management, timetabling, rail infrastructure maintenance planning, crew and rolling stock scheduling, dispatching, traffic management, disruption management, railway performance and train delay prediction, safety and signalling, train control, automatic train operation, energy-efficient train operation, passenger flows, rail freight and yards, rail governance and economics, and simulation. The journal encourages mathematical modelling and algorithmic approaches with the aim to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of passenger and freight transport, providing higher flexibility, performance and punctuality of trains operating in stations, on dedicated lines and in heterogeneous networks.The Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management is affiliated with the International Association of Railway Operations Research (IAROR) and aims at consolidating and extending models, methods and concepts that improves rail transport planning and management.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): TRANSPORTATION
Editor-in-chief F. CormanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 7 in mainland China (about 24%); most named Mainland China 7, Germany 6, Netherlands 4, Taiwan, China 2, United States 2 (29 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Railway Systems and Energy EfficiencyEngineering21.6%
- Transportation Planning and OptimizationSocial Sciences16.6%
- Railway Engineering and DynamicsEngineering11.6%
- Transport and Economic PoliciesBusiness, Management and Accounting7%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.4%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5.1%
- Maritime Ports and LogisticsEngineering4.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Transportation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Transportation | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.4LetPub ·
- h-index
- 40OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 185OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.13%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 40LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 460 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 26 | 15 | 2 |
| 2025 | 46 | 24 | 55 |
| 2024 | 42 | 21 | 177 |
| 2023 | 39 | 17 | 272 |
| 2022 | 44 | 21 | 631 |
| 2021 | 32 | 8 | 371 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
235 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 98 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 235 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,070 / EUR 2,870 / GBP 2,460 / JPY 380,770 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,930 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX
- Highlights
- Optional
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
1 to 7 keywords required. Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Follow Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy. Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process. Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed; not prior publication. Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2210-9706
- Electronic ISSN
- 2210-9714
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management
What CAS zone is Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management is in Zone 3 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Transportation. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 40.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management?
The publisher reports about 235 days (submission to acceptance). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX; Highlights: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management based?
Of the 29 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 7 (about 24%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (7), Germany (6) and Netherlands (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,070.
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: .