Module C: Principles of railway control and communication systems

The syllabus for principles of railway control and communications systems (module C) can be downloaded here and is in the document library below (visible for logged in IRSE members only).

All IRSE exams are closed book, which means that candidates should not have anything open in their exam environment which could assist them in their exam. This includes, but is not limited to, having social media and other apps / programmes open on their computer, having study guides and information open and communicating with other candidates.

All exam candidates will be monitored by remote invigilation software and answers for modules B, C and D will be reviewed by anti-plagiarism software.

The October 2024 Module C paper can be downloaded here, and is in the document library below (visible for logged in IRSE members only).

Available to members only;

IRSE members of all grades can download support materials for principles of railway control and communication systems (module C) of the exam from the document library at the end of this page, please scroll down (visible to logged in members only).

If you are not already please Log in here (if you are already logged in please scroll down to the document library at the end of the page)

Study videos are also available for members and non-members on IRSE's Vimeo channel via https://vimeo.com/showcase/study - please note that these videos are based on previously available modules, so look for videos about modules 2, 3 and 4.

As study materials are only available to IRSE members, please ensure that you apply for your membership to give you sufficient time to prepare for your exam.

Read John Alexander's article inIRSE News February 2021 and watch Andy Stringer's IRSE 10/// Talk on panic in the exam room

To apply to sit principles of railway control and communication systems (module C) of the exam, you must:

• be a member of the IRSE with your subscription payments up to date, and
• have passed one or more exam module(s)

As study materials are only available to IRSE members, please ensure that you apply for your membership to give you sufficient time to prepare for your exam.

Module C can be sat only once a year, in early October. This year's exam will be on the 4th of October.

Candidate guides (in the document library below) will give further details on booking information, terms and conditions and more.

There will be no exam centres in 2025, with all exam candidates sitting the exam at a suitable location for them. Candidates will need a computer or laptop (not a tablet or smartphone) and a reliable internet connection which can access the exam website and software. Candidates will be given access to practice sessions to ensure that this works for them (see terms and conditions in document library below).

Candidates are reminded that all IRSE exams are closed book exams and that they will be monitored by remote invigilation and anti-plagiarism software.

IRSE Exam Committee gave feedback on all modules at the latest exam review session, this included -

• Read the question
• Answer the question, not just what you know about the subject
• State your assumptions at the beginning of each of your answers, for example the infrastructure / type of railway your answer covers
• Some answers have been too brief - note the number of marks for each part of the question, and note the use of words in the question such as 'describe', 'explain' and 'discuss'
• Include a diagram if it is being asked for, or you consider that it is appropriate to help explain your answer clearly
• Practice handwriting answers (for 1.5 hours), if that is how you are going to answer
• Practice typing answers (for 1.5 hours), if that is how you are going to answer
• Practice uploading handwritten answers / diagrams into the exam software

Watch the full session on our dedicated study channel https://vimeo.com/showcase/study