The article analyzes the resources of the modern higher education system in the direction of improving the quality of student training for professional activities, including the railway transport. Gaps in educational programs between professional disciplines (technological) module and general subjects modules of the basic professional educational programs of Federal State Educational Standard of higher education. The identity of the structure of professional and any other (cognitive, household, socio-cultural, etc.) human activity is determined. The connection between rational activity and technological thinking is established. The author substantiates the proposals for the development of educational disciplines of the professional module and the module of humanitarian disciplines, based on the formation of rational technological thinking on the design and implementation of activities, which can be based on the orientation of students’ individual work to finding solutions to problems for life-sustaining activities.