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RAILWAYS AFRICA / FOREWORD
Foreword
“Within our South African borders, Mr Le Roux served in the boards of numerous institutions such as, the Council of the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg,the Engineering Council of South Africa and the Executive Board of the SA Academy of Engineers. Mr Le Roux was truly iconic and his demise is a loss not only to Transnet but to South Africa as a whole, as he played such a pivotal role in the development of our railway.” We record with great regret the death of Braam Le Roux after a long and distinguished railway career lasting more than 40 years. He was appointed CEO of Spoornet in 1992, and held this position until he retired in 2000. In the words of Siyabonga Gama, current CEO of Transnet Freight Rail, “Mr Le Roux’s managerial leadership was recognised globally and he had a passion for railway innovation and technical applications.
I was devastated to hear the news. Braam was a long-standing and valued friend of Railways Africa. He was the very first VIP I interviewed when taking over the magazine twenty years ago - and he didn’t give me a hard time! He will be greatly missed, not least for his sound advice on the many occasions when I picked up the phone and called for guidance.
JUNE 2011
His leadership qualities were not just recognised and appreciated in South Africa but in Africa as a whole. This was evident from the numerous high positions he held in rail organisations. He was the first President of the Southern African Rail Association in 1992; he also served as Chairman for the Metre Gauge Group of International Railways (1995-2000), Vice Chairman of the World Executive Council of UIC between 1996-2000 and as Vice President of the Institute of Railway Signal Engineers from 1996 until now.
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PUBLISHER Barbara Sheat EDITOR Rollo Dickson DESIGN & LAYOUT Grazia Muto ADVERTISING Kim Bevan SUBSCRIPTIONS Kim Bevan CONTRIBUTORS Dave van der Meulen John Batwell Leon Zaayman
All good things come to an end, they say, and sadly this goes for great men too. Without Braam, rail-related conferences will never be the same. We send our condolences to his family – and to Transnet.
Class 25NC loco no 3476, named Griet (Braam Le Roux’s wife) heading the Trans-Karoo express at Park Station, Johannesburg, twenty years ago. Photo: Editor.
BARBARA SHEAT Publisher / Railways Africa
ISSN 1029 - 2756 Rail Link Communications cc PO Box 4794 Randburg 2125 Tel: +27 87 940 9278 E-mail: stationmaster@railwaysafrica.com Twitter: railwaysafrica Website: www.railwaysafrica.com
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RAILWAYS AFRICA / CONTENTS
Contents 6
RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR Introduction to the Railway Safety Regulator This is the ďŹ rst in a series of articles explaining the role and mandate of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) in the South African rail environment.
06 Features RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR Introduction to the Railway Safety Regulator PLASSERAIL The Science Behind Plasser Tamping Machines
10 6
10
Industry Comment Report-back From WCRR
24
33
Railway Heritage Steam Tour Down Africa
32
Mishaps & Blunders Passenger Trains Collide in Chicago
34
Train Stuck 3 Months in Japanese Tunnel
38
41
End of the Line Gautrain Gauge
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June 2011 Railways Africa
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RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR
Introduction to the Railway Safety Regulator This is the first in a series of articles explaining the role and mandate of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) in the South African rail environment. It highlights the RSR’s key role in standardising safe rail operations in cooperation with neighbouring countries and the Southern African Development Community (Sadac). Prior to 2002, the rail industry in South Africa was self-regulating. Operators set their own standards, investigated their own incidents and were accountable to no one in particular for safety performance. In addition, a confluence of legislative and operational factors contributed to a gap in the railway environment where safety was concerned. Neither the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85 of 1993) nor the Mines Health and Safety Act (Act
29 of 1996) adequately address railway operational safety. The Land Transport Transitional Act 2000 does not provide for railway operational safety. This situation left existing operators with no processes to verify railway safety performance. Possible changes in both the industry and government, and any restructuring of railways, had the potential to introduce more operators. More interfaces between operators would then
result, with additional attendant risks to be managed. It is fundamentally wrong, it was concluded, for operators to be both “player” and “referee”, especially insofar as major operators dominating the industry are concerned. The creation of an independent body to regulate railway safety was seen to be essential.
The RSR educating youngsters at the Mogwase level crossing in North West province, during an Easter Safety Awareness Campaign.
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Railways Africa June 2011
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RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR
OVERVIEW OF THE NRSR ACT The National Railway Safety Regulator Act, 2002 (Act 16 of 2002) was tabled on 5 August 2002 and promulgated during November of that year. The office of the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) was established during 2003. The RSR’s mission is “To oversee and promote safe railway operations through appropriate support, monitoring and enforcement guided by an enabling regulatory framework.” Its vision is the “Creation of a safe railway environment.” Safe railway operations are vital to the national economy and therefore critical to the sustainability of our freight logistics and public transport system. It is recognised that, in terms of the Act, the primary responsibility for safety lies with the railway operator. It thus encourages accountability and responsibility amongst operators for the safety of their own operations, and provides a suitable framework for the improvement and efficient monitoring of safety performance in the railway industry as a whole. Within such a regulatory institution, the continuing enhancement of railway safety is ensured,
and thereby the use of rail as an efficient mode of transportation will be encouraged. This is a co-regulatory approach. The RSR’s jurisdiction covers all rail operations except those in amusement parks and underground in the mines. These operations span industry sectors ranging from manufacturing, petrochemical and tourism to commuter services. The largest of these are Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). Other smaller operators range from small siding owners (which use rail for loading and offloading) to municipalities, the surface lines on mine property, and also manufacturing and other concerns with extensive rail networks, locomotives and other rolling stock within their premises The Act requires all railway operators to apply for a Safety Permit from the Railway Safety Regulator, prior to engaging in any railway operation. This is a requirement for all operators involved with the operation o f any railway within the Republic with a track gauge of 600mm or more.
The safety permit is issued once the RSR has satisfied itself that the operators have a sound Safety Management System (SMS) in place. A SMS as defined in terms of the Act means a formalised framework for integrating safety into day-to-day railway operations, and includes safety goals and performance targets, risk assessments, responsibilities and authorities, rules and procedures, monitoring and evaluation processes and any other relevant matter prescribed by regulation. Up to mid-2011, the RSR has successfully evaluated safety management system reports and issued safety permits to 280 operators, thereby legalising rail operations. In each case, the RSR monitors performance to assess compliance by the operator with its own SMS, including the conducting of random and routine audits, inspections and occurrence investigations. The RSR is tasked with ensuring that new or modified technology addresses both operational safety as well as environmental concerns. Based on the results of monitoring the safety performance of an operator, the RSR may amend any condition of the Safety Permit.
One of the RSR Inspectorate’s vehicles at the Rondebult level crossing in Ekhurhuleni, Gauteng.
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Railways Africa June 2011
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RAILWAY SAFETY REGULATOR RSR & Transnet Freight Rail staff on site near the Rondebult level crossing, observing the installation of concrete barriers to prevent vehicles illegally crossing.
MANDATE The RSR is a South African public entity, governed and controlled by a board of directors appointed by the minister of transport. The Board holds office for a period of three (3) years. The mandate of the RSR can be summarised as follows:
The RSR’s interventions are informed by overall governmental priorities, the Department of Transport’s strategic priorities in the medium term, the RSR’s mandate and key safety challenges in the railway environment.
•
The medium term interventions of the RSR are thus to achieve the following five key strategic goals:
• • •
• • •
•
8
To oversee safety of railway transport, while operators remain responsible for managing safety of their operations; To promote improved safety performance in order to promote the use of rail; To monitor and ensure compliance through the conducting of audits, inspections and occurrence investigations; To conclude appropriate cooperative agreements or other arrangement with organs of state to ensure effective management and overseeing of safe railway operations and to minimise duplication; To collect and disseminate information relating to safe railway operations; To develop, adopt or accept standards and regulations for safe railway operations; To collaborate with and conclude contracts, where appropriate, with any person, body or institution with the view to furthering the objects of the RSR, including scientific and technical information, and training; To promote the harmonisation of the railway safety regime of South Africa with SADC railway operations.
Railways Africa June 2011
• • • • •
A conducive regulatory safety environment; Improved levels of safety and security in the railway industry; RSR: A recognised authority in the provision of railway safety expertise; Sustainable railway industry capacity; and Sustainable institutional effectiveness.
The next article in the series will examine achievements by the RSR in conducting operator audits and inspections, as well as postaccident investigations, the issuing of improvement directives and other interventions aimed at addressing railway safety.
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PLASSERAIL
THE SCIENCE BEHIND PLASSER TAMPING MACHINES In the third article in this track maintenance series (Railways Africa May 2011), the tamping machine, its functions and functional components were discussed. This, the fourth article, delves into the scientiďŹ cally researched working principles of tamping machines. 1.
Introduction
Under repeated loading from trafďŹ c, the track progressively moves vertically and laterally, causing deviations from the desired geometry. Ballast tamping is the process used to re-arrange the ballast under the sleeper to restore the vertical and horizontal alignment and elasticity of the track structure.
by Leon Zaayman
Over a period of time however, the track geometry will deteriorate again. This period of deterioration is very important to the railway engineer since this will determine the track tamping cycle. The longer the tamping cycle, the less the disruption to trafďŹ c, less the demand on railway resources and the cheaper the track will be over its life-cycle. The durability of the tamping process therefore plays an important role. Durability can only be proven over time with trafďŹ c running over the track. This poses a problem since many factors other than tamping can inuence durability, e.g fouled ballast, rail defects, joints and welds in the track, at wheels on wagons, etc. This article will therefore show scientiďŹ cally why the Plasser tamping process is so durable by drawing from various research studies done by prominent international railway engineers, researchers and academics, Plasser & Theurer, Plasserail and Transnet Freight Rail.
Figure 1: Poor track geometry.
2. Tamping Process Description The working units of a tamping machine are the tamping units which are located between the bogies or axles. Refer to Figure 2 for the layout of a typical but simple tamping unit for illustration purposes.
It is the tamping units that carry out the tamping process as illustrated in Figure 3. This acts as background in determining and explaining those parameters of tamping that will inuence the durability of the tamping process. Step 1 – A basic tamping machine indexes forward and comes to a standstill with its tamping units over the sleeper to be tamped. The tamping tines of the tamping unit straddle the sleeper on both sides.
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All Plasserail tamping machines are equipped with a fully automatic three-point measuring system consisting of a rear, centre and front measuring trolley connected by a lifting wire and an alignment wire which establishes the vertical and horizontal position of the track in order for defects to be corrected and for instating a uniform lift and line to the track. Step 2 – The combined lifting and aligning unit works in conjunction with the measuring system and grips the rail under the crown, lifts the track to a predetermined height while correcting any vertical defects in it and at the same time slews the track to correct the horizontal alignment. Without a lift the ballast stones will not have enough space to rearrange. Within a short time, the track will revert back to its position before tamping took place.
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Figure 2 : Movement of tines due to vibration.
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Railways Africa June 2011
Step 3 – After the track has been lifted and aligned to the desired position, the tamping units are lowered. The tines of the tamping units enter the ballast and come to rest at a predetermined depth.
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PLASSERAIL
Step 1 The tamping machine stops over the sleeper to be tamped.
Step 2 Lifting units lift the rail and sleeper to pre-determined height.
Step 3 Tines enters ballast and stops at pre-determined depth.
Step 4 Cylinder assembly performs squeezing action and compacts ballast in the void.
Figure 3: Tamping process description.
In practice it soon became very clear that by merely squeezing the ballast into position under the sleepers requires huge forces and does not provide even compaction. The reason is that the ballast stones are unable to re-arrange in relation to one another. Forcing the ballast stone will result in it being crushed. Vibration of the tamping tines is therefore necessary to excite the ballast stone, creating a liquid effect which permits it to re-arrange and settle in a dense matrix. Vibration also greatly reduces the force required for the tamping tines to penetrate the ballast. The vibration of the tamping tines is induced by an eccentric shaft within the tamping unit. The cylinder assembly which produces the squeezing force of the tines also transfers the vibration caused by the off-centre cam of the eccentric shaft. This will cause the tines to move forward and backward around the stationary pivot point. See Figure 2. The revolution speed of the eccentric shaft determines the frequency of the vibration and the size of the offcentre cam on the shaft determines the amplitude of the vibration. Step 4 – The cylinder assembly exerts a force on the tine arms which perform a squeezing motion of the tines. The tines compact ballast underneath the sleeper in the void created by the lifting process. The tamping machine indexes forward to the next sleeper and the process repeats itself.
3. Operating Parameters of the Plasser Tamping Process That May Inuence Durability
ballast stones to rearrange in relation to one another. The value of this minimum lifting height has been thoroughly researched due to its effect on the durability of the tamping process.
In the book Track Geotechnology and Management by Prof Ernie Selig and John Waters, the lift given by a tamping machine is plotted against the settlements that occurred in the subsequent 66 weeks under trafďŹ c loading. The objective was to determine the residual lift achieved after trafďŹ c as a measure of durability. See Figure 4 for the results.
The tines perform a squeezing motion which compacts ballast underneath the sleeper in the void created by the lifting process.
3.1 Lifting Height As mentioned before, a predetermined minimum lifting height is instated in the track to ensure that its vertical level is uniform behind the machine and to provide the necessary space for the
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Railways Africa June 2011
Figure 4 : Track lift vs settlement.
Each red dot on Figure 4 corresponds to a sleeper end. A trend can clearly be identiďŹ ed and can be represented by the two red lines.
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Gautrain Turnout Assembly
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PLASSERAIL It can be seen that for relatively low lifts, the lift given by the tamping machine (for example 10mm) is less than the settlement (approximately 13mm) that occurred in the subsequent 66 weeks. A possible explanation for the high settlement that occurred with a low tamping lift may be that by squeezing and vibrating the ballast, the ballast stone will expand upwards into the void but, due to the limited void space, it cannot re-arrange completely nor interlock in a new stable position. Re-imposition of the vertical trafďŹ c loading will re-compact the ballast and the particles will adopt their original positions with respect to each other. The track will thus revert to its original irregular geometry, also referred to as the memory of the track.
the plasto-elastic deformation; also known as liquefaction of the ballast stone. The higher the plasto-elastic deformation, the more liquid the ballast stone becomes and the more difďŹ cult it is to pack it in a dense matrix. It just ows away.
However, where the two red lines cross, the lift given by the tamper is more or less equal to the settlement as measured. During maintenance tamping at Plasserail the track is lifted to an approximate minimum of 20mm to ensure a residual lift that will achieve a lasting improvement in the track condition.
Figure 5 : Frequency vs sleeper settlement.
3.2 The Frequency of Tine Vibrations
At a frequency of 16-25Hz, the tines experiences difďŹ culty in penetrating the ballast. The graph in Figure 5 shows that the ideal frequency is between 25 and 40Hz and will have to be:
The durability of the tamping process is also inuenced by the frequency of the tamping tine’s vibration. Refer again to Figure 2.
•
As can be seen from Figure 5, frequencies in the range of 16 to 25Hz produce a lasting lift, whereas frequencies exceeding 40Hz result in a negative settlement of the sleeper. This negative settlement can be attributed to a phenomenon referred to as
• •
the highest possible frequency for ease of penetrating the ballast; a frequency low enough to produce a lasting lift; and a frequency having the lowest possible plasto elastic deformation properties.
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Railways Africa June 2011
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WAGON BUSINESS Specialists in refurbishment, repair and upgrade of wagons and major supplier of new wagons to the heavy haul coal and iron-ore eets with tare ratios as high as 5:1, as well as wagons for cement, car carriers, intermodal
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PLASSERAIL Researchers have plotted the relative plastic deformation of ballast against different frequencies. Figure 6 shows that at a frequency of 35Hz, a minimum deformation of the ballast occurs, meaning that at this frequency, the highest possible durability is achieved by tamping (based on clean and properly graded ballast). Thus, the optimum tamping frequency and the frequency used by all Plasserail machines is 35Hz.
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Figure 7 : Amplitude.
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Figure 6 : Determining minimum plastic deformation.
3.3 The Amplitude of Tine Vibrations The distance the entire cylinder assembly moves horizontally away from the centre of the eccentric shaft is determined by the size of the off-centre cam on the shaft. This distance travelled by the cylinder assembly determines the amplitude of the tine as the tine arm pivots around a stationary point. The tine will vibrate forward and backward, the total distance representing twice the amplitude. Refer to Figures 7 and 8.
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Figure 8 : The tine vibration sine wave.
16
Railways Africa June 2011
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PLASSERAIL Practice has shown that amplitude greater than 5mm causes crushing of the ballast whereas amplitude less than 5mm fails to transfer the energy of the vibration to the ballast stone. The amplitude used on Plasser tamping machines is therefore approximately 5mm.
The ideal setting range of the tamping depth is approximately 15mm free space between upper edge of the tamping tine plate and the lower edge of the sleeper. On Plasser tamping machines, the tamping depth is controlled electronically to 15mm under the sleeper.
3.4 Tamping Depth When the tamping tines enter the ballast, they come to rest at a pre-set depth. The tamping tine depth has great practical significance for durable packing of the ballast under the sleeper. When the depth is too shallow, the tines strike against the sleepers, and when the depth is too deep, there is uneven and incomplete packing of the sleeper bearing area. This can be attributed to the liquefaction of the ballast and the ability of the stone to flow over the tamping tine plate.
3.5 Squeezing Action of the Tines – Synchronous or Asynchronous Pressure Control When the tines enter the ballast bed, the cylinder assemblies exert a force on the tine arms to perform a squeezing action which packs the stones in the void under the sleeper created by the lifting process. If all tines are forced to travel the same distance during the squeezing action (synchronous tamping), this may result in under-compaction - if there is an obstruction which prevents full tine-squeeze distance. This may also result in crushing of the ballast stones. Only the asynchronous tamping process, whereby all tamping tines receive the squeezing pressure from the same circuit, fulfil the requirement of a homogenous compacted ballast bed. Should one tine experience an obstruction, the other tine will continue through its squeezing motion. All Plasser machines use the asynchronous pressure control system.
Figure 9 : Tamping depth.
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PLASSERAIL 3.6 Squeezing speed and time The squeezing speed (closing speed) and duration of the tamping tines in the ballast also inuences the durability of the tamping process. Even though this may not seem important, it is critical to the process. To squeeze the ballast into the void, a certain kinetic energy is required to overcome the inertia of the ballast stone. A minimum length of time for contact between the tine and the ballast stones is therefore required to transmit the required energy. At ďŹ rst one will conclude that energy transmission takes place during the entire period and squeezing distance of the tine. This however is incorrect. Due to the vibration-induced forward and backward movement of the tine which is much faster than the squeezing speed, energy can only be transmitted during a short impact period between the tine tip and the ballast face during the tine’s forward motion.
During the oscillation the tine will create a void in the ballast of at least twice the size of the amplitude i.e 5mm forward and 5mm backward of the zero position (Figure 11). During the forward motion of the vibration cycle, impact with the ballast stone will only take place once the tine has travelled the total void distance, in other words, if the tine was not moving forward at a squeezing speed, impact would have taken place at the turning point of the vibrating cycle. However, impact will occur before the tine has completed its forward cycle of the vibration because the tine is at the same time moving forward at its squeezing speed (see Figure 12).
Figure 12: Impact time of the tine due the squeezing action of the tines.
After impact the tine tip will remain in contact with the ballast until the oscillation starts its backward movement. This means that only during a short phase of the forward movement will the tine make contact with ballast stone. The impact duration is therefore a function of the squeeze speed.
Figure 10: Forward and backiward movement of tines.
Dr Johann Fischer in his thesis, Inuence of frequency and amplitude on the stabilisation of track ballast (1983), plotted the squeeze movement over time on the sine graph. Figure 13 illustrates how a fast squeezing speed (short time – ti2) will have a longer impact duration than a slow squeezing speed (ti1). The rationale is that the faster the squeezing speed, the earlier during the forward oscillation will the tine start making contact with the ballast and in so doing remain in contact with the ballast. The tine has travelled faster through the void space. The question still remains - what is the required impact duration to transfer the necessary energy to overcome the inertia of the ballast stone?
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Figure 11 : Forward and backward motion of tines during vibration.
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Railways Africa June 2011
Figure 13 : Impact duration between tine and ballast.
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PLASSERAIL From the ďŹ ndings of a research report of G Kronenberg in 1961, a guide value for the minimum impact duration of 5 milliseconds (ms) was established. In this document, this will be taken as a given. Figure 14 shows that the squeezing speed that will guarantee a 5ms impact duration at 35Hz is 150mm/second.
ScientiďŹ c studies and comparisons between various tamping techniques have documented the high quality and durability of the Plasser tamping process. Even in practice the Plasser tamping process has proven to be thoroughly reliable in countless operations all over the world since 1953. High capacity lines throughout the world are serviced using Plasser machines and the preparation of sections of track for world record runs was also performed using Plasser tamping machines.
4. CONCLUSION
Figure 14 : Required squeezing speed at 35Hz for a 5 milliseconds impact duration.
It can be seen from this graph that at higher tamping frequencies the ideal impact duration of 5ms cannot be achieved. The ideal squeezing time can now be derived. Normal squeezing distances are 120mm.
Ideal tamping time =
=
120mm 150mm/s 0.8 seconds
All Plasser tamping machines are set up to squeeze at approximately 150mm/sec, permitting the tine to remain in the ballast bed for a minimum of approximately 1 second which achieves the minimum required impact time between ballast and tine.
It should however be noted that various other machine parameters will also inuence track durability. This includes the skill and experience of the machine operator, the accuracy of tamping unit settings, size and condition of the tine tips, etc. These parameters do not have a scientiďŹ c basis and is therefore not included herein. However, Plasserail’s skilled and experienced workforce together with their continuous training programmes ensures that this is not the weak link in an otherwise impressively strong chain. REFERENCES 1. KLUGER, KARL. Consideration on stabilising of track, June 1977 (presentation in Budapest). 2. FISCHER, JOHANN. Inuence of frequency and amplitude on the stabilization of track ballast (thesis), June 1983 3. ERNEST T SELIG and JOHN M WATERS. Track geotechnology and management. 4. KRONENBERG G. Study on the compaction and working behaviour of a single mass compactor on ballast and ďŹ ne gravel for establishing the leading inuence factors riddle compaction, 1961 5. RIESBERGER, KLAUS. Measurements of DB/asynchronous tamping, 1972 6. PLASSERAIL (various internal research reports).
The next in this series will be on the History of Track Tamping. Though not a technical article, it is very interesting to see how technology has changed the face of mechanised maintenance.
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Railways Africa June 2011
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INDUSTRY COMMENT
Report-back From WCRR 2011 Dave van der Meulen / Managing Member / Railway Corporate Strategy CC The author recently attended the 9th World Congress on Railway Research in Lille, France - a memorable experience in many ways. Much more than railway research alone, it offered a few days in Paris - always a pleasant experience that includes good rail-based public transport. The metro was superb, including a trip on rubber-tyred driverless Line 14, with spacious cars sans end walls, to encourage passengers to spread evenly when trains are crowded. Comparing the sizes of Paris and Joburg using Microsoft Encarta finds both built-up areas to be roughly 30km x 30km. Paris’ population density is much higher, while the aforementioned area excludes outlier destinations such as Disneyland and Charles de Gaulle Airport. Joburg’s area stretches Germiston to Roodepoort, Four Ways to Southern Bypass. The ease with which one can move around Paris and environs by short-appearing journeys, mainly by RATP’s Metro, but also by SNCF’s Réseau Express Régionale (RER) and Transilien, perceptually compacts its true size. Several readers will have experienced this first-hand, but those who have not should seek the exposure. Coordination by autonomous authority Syndicat des transports d’Îlede-France (STIF) is exemplary. There was also an opportunity to sample Lille Metro, a driverless VAL system—indeed the first such system in the world, which technology has since spread further afield. The small profile vehicles minimise the cost of civil works. Rubber tyres allow rapid acceleration and braking, somewhat above the 0.9 to 1 m/s2 normal passenger comfort limit. Regular passengers get used to it, thus adjusting their comfort limit. The result is cost-effective for small cities that integrate their public transport around a guided rapid transit system. Dunkerque
Lille
Le Havre Rouen Paris
Strasbourg Nancy
Brest
Orléans Tours
Nantes
Dijon
Lyon Saint-Étienne Grenoble Bordeaux Avignon Toulouse
Nice
Montpellier Marseille Toulon
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Railways Africa June 2011
Reflections on the Congress The congress was structured around eight key challenges - a more and more energy-efficient railway; an environmentally friendly railway; increasing freight capacity and services; a world of services for passengers; bringing the territories closer together at higher speeds; even more trains even more on time; an even more competitive and cost-efficient railway; for an even safer and more secure railway. Great aspirations for any railway. Or are they? To participate in these challenges, to be relevant to them, one must have a railway that actually works. The fundamentals of positioning railways as worthy corporate citizens in the economies and societies that they serve are well known. Ineptitude and recalcitrance seem not to be the stuff of contemporary railway research: The world of railways has left behind those that do not work. Plenary sessions were upbeat, and well they should be. The oral and poster presentations showed diligent work. Overall, they left the impression of a gathering of happy railway people that, while not without problems, appeared to be on top of those they did have, and enjoyed the continuous improvement that their solutions provided. Nevertheless, nothing is perfect, and although downside was not glaringly obvious, it was perceptible. Unsurprisingly for a conference with a strong European flavour, freight did not take the limelight. However, less than 10% of the papers were overtly freight-oriented. On the whole, the rest were passenger-oriented, particularly to high speed. Again no surprise, but consider the following: The author saw off Railway Corporate Strategy’s operations manager Fienie Möller and her husband on a TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon on a Saturday morning. Bearing in mind that TGVs have progressed from the original single trains, then to coupled trains, and then again to coupled double-deck trains, not to mention increased frequency, the throng of people making their way to the TGVs was at once disorientating and logical. France’s TGVs, like high-speed trains in other countries, have decimated or eliminated short-haul air services. Essentially, airports have now moved into city centres - indeed one of the notions emerging in the US high-speed awakening. However, the challenge of handling mass passenger flows far in excess of that for which stations were conceived is a real issue. Gare de Lyon groaned under the load, and the construction that will one day relieve the turmoil did not make things easier. Direct high-speed rail access to city centres is a key attraction, but it does need to align with reasonable passenger expectations. This is the sort of problem which railway people are happy to research.
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INDUSTRY COMMENT
High-speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) in the very first months of operation at the Gare de Lyon, Paris, in 1982. Photos: Editor.
The foregoing is salutary for those that contemplate ambitious freight shifts from road to rail. By the time that rail freight’s market share dips to around 10%, calls to shift freight from road back to rail become strident. However, a shift to say 20% of the freight market, half of what is achieved by North America’s competitive freight railroads, would then represent a doubling of rail freight, or even more in a growing market. Railways that have actually doubled their freight traffic in a short space of time do not come readily to mind: Similarly to the success of high-speed rail, to physically accommodate such a freight shift would require formidable effort. Thinking again of Europe, where closely following trucks on motorways at times give the appearance of trains running on the roads, concerned stakeholders have envisaged such a shift from road to rail in research agendas, but it has not materialised. Did the research that should have supported the shift miss its mark? Or was it simply not done? BRICS was represented in neither the organising committee nor the executive committee of WCRR. Yet its railways convey around half the world’s rail freight, on a par with the rest of the world combined. The author has not checked passenger statistics, but expects a similar outcome. Of 231 papers, only one was by authors from Brazil, a minuscule representation. If the RICS in BRICS submitted abstracts, none made the cut. For the record, the author’s abstract was not accepted. After five papers at consecutive WCRRs, he arguably knows the ropes. During preparation of the abstract his wife passed away, so perhaps he was distracted. On reflection after the congress, perhaps he missed the theme. A World Congress? With insignificant representation from developing countries? BRIC railways are doing great things. We’ll get to the S later. Brazil shares a colonial railway legacy with South Africa and much of the rest of Africa. Moreover, it has a medley of track gauges both broad and narrow, plus a small amount of standard gauge.
Notwithstanding that handicap, it is implementing a plan to link its presently isolated northern and southern broad gauge networks by means of its broad gauge North-South line, ultimately to support several east-west branches, to develop the interior of the country. Russia is liberalising and modernising its railways. Among other things, it has formed two joint stock companies to exploit the lion’s share of its freight wagon fleet; entered into technology transfer agreements to implement new locomotive technologies; planned high-speed railways and implemented service on one of them - Moscow-St Petersburg; raised axle load to 30 tonnes as it rebuilds its network; acquired US freight wagon technology; and recognised the strategic requirement to separate high-speed and heavy freight. India leads the world in implementing dedicated freight corridors, to separate growing freight traffic from its heavy passenger traffic, thereby optimising their contending infrastructure requirements. They will feature double-stacked container trains hauled by electric locomotives under high catenary, giving the lie to the pretext that double-stacking and electrification are incompatible. It is implementing technology transfer arrangements to acquire modern locomotives, and building contemporary metro systems on standard gauge separate from its broad gauge national network, New Delhi being the first. China’s claim to world railway leadership hardly needs justification. It is set to be the first country in the world to concurrently exploit all four of rail’s inherently competitive market spaces. A world leader in heavy-haul and high-speed on dedicated freight and passenger lines, metros are advancing rapidly in its huge cities, and even double stacking has emerged. Overall, BRIC has made substantial progress in high-level railway positioning. Surely it has much to share from the research that underpinned that progress?
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Railways Africa June 2011
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INDUSTRY COMMENT Why is this relevant to South Africa? A key take-away from the foregoing narrative is that South Africa appears to be grappling with railway issues to which the rest of the world is insufficiently sensitive to contribute. The author has done much research on fitting railways to their settings, with a view to identifying issues and seeding solutions. At this time it seems that what is critical for South Africa escapes those countries and people that have revitalised their railways. Are we therefore beholden to our own insights and resources? There are quantitative and qualitative perspectives on this question. Quantitatively, the number of issues is simply much higher than that with which other railway countries have had to deal concurrently. South Africans of many persuasions have generated a strong current of thinking around what the issues are, what needs to be done, and when, and how. Qualitatively, the inherent competitiveness of South Africa’s railways is not up to the mark. They are precluded by heritage from entering or fully exploiting rail’s four inherently competitive market spaces. This author has mentioned the underlying reasons on many occasions, so this is simply a reminder.
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Railways Africa June 2011
Summer twilight (10:20pm) at the Gare de Lyon, Paris. Photo: Editor.
South Africa is now a member of BRICS, a grouping of world significance in many respects. Aside from general membership qualifications, well-founded railways were a BRIC hallmark. Now that the S has been added, it is time to accelerate revitalisation of South Africa’s railways, so that it too can align on this important attribute. We know what needs to be done. Let’s do it!
Rubber-tyred Paris underground train. Photo: Editor.
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RAILWAY HERITAGE
Preservation is A Vital Part of The Picture
By John Batwell
Steam Tour Down Africa During May and June 2011, United Kingdom operator Geoff Cooke ran a successful rail tour embracing Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Not everything came together exactly as hoped, but participants greatly enjoyed the experience. In Kenya, class 30 no 3020 ran late on the Naivasha-Nairobi run owing to cold and viscous fuel oil, necessitating several stops to brew up, but such stops became unscheduled photo opportunities. Former East African Railways (EAR) class 24 no 2409, dating back to 1922 and therefore almost 90 years old, put on a flawless performance, working to Makadara. Class 59 Garratt no 5918 experienced a few steaming problems so was late off shed at Nairobi for an afternoon trip along the Mombasa line. The loco failed just before Embakasi. Both Garratt and train were returned to Nairobi behind a diesel, arriving back after dark.
no 611. On the southward journey from Thomson Junction, steam traction had to be abandoned at Lukosi (fortunately following the best photo opportunities) instead of further down the line at Dete. The rest of the trip to Bulawayo was handled by a class DE 6 diesel. In South Africa, the visitors were hosted at Pretoria by Friends of The Rail, who lit up class 24 no 3664 for a run to Rooiwal power station, and also facilitated night photography on shed. Geoff Cooke remains a good, faithful and very patient tour operator - year after year – to this part of Africa.
Nairobi rail museum’s preserved class 59 locos from the mid fifties nos 5918 and 5930 enjoy historical significance, being Beyer Peacock’s largest ever Garratts for the metre gauge. Enthusiasts of aged diesel motive power were able to photograph four remaining old English Electric class 87 units (nos 8720/3/40/1), all sporting today’s Rift Valley Railways’ (RVR) colour scheme. Despite the occasional glitches, positive reports were posted on the internet by members of the touring party. Future rail tours to Kenya will no doubt benefit from experience gained by the railway this year. In Zimbabwe, a new variety of water chemical treatment used by NRZ staff on their Garratts resulted in excessive boiler foaming and poor steaming - both on class 15 no 395 and class 16A
East African Railways’ class 59 Garratt no 5918 – in steam for Geoff’s Trains tour in May/June. Photo: T Kautzor.
Reefsteamers, Germiston
Rovos Rail, Pretoria
Class 12AR no 1535 Susan suffered a leaky flue not long ago but happily she is back in service. Class 15F no 3046 Janine competently took over no 1535’s train operations while she was indisposed.
Class 25NC 4-8-4 no 3442 with its oddly-shaped “worshond” tender took part in a Johannesburg photographic club’s shoot at Capital Park recently. Seven of the nine class 5E1 electrics (exDanskraal, KwaZulu Natal) remain on the Rovos books, though it is believed that two have been written off.
The club had an unexpected visitor recently in the form of an inspection by the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR). This followed an apparently malicious communication suggesting that class 15F no 3046 was running with no brakes and that the rolling stock was unroadworthy. The inspection found no foundation for the claims made but did ask for stickers warning of overhead wire dangers to be posted in the locomotive’s tender. According to RSR regulations, these signs have to be posted on the tender ladder and on the scuttle plate above the coal gates. Considering adverse press comment on the RSR in past months, the fast response to the allegations was commendable.
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Railways Africa June 2011
Rovos Rail’s class 25NC 4-8-4 no 3442 with “worshond” tender moves a luxury trainset to the departure platform at Capital Park, Pretoria, in late May 2011. Photo: E Armer.
www.railwaysafrica.com
Friends of The Rail, Pretoria The class 19D 4-8-2 no 2650 was taken out of service recently, to undergo its three-year inspection. On behalf of a local photographic club, Gauteng steam photographer David Benn arranged to have three steam locos lit up for the members’ outing this winter. The most was made of photographing Rovos’ class 25NC no 3442 and the Friends’ class 19D no 2650 (its last public steaming currently); also class 24 no 3664.
Friends of The Rail’s class 19D no 2650 entertains photographers in May prior to being pulled out of service. Photo: C A Janisch.
Atlantic Rail, Cape Town This group has taken Cape Town by storm with its weekend leisure runs behind steam along the False Bay coast to Simon’s Town. The train consists of timber-bodied vintage coaches dating from between 1922 and 1938, one a lounge car with full bar service. Class 24 2-8-4 no 3655, the star attraction- built by North British in Glasgow more than sixty years ago - had eight tubes replaced recently. The driving force behind this venture is well-known personality Ian Pretorius, synonymous a decade ago with Transnet Foundation’s fondly remembered and highly successful Union Limited safari operations. Notable among these and popular with both overseas and local tourists was the regular Golden Thread run from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn, including a side trip down the scenic branch across the lakes to Knysna. Ian, ably assisted by his wife Jenny, organised and personally managed the Union Limited excursions. Sadly, Jenny died early in July. She will be missed by the many who came to know her and who so appreciated the devoted work she put into the enterprise.
Jenny Pretorius. Photo: G.B.White.
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MISHAPS & BLUNDERS
Mishaps & Blunders One objective of our regular feature reporting and commenting on rail mishaps is to provide information and object lessons from Africa and abroad, in the hope that – in some cases at least - this might help avoid recurrences.
PASSENGER TRAINS COLLIDE IN CHICAGO On 3 June, two slow-moving passenger trains collided in an underground tunnel near downtown Chicago’s Union Station, putting 12 people in hospital with minor injuries. The injured reportedly suffered neck and back pain - and possibly broken ribs. An injured pregnant woman was among them, according to Chicago fire department assistant deputy fire commissioner Marc Levison.
The accident obstructed other trains headed into Union Station, and buses were brought in to assist.
SUDAN: DEADLY ATTACK ON TRAIN
Pedestrian entrance to a Chicago underground railway station, beneath There were 117 passengers on the steel structure of the elevated the southbound Amtrak train lines. Photo: Editor
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Railways Africa April 2011
and a crew of four. The driver was among those hurt. An estimated 1,500 people were on the Metra train. The conductor broadcast that there had been a derailment and asked that anyone with medical training come up to the front of the train. Many of the passengers climbed out into the “partially lit” tunnel and walked to the station. Fire crews put down a fibre-optic rope to help show the way.
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On 26 June, UN peacekeeping mission spokeswoman Hua Jiang told AFP, “a train transporting southern returnees from Kosti to Wåu was attacked by Misseriya militia in the area of Meiram, around 50km south of Muglad.” This was just two weeks before the region was to celebrate full independence from the north. One person was killed and four wounded in the raid. Meiram lies in
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MISHAPS & BLUNDERS north Sudan’s state of South Kordofan, adjacent to Darfur and the tense Abyei border region. Muglad is the historical capital of the Misseriya tribe. According to AFP, “The heavily armed Arab nomads were a key proxy militia of Khartoum’s army during its 1983-2005 conflict with the former southern rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). One of the tribe’s chiefs, Omar al-Ansari, confirmed the train attack had happened in a Misseriya area, but denied that his people were responsible. ‘The train experienced technical problems in a place called Hierika, close to South Darfur, and that was when a group of Darfur rebels attacked it and grabbed some belongings from the passengers,’ Ansari told AFP. He said no one was killed. “Tensions were running high between north and south Sudan in the run-up to the south’s formal declaration of independence on 9 July, driven by conflict in the border areas of Abyei and South Kordofan, and exacerbated by the lack of progress in negotiating key unresolved issues. Northern troops overran Abyei in May in response to a deadly attack on an army convoy, prompting more than 100,000
residents to flee south, and with the Misseriya reportedly moving in with Sudanese soldiers to fill the vacuum.” SAUDI ARABIA
LIBYA Wadi Halfa Karima CHAD
SUDAN
Bur Sudan
Atbara
KHARTOUM Nyala
Kassala ERITREA
El Obeid Ed Damazin
Babanusa
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Red Sea
ETHIOPIA Waw
N
CONGO (DRC)
UGANDA
KENYA
WESTERN CAPE “TRAIN TRAPS” The realities of driving commuter trains in Cape Town are spelled out by Janis Kinnear in the Cape Argus. “He has watched helplessly from his cockpit as more than 30 people died on the tracks in his 30 years as a train driver. ‘
It’s like a car accident, only slower. You can see you’re going to hit them but even if you slam on the brakes and blow the hooter, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.’ “This was the description of only one of the deaths experienced by the 48-yearold train driver. With about 300 train drivers operating in the Western Cape, he said, the job, once well respected, has become gruesome and dangerous. He said damaged fencing and many level crossings with no booms or warning signals resulted in people being killed in what he describes as ‘train traps’. “The man recalled one of the worst incidents, which happened just before Bonteheuwel station, when he watched a father fail to save his young daughter from being hit, after they attempted to cross the tracks with the train bearing down on them. ‘He tried to pull her back to the fence but I still bumped the kid. Even if you don’t get hurt physically, you feel the impact on your stomach. I missed three stations, which never happens to me, but your mind blanks out. The worst part was that it was a father with his daughter in his hands. I still remember the bright red jersey she had on.’
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MISHAPS & BLUNDERS often had to continue working without counselling, even if they had knocked down somebody on the tracks and were traumatised. But he praised a new policy which insisted train drivers, involved in accidents be monitored for 72 hours before being allowed to operate again. Previously drivers just continued to work.
“The majority of incidents occur at level crossings, he said. Once, the train he was driving hit three women at once, who all died on impact. Images of the accident are still vivid in his mind. “The driver has refused to operate on the Muldersvlei and Strand lines, which he identified as having the most train deaths, as there was a high number of people crossing the tracks illegally. “He said drivers had written letters to Metrorail management, complaining about lack of security and warning signals at level crossings. The drivers had suggested safety measures to management. These included installing cameras similar to speed traps to detect when a pedestrian or motorist ignores booms, so that the person caught on camera could be fined. “The man said the country is losing skilled drivers and technicians and without them the 2013 target for new trains would be ‘a huge challenge’. He said experienced drivers were needed to train new drivers and regular assessments needed to be done to test their competency levels. ‘Today they take a guy from the street who gets a few weeks’ training from a train driver with only two years’ experience.’
Level crossings are a nightmare to South African train drivers. This is the aftermath of a collision at Buttskop crossing in Blackheath east of Cape Town, where a minibus driver on the wrong side of the road overtook a queue of vehicles on 25 August 2010, drove round the lowered barriers and collided with a Metrorail train, killing ten of his scholar passengers.
“He started working as a train assistant in 1980 and only qualified as a train driver seven years later. ‘You used to sit next to the driver for a few years and then wait for a vacancy. You had to drive the same train for about five years.’ “He said operating at night was dangerous, especially for women train drivers, who put their lives at risk, often starting as early as 03:00. ‘Imagine if you are a mother with children, getting up at that time to start a shift.’ “With only two psychologists assigned to drivers in the Western Cape, he said drivers
“Then there’s the issue of drivers fearing for their lives. In the past you had to bring the train to a standstill and see if the body is cleared but nowadays family, and even passengers, get violent, throwing rocks at you. There is no protection for you as the driver.’”
TRAIN STUCK 3 MONTHS IN JAPANESE TUNNEL A train that made an emergency stop in a tunnel moments after the East Japan earthquake in March remained stranded there more than three months, while the operator of the line grappled with the huge cost of repairing damage caused by the disaster. The line, which runs some 36.6km from Sakari in Ofunato to Kamaishi, remained closed after the earthquake, as resuming operations would be extremely expensive and possibly beyond the company’s reach.
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Railways Africa June 2011
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MISHAPS & BLUNDERS The land, infrastructure, transport and tourism ministry, acknowledging the importance of having public transport in disaster-hit areas, is trying to get special permission to provide additional subsidies to the company. On 10 June, Sanriku Railway workers made their way to the centre of the 3.9km Kuwadai Tunnel and started the engine of the single-carriage train for the first time since the disaster. An operator entered the driver’s cabin and turned on the train’s internal lights and headlights. Minoru Yasumiishi, 40, was driving the train, which had been heading north toward Kamaishi, when it made the emergency stop. He led two passengers on a 1.5km walk to the tunnel’s south exit while the rumbling sounds of aftershocks echoed through the tunnel. “It was the most terrible moment in my life,” Yasumiishi said. He still dreams about the 30-minute walk to escape the tunnel. To connect towns in mountainous coastal areas efficiently, 60% of the Minami Rias Line runs through tunnels. The line suffered earthquake damage in a total of 247 locations, including broken rails and damaged station buildings. Seven drivers who were assigned to the Minami Rias Line have been transferred to the Kita Rias Line, which has resumed operations. To resume all services on its Kita and Minami Rias lines, the company will need about 18 billion yen. Restoration work on the Minami Rias Line did not even begin until 1 June.
In an operation dubbed “Sanriku no Kibo” (hope of Sanriku), the company requested help from Self-Defence Forces personnel to remove broken rails and debris from station buildings. The company has also asked for financial aid from the ministry, but the law currently allows the central government to subsidise only one-quarter of the company’s post-disaster reconstruction costs, with the remainder to be covered by the private sector and local governments. A senior ministry official said it would be essentially impossible for Sanriku Railway, a third-sector firm that was struggling even before the quake hit, to shoulder the reconstruction costs on its own. “We want to support the company, to preserve public transportation in disaster-hit areas,” the official said. The ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to allow it to subsidise about three-quarters of the company’s reconstruction costs. As for the stranded train, Sanriku Railway planed to complete repairs to the rails inside the tunnel by late June, and drive the train out of the tunnel’s south exit. Because of damage to rails outside the tunnel, the company plans to take the train only as far as the station at nearby Yoshihama. From there it is to be transported by road to a railway yard in Ofunato. Tetsu Yoshida, 47, acting head of operations on the Minami Rias Line, says, “Even if reconstruction takes a long, long time, and no matter the cost, we want to reopen our railway lines.”
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Sales and rentals of locomotives, trackmobiles and other rolling stock. Repair/reconditioning of locomotives, trackmobiles and other rolling stock in our Pretoria West based workshop and on site. Repair/reconditioning of all locomotive and other rolling stock equipment (engines, bogies, turbo chargers, air and vacuum brake valves and auxiliaries, compressors and exhausters, couplers and draft gears etc.) Service exchange components for most major items on present day locomotives, which include traction motors, bogies, power packs, expressors and main generators etc. A full range of spare parts for locomotives and rail wagons, most of which are available off the shelf. Sales and rentals of electrical, mechanical and air jacking systems for the lifting of locomotives and rail wagons etc, on site. Operation and control of entire rail systems ranging from the maintenance of customers own locomotives and rolling stock to the control and transport of their products and the maintenance of their railway tracks and switch/signalling systems.
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MISHAPS & BLUNDERS Before the disaster, the Minami Rias Line operated 12 roundtrip services a day, and in fiscal 2009 served about 240,000 passengers. It was opened by Sanriku Railway in 1984, and includes the route that was formerly the Sakari Line of Japanese National Railways, now defunct.
COWS ON THE LINE: 15 TRAINS CANCELLED From RailNews online newsletter: “Adding a new meaning to ‘cattle class’, cows on the track accounted for 15 train cancellations on a West Midlands’ section of the West Coast line between Nuneaton and Rugby. A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The majority of our rail network runs through rural areas, much of which is farmland. Just as animals are prone to wander across busy roads, they sometimes find their way onto the railway. Our maintenance teams work hard to make sure railway boundaries are safe and secure and to prevent trespassers getting onto the line, whether they have two legs or four.”
A train of the East Japan Railway company following the earthquake on 11 March.
JAPANESE EXPRESS DERAILS According to an Associated Press report, the derailing of one vehicle caused a six-coach express travelling toward Sapporo to make an emergency stop inside a tunnel. Smoke entered several carriages towards the rear of the train. The 240 passengers were initially told to move to the front three coaches. Eventually they were evacuated on foot, and more than 30 received treatment for injuries. Operations head for JR Hokkaido Masayuki Ichijo apologised saying “Had we made a decision sooner, we could have evacuated passengers more quickly.”
“Its an old colonial problem we inherited from England”.
Rail Welding
The single use crucible
The single-use crucible reduces the risk of human error. It is made from a bonded refractory material inserted in an easy-to-handle five-litre container. Welds are more consistent. As there is no drying or pre-heating, weld times are much shorter. And the single use crucible is safer and minimises environmental impacts. Thermitrex (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 (0)11 914 2540 Fax: +27 (0)11 914 2547 Email: clloyd@thermitrex.co.za Website: www.thermitrex.co.za
www.railwaysafrica.com
PO Box 6070, Dunswart, Johannesburg, Gauteng South Africa 1508
June 2011 Railways Africa
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END OF THE LINE
CORRESP NDENCE GAUTRAIN GAUGE Dr J F Slabbert wrote to Moneyweb: “I’m a small private investor and a professional engineer. “I query your clear enthusiasm for the Gautrain and the PPP model used. I fully concur passenger rail investment is urgently needed in SA (especially commuter rail - I use Metrorail every day, not a pleasant experience!). But the Gautrain has in reality put back rail transport in Gauteng immeasurably by the employment of the ‘standard’ (European) gauge despite a specific requirement imposed by cabinet when it approved the Bombela contract that it be fully integrated with the existing network. “This choice designed to maximise Bombardier profits and justified on entirely specious grounds of speeds (Google ‘Scheffel Bogie’ for information about speeds attainable on the existing 1,067mm gauge) is an example of how sophisticated international salesmen can oversell to South African officials with no engineering expertise (Recall the arms deal). “The many disadvantages accruing from not using the 1,067 gauge (besides ending permanently the ideal of travelling from Polokwane to Cape Town on one train passing seamlessly through Sandton and on below ground level to Park Station and the Jo’burg CBD, re-emerging before Soweto and thence to points South), include duplicated track maintenance equipment, workshops, electrical equipment, artisan training etc., the impossibility of freight services, the loss of manufacturing opportunities and many others. These are not only my own views; Jeremy Cronin in 2007 as chair of the parliamentary portfolio committee fully concurred with me (although for undisclosed reasons he took noaction) as did many others. “That a similar PPP-type project again using the European gauge is being sold to Prasa for the Moloto Corridor (as well as an absurdly unsuitable Durban-Jo’burg high-speed project) is another step towards the fragmentation of the 25,000km 1,067mm subcontinental network, the PPP model being a vital tool in the process. “There is a great deal more that can be said about Gautrain which as already noted bears a resemblance to the arms deal contracts. Certainly the taxpayers in both cases are suffering!” – (Dr) J F Siebert Pr Eng
RACEDAY SPECIALS SIXTY YEARS AGO Charlie Lewis reminiscing on sar-L: “This will forever damn me in the eyes of dedicated photographers, but bioscopes and girls had a lot to do with it. Until the early fifties, there ran every Saturday morning from Cape Town to Milnerton Racecourse a perfect rake of CGR flat-sided, match-boarded suburban stock - about seven or eight coaches - with a Belpaire [class] six in charge. I would see this immaculate train on my way to town (eightpence for the train fare and eightpence for the bioscope, just about covered by my pocket money) in the Coliseum, Plaza or Alhambra. Whenever I saw the train I would think ‘must go out and phot it next Saturday’ but come the day, flick and girls always won out. Then one Saturday (would have been “A perfect rake of CGR flat-sided sometime in ‘52 or ‘53) the train suburban stock with a Belpaire six didn’t show. That was my first in charge.” Photo: collection Pierre lesson in getting things while the de Wet ex the Railway Circle, midtwenties. going was good”.
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Railways Africa June 2011
MARCHING M A TO PRETORIA RIA A Remember the old song? We’re marching to Pretoria .. Pretoria .. Pretoria We’re marching to Pretoria – Pretoria rules the waves.
Gautrain’s Pretoria debut was scheduled For March in Twenty-one-one. y We were readyy to ride, instead everyone y cried It turned out to be a con-con. Thanks to one or two ggremlins that ggot in the way; (Or that’s how the storyy was spun). p The tracks were all finished, the stations complete Except one or two things still undone. Then service to Hatfield was ppromised (for sure) Byy June in Twenty-one-one. y We were readyy to ride, instead everyone y cried It turned out to be a con-con. Seems the test runs and checks weren’t finished in time (The ppermit for safetyy not written) And leaks in the tunnels! Perhapsp the keyy gguysy were Once shy as they say, and twice bitten? But - trains from Park station would definitely run From June in Twenty-one-one. y We were readyy to ride, instead everyone y cried It turned out to be a con-con. High water below gground, the challengeg this time, Meant more than just ironingg out bugs. Six million litres a dayy leakingg in Had the experts out shopping for plugs. But service to Hatfield began g at longg last Duringg August g in Twenty-one-one. y So Try-Number-Three y turned out to be Not only win-win, but won-won. We’re marching to Pretoria .. Pretoria .. Pretoria We’re marching to Pretoria – And Gautrain’s making waves.
“We get our water from Gautrain. The day’s first six million litres are free” www.railwaysafrica.com
Step off not down.
t New Tubular Modular Track installation at Kwa Mashu Station, Durban. t The ďŹ rst of its kind in South Africa on 1070mm platform to rail height. t World Class track meeting World Class Safety Standards.
Tel: +27 12 803 4201
Fax: +27 12 803 5192
Email: info@tubulartrack.co.za
www.tubulartrack.co.za