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Local manufacturing more than just a statistic Bombardier Transportation, manufacturer of Victoria’s VLocity trains and E-Class trams, says the value of a strong local supply chain cannot be overstated. But with the initial price tag of cheaper, imported rolling stock continuing to tempt governments around Australia, can they be convinced?
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OLLING STOCK MANUFACTURER Bombardier is proud to boast a 97.8% reliability figure for the VLocity trains running on Victoria’s regional network, and perhaps more excited to talk about the 69% local content figure delivered through the manufacturing process. And Bombardier’s David Collomb says there is no doubt the two figures are tied together. “When you talk about reliability, most of the time, you have to go back to the product,” Collomb told Rail Express on the sidelines of the ARA’s Light Rail 2018 conference in Sydney. Collomb is Bombardier Transportation Australia’s head of operations – and the Site General Manager for Bombardier in Dandenong. He says while the initial costs of a rolling stock contract with high local content requirements
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may be higher than off-the-shelf imports, the overall payoff – in terms of reliability, stability of ongoing costs, local jobs for Bombardier and growth throughout the supply chain – makes it more than worthwhile. “When you find a flaw in a product in service, you have to be able to go back to its design origin,” he explained. “It can prove difficult to do that when you’re a government network owner, dealing with a private operator, with a train whose structure was made in another country, and designed in yet another country. “When you find an issue with the product, you have to be able to close the loop, and find the root cause – and you might have to work your way through multiple organisations and stakeholders continued on next page >
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Made in Victoria, for Victorians
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to source information and solve challenges. “Today in Victoria, if there is a problem with a vehicle, they come to us, and we put an Australian engineering team on the case. Our local team speaks to their counterparts overseas, consults with our Global Centres of Design and Engineering Excellence – we find the solutions and present them to the customer. “There are no layers of complexity between a problem on a vehicle, and the technical help. We streamline our information globally so productivity isn’t lost trying to reinvent the wheel every time.” In addition, Collomb says Bombardier is able to deliver a strong level of service because of the rich supply chain it has helped develop in Victoria, thanks to ongoing contracts from the State Government. Bombardier’s Dandenong workshop is home to the manufacturing of its VLocity regional trains and FLEXITY E-Class trams. There are 172 Victorian suppliers delivering parts directly to the VLocity regional train project alone. In addition to designing, engineering and manufacturing the VLocity trains in Dandenong, Bombarider performs specific maintenance activities on the trains in what is now a 24/7 operational facility. “The biggest difference for Bombardier manufacturing in Australia is the coverage of the value chain,” Collomb said. “When we say the trains are ‘Made in Victoria, for Victorians’, we’re actually saying the trains have been designed by Australian engineers who understand the rail network and future challenges. Our production team has been building the trains for over 15 years; they know it back to front, so to speak. “Our suppliers have been delivering parts and working closely with us for years, and surely understand the quality we expect from them. It’s a local train for local requirements, supporting hundreds of jobs.” Collomb noted the 69% figure for local content in VLocity trains is “far and beyond” the 50% or 60% figures usually targeted by governments. “We deliver beyond local content requirements because we can, because we have developed a strong supply chain and network over many years that can thrive because of projects like VLocity and E-Class,” he said. “Once you have this, you can put together a design, and start producing quality vehicles … you can assemble pieces of steel together to create an underframe, to create the side cells, to create a roof, to build a car body for the train, and then equip it.” The ongoing benefits of this coverage of the value chain can be seen in Melbourne, Collomb said. His speech at the conference focused on how Melbourne is looking to tackle its capacity challenge.
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Above: Bombardier delivers and maintains the VLocity fleet of regional trains from its Dandenong workshops.
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That’s the reason governments do it. Local content equals jobs.
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For Bombardier, the aim is for the vehicles to use less power, have less collisions, and to be able to operate more often, by being more reliable, and needing less maintenance. He said this is more achievable through the company’s extensive local supply method. The design of the trains can be improved more easily, too: “When the drivers of the E-Class trams told us they were having some visibility issues in the driver’s cabin, we were able to find a local solution,” he told Rail Express. “Through a partnership with Swinburne University, we had the drivers go through virtual reality simulations, and tell us what we could improve. We adjusted the design, and we sent that design to our production team. We were able to start that design in Melbourne, and execute the modifications because we build the car body here. “These are the kinds of loops you can close efficiently when you’re an organisation that covers the value chain, and I think it’s the biggest differentiator we have compared to our competitors [in Victoria].” Collomb said this approach stresses that true local content is not just a percentage figure, but requires a focus on where that figure is coming from. “When we talk about local content or local manufacturing, it’s interesting to ask, where is continued on page 6>
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ROLLING STOCK MANUFACTURING & RAIL SUPPLY A local design and supply chain helps Bombardier produce and maintain a highly reliable fleet of trains.
the beginning of the value chain, where is the end of the value chain, and how much can we cover,” Collomb explained. Todd Garvey, Bombardier Transportation Australia’s Director of Sales and Marketing, agrees that a percentage measure for local content, alone, is not enough. “At the end of the day, local content is supposed to translate into jobs,” Garvey told Rail Express. “That’s the reason governments do it. Local content equals jobs, not margins for businesses. And that’s what we’ve been trying to count. The percentage is great, but that’s got to translate into direct jobs, supply chain jobs, and benefit partners in the wider rail industry. “We build trains from the ground up. The VLocity trains are built from rolled steel for the side cells, and we’re building the complete underframes in Dandenong.” Garvey is serious about the importance of conducting as much of the manufacturing process in Australia as possible. “We’re not importing the trains because we have the local knowledge, skills and capabilities right here in Australia. There are numerous benefits to having a local operation from start to finish,” he said. “We’re very proud of our local content.” In December 2017, Bombardier was awarded an extension to the VLocity project, which ensures the manufacturer
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will build and deliver an additional 27 VLocity railcars for the State Government. The order will bring the total fleet to 264 railcars (88 three-car sets) in passenger service by 2019. The extended contract includes tough penalties if local content standards are not met. “We embrace the local content requirements,” Garvey said. “Because we’re confident about meeting local content measures, and we see it as a bit of a gold star for us in Melbourne.” Garvey also agrees with Collomb, that the higher up-front costs associated with local manufacturing, pay off in the long run. “If you’ve got an established supply chain, and you’re using that supply chain, when you have either a major overhaul, or you have some damage to trains – through collisions or obstructions along the rail line – it’s so much easier and more cost effective to just call your existing suppliers to help with the maintenance, refurbishments and repairs of the rolling stock,” Garvey said. “You don’t have to teach suppliers about the parts, or the standards we need in the rail industry. It’s so much easier. “In Victoria we have a very strong Government, which has very strong views about local content. We certainly endorse that, and it’s led to this great industry that we have, that not only supports us, but supports others.”
Welding certificate demonstrates commitment In what it says is another win for local manufacturing, Bombardier in March became the first rail company in Australia to achieve an international-recognised EN 15085 Railway Applications – Welding of Railway Vehicles and Components certification from the Italian Institute of Welding (IIS) and the Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA). Originally developed for the European market, EN 15085 has quickly become the expected standard for railway manufacture and repair worldwide. This certification gives Bombardier in Dandenong a huge advantage – the ability to manufacture car-body products for the European market, boasting it’s build local capabilities to international standards. “As a local manufacturer, Bombardier is proud to be the first organization in Australia to achieve this certification” Collomb said. “The rail manufacturing industry is a very dynamic and competitive environment. This certification demonstrates our local capabilities and overall competitivity in the Australian fabrication and manufacturing sector. It is key for Bombardier in Australia to uphold standards and lead the way in quality rollingstock manufacturing. Investing in skills and capabilities is the best way we can support and grow a sustainable rail industry in Australia.”
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PRESENTING THE 18TH ANNUAL
RISSB Rail Safety Conference 2018 Changing Technology, Changing Perceptions 9 – 10 May 2018
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Rydges World Square, Sydney
PRESENTATIONS FROM: Nat Nagy, Executive Director, Transport Safety, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Michael Killeen, Formerly A380 Fleet Manager at Qantas André Schneider, Research Assistant, CCRDMT, University of Koblenz-Landau Graham Jackson, Director, Safety, Transport for NSW Alan Jones, Head of the Track Safe Taskforce, Queensland Rail Sue McCarrey, Chief Executive, ONRSR Stephen Jones, Executive Director, Safety, Sustainability & Environment, Sydney Metro Dr Todd Bentley, Executive Director – Safety Engineering and Environment, Metro Trains Melbourne Chris Bradley, Fleet Director, QNGR, Bombardier Transportation Trevor Moore, Signalling Standards Engineer, ARTC Anjum Naweed, Associate Professor, Human Factors and Applied Cognitive Science, CQUniversity Stuart Harrison, Head of Rail Operations, Roy Hill TOPICS INCLUDE: – Expert commentary on new technology & safety initiatives, the impact of automisation and how human factors will shape uptake going forwards – In-depth case studies from leading rail safety professionals across the sector on how new and developing technologies have effected their operations, and what the future may hold
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ROLLING STOCK MANUFACTURING & RAIL SUPPLY Newcastle’s new light rail vehicles are from the CAF Urbos range, as previously seen on Sydney’s existing light rail line.
No strings attached?
Newcastle light rail boss outlines catenary-free solution New South Wales will soon be home to two new light rail networks, utilising two completely different methods of catenary-free light rail vehicle operation. Oliver Probert investigates.
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The two wireless light rail technologies which will soon be seen in New South Wales each have their benefits, and their drawbacks.
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Spacious, aesthetic trams quietly sweeping past popular shopfronts and historic facades, uninhibited by industrial-looking pantographs, steel wires and poles. But in practice, catenaryfree light rail is surprisingly complex, with a wide variety of competing solutions. It was proudly announced by the NSW Government in April last year, that Newcastle’s light rail line would be Australia’s first completely wireless tramway. The NSW Government’s enthusiasm for wireless light rail was understandable, given it commissioned a major section of the Sydney CBD & South East Light Rail project to be catenary-free a few years prior.
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LREADY BOASTING THE WORLD’S largest urban tramway network, Australia has become a hotbed for fresh light rail development in recent years. Rapidly growing cities in every state are struggling to cope with increased demand on road infrastructure, and existing public transport networks. Light rail – flexible, adaptable, relatively quick to build and user-friendly – is seen by a growing number of city authorities as a solution. But light rail has its drawbacks, and for planners, the addition of new poles and wires to a cityscape where the aim – for several decades – has been to reduce ugly overhead infrastructure, is not an appealing prospect. Enter catenary-free light rail. It’s a glorious concept for developers:
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option for sections of the new tramway which do not pass through the city’s iconic George Street shopping and cultural precinct. But proponents of the Alstom solution would argue the APS solution is worth the cost, in the long run: apart from some additional technology at the bottom of the vehicle to draw power, the fleet can be built in a traditional way. This contrasts with the battery solution, where the lifetime of the large supercapacitors and batteries involved often dictates the need for refurbishment within 7-10 years. The APS option also provides the security of continual power – there’s no risk of the vehicle running out of power if there are delays, incidents, and so on. This is an issue the battery-powered solution gets around by overengineering: trams are built with much more energy capacity than they will need between charging points. This, however, adds to the inefficiency NASA refers to as the ‘tyranny of the rocket’. That is: fuel makes your vehicle heavier, and the heavier your vehicle, the more fuel it needs to propel itself. Space rockets launch with around 85% of their weight as fuel. Wired trams usually operate with around 5-7% of their weight dedicated to propulsion. Adding large batteries can significantly increase this percentage share, making the whole network less efficient.
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The APS option also provides the security of continual power – there’s no risk of the vehicle running out of power if there are delays, incidents, and so on.
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Newcastle’s solution Josh Hartcher, Transport for NSW’s project manager for Newcastle Light Rail, gave some insight into how the project will manage the continued on page 12 >
Below: Newcastle will be Australia’s first entirely catenary-free light rail system. Graphic: Transport for NSW
GRAPHIC: TRANSPORT FOR NSW
What many onlookers may be surprised to hear, however, is that the catenary-free section of light rail in Sydney, and the catenary-free light rail line in Newcastle, will use two completely different technologies to power their trams. In Sydney, crews are installing roughly two kilometres of track along George Street with a ‘third rail’ to power the light rail vehicles. Alstom’s ground-level power supply is known as APS, which stands for ‘alimentation par le sol’, which loosely translates to ‘feeding through the ground’. APS infrastructure is installed along the entire wireless section of track, to continuously power the light rail vehicle. The APS rail is flush to the ground, and the technology is designed so that sections of the power rail are only electrified when the tram is passing over them, thus making it safe for a pedestrian environment. In Newcastle, the rolling stock – manufactured this time by Alstom’s Spanish competitor CAF – will be equipped with an Onboard Energy Storage System (OESS). They will recharge energy at each of the six stops along the route, which runs from the new train terminal at Wickham – known as Newcastle Interchange – to the city’s east, 2.7 kilometres away. The two wireless light rail technologies which will soon be seen in New South Wales each have their benefits, and their drawbacks. The installation of a third rail and associated infrastructure under Alstom’s APS solution, makes construction more complex, and presents a higher up-front capital cost: the new Sydney line will only be built roughly 30% wireless, with planners opting for the cheaper, traditional
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New Zealand Rail 2018 14 – 15 June 2018 | Pullman Hotel Auckland
PRESENTATIONS FROM: The Hon. Phil Twyford, New Zealand’s Minister for Transport Peter Reidy, CEO, KiwiRail Danny Broad, CEO, Australasian Railway Association The Hon. Phil Gof, Mayor, Auckland Ruth Venter, Head of Performance and Benchmarking, KiwiRail & Inaugural Winner, Young Rail Professionals Pitching Competition Rene Lelande, CEO, Transdev Shane Ellison, CEO, Auckland Transport Anna Squire, Australasia Rail Business Leader, Arup John Fullerton, CEO, ARTC Ken Shirley, CEO, Road Transport Forum Kate Bowman, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Pacific National
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To achieve this rate of charging, however, the vehicles will need to draw around 1300 amps of power – a figure which drew several gasps from the Sydney audience.
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ups and downs of battery-powered light rail. “The OESS is basically a bank of supercapacitors, plus a range-extending battery,” Hartcher detailed at the ARA’s Light Rail 2018 conference in March. “This system can charge from 0% to 100% in around 20 seconds. In reality, the LRVs won’t be charging from 0% to 100% every time, they’ll be probably starting from around 30-40%.” To achieve this rate of charging, however, the vehicles will need to draw around 1300 amps of power – a figure which drew several gasps from the Sydney audience. The six stops will each include an overhead charge-bar, designed by Downer. “To provide 1300 amps to the LRVs we initially looked into a wire solution for the stops,” Hartcher said. “However to provide a wire that could handle 1300 amps, we would end up with sag, which is not ideal for pantograph operation. “Our friends at Downer and their partners designed a charge bar, which has been
incorporated into the redesigned stops. Each stop will have a 3.1 metre charge bar, which can handle the 1300 Amps.” The six stops will be split into two groups of three, with the first three stops powered by one substation from one 11kV AusGrid energy feed, and the last three stops powered by a separate substation from a separate 11kV AusGrid energy feed. If one energy feed, or one substation gets knocked out, the system will be able to link all six stops to the active energy source. Each substation will be capable of charging two trams at any one time, meaning in normal operations, only one tram can be left waiting for power, in the unlikely scenario where all three stops are being used at once in a given half of the light rail network. “The likelihood of a third LRV turning up [when two are already charging in a section of the network] is very small,” Hartcher said. “In the unlikely event that a third LRV does turn up, it won’t be able to draw current until one
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Above: French multinational Alstom has developed since 2003 its APS ground-based power supply, seen here in Reims. Photo: Alstom Right: Josh Hartcher presenting at the ARA’s Light Rail 2018 conference on March 1. Photo: ARA / Informa Australia
of the other LRVs has finished. The maximum time the third LRV will have to wait for is less than 10 seconds.”
Pros and cons Hartcher said the benefits of a catenary-free light rail solution were obvious. “There’s no doubt we’ve increased the urban amenity, removing poles and wires from the Newcastle city centre,” he said. “We’ve also eliminated system shutdowns associated with overhead wiring power loss – cars running into poles, etc.” He also highlighted some drawbacks. “The project did have to deal with an
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increase in underground conduits,” he said. “Basically, the cross-section [increased by] around 600% … there’s also the operational considerations that I touched on.” There is, however, a major benefit to a system which will require refurbishment, Hartcher said. “This system is now future-proofed to take advantage of the massive increase in battery technology that we’re experiencing across society as a whole,” he said. “When the OESS lifecycle is up in around seven years, if there is a better system which we can plug in, it gives the operator the ability to take advantage of that.”
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VicTrack connects PSOs with new comms technology A state-of-the-art solution is being applied in Victoria to ensure the Police Force’s new Protective Service Officers are able to communicate throughout the Metro Trains Melbourne network.
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ICTRACK IS VICTORIA’S RAIL infrastructure asset owner, and also acts as its telecommunications provider, managing the extensive fibre network that facilitates communication across the rail network. After Protective Service Officers (PSOs) were introduced at over 200 stations across the Metro Trains Melbourne network in recent years, Victoria Police identified specific areas within Metro’s stations where there was a need to improve the coverage of the public safety communications system. VicTrack needed a system that was robust enough not only for radio communications, but for newer public safety applications, like live twoway video feeds and camera surveillance.
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To respond to this, VicTrack hired Dali Wireless to design and deploy its P25 Phase I and II public safety digital Distributed Antenna System (DAS) as a solution. The solution was aimed at providing coverage and access at all times, while also leveraging the existing fibre infrastructure owned by VicTrack. It was designed to deliver the required services, while also providing the option to expand easily to meet future requirements. Dali Wireless’ solution currently connects nine Metro Trains stations to the Motorola Solutions’ base station through VicTrack’s fibre network. It supports mobile radios covering underground passages, PSO’s offices and other areas of the stations. Dali installed its host unit in the Metropolitan
Above: VicTrack’s Network Management Centre.
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Mobile Radio (MMR) room managed by Motorola Solutions, then cascaded this to a second host at the VicTrack fibre hub site. The furthest station currently using the solution is 22 kilometres from the fibre hub, and is connected via the fibre network without any expansion units or boosters. Dali says its technology is designed to be scalable and flexible, allowing VicTrack to expand the solution without disrupting existing services. The supplier says the host inter-connection configuration enables both Motorola and VicTrack to independently access the system locally for control and management. The Dali host units receive RF signals from Motorola’s base station and then digitize the signal to be fed to multiple remote radio units (RRUs) located at the MTM railway stations. “The safety of all passengers is a high priority and that's why we're working to support the deployment of Protective Services Officers across metropolitan stations by upgrading their 2-way radio technology,” VicTrack general manager for telecommunications Bruce Moore said. “VicTrack will continue to work with government partners and the private
telecommunications sector to ensure commuter safety concerns are addressed.”w VicTrack solutions architect Mohammad Ariful Islam said a solution that supported the ‘Internet of Things’ concept was important. “Dali Wireless’ innovative digital solution enables a smooth transition from current networks to LTE and 5G,” he said. “The inherent flexibility and scalability of the architecture makes it suitable for many applications, including public safety and mission critical LTE networks, as well as Communications Based Train Control Systems (CBTC).” “Dali Wireless is excited to be part of building Australia’s first digital Public Safety DAS system for the Melbourne Metro. The safety of the rail commuters is a high priority for VicTrack and Dali’s digital DAS provides the Protective Services Officers with the utmost performance and secure communications they require,” Dali Wireless operations vice president Andrew Leung added. Leung says VicTrack will be able to easily scale the DAS solution to meet LTE requirements while supporting existing requirements including P25 Phase I & II, narrowband and broadband public safety.
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The host interconnection configuration enables both Motorola and VicTrack to independently access the system locally for control and management.
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The global leader in digital rail solutions Driving the digital revolution for a smarter rail system.
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