ISSUE 1 | 2020
W W W. R A I L E X P R E S S . C O M . A U
Bringing Parramatta forward Exclusive Thales interview - SEE PAGE 23 Alstom's big year PAGE 31
SUPPORTED BY:
New skills for the rail industry
ARA leadership changes
PAGE 50
PAGE 54
Contents Issue 01 2020
4
From the Editor
6
News up front
LIGHT RAIL
26 19
18
23
Q&A with Thales’ light rail experts
26
Thousands flock to Sydney Light Rail opening
31
Sydney caps great 2019 for Alstom
34
Citizens push for rail in Hobart
36
Columbus Group forecasts the future of light rail
37
Andrew Engineering masters tram depot fit-out
39
Bombardier develops future Melbourne trams
43
Single-system LRV platform from Tehnika
MAJOR PROJECTS
44
31
DCWC striving for certainty
AUSRAIL
ISSUE 1 | 2020
COVER STORY Rail Express speaks with representatives of Thales on the latest in light rail.
Exclusive Thales interview - SEE PAGE 22 Alstom's big year PAGE 30
SUPPORTED BY:
Updates on nation shaping projects
50
Future Leaders 2019
54
Big year for ARA
56
What’s next for fast rail?
SAFETY & ASSURANCE
W W W. R A I L E X P R E S S . C O M . A U
Bringing Parramatta forward
46
59
RISSB Column
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
See page 23.
New skills for the rail industry
ARA leadership changes
PAGE 50
PAGE 54
60
ARA Column
62
ALC Column
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From the Editor Issue 01 2020 Published by:
Connor Pearce 11-15 Buckhurst St South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au
Publisher Christine Clancy E: christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au Chief Operating Officer Zelda Tupicoff E: zelda.tupicoff@primecreative.com.au Group Managing Editor (Northern) Syed Shah E: syed.shah@primecreative.com.au Assitant Editor Connor Pearce E: connor.pearce@primecreative.com.au Journalist Brittany Coles E: brittany.coles@primecreative.com.au Business Development Manager Oliver Probert T: 0435 946 869 E: oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au Client Success Manager Janine Clements E: janine.clements@primecreative.com.au Design Production Manager Michelle Weston E: michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au Art Director Blake Storey E: blake.storey@primecreative.com.au Design Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty Subscriptions subscriptions@primecreative.com.au
www.RailExpress.com.au The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.
4 | ISSUE 1 2020 | RAIL EXPRESS
Assitant Editor - Rail Express
Time to capitalise on light rail’s proofs of concept
T
HE OPENING OF SYDNEY’S NEW
CBD & South East light rail line in December concluded a fantastic year for the mode in Australia. It all kicked off in February, when the Newcastle Light Rail line opened after two years of construction. Within ten months that line celebrated its millionth passenger. Then, in April, Canberra’s new light rail system opened. Within six months it was recording more than 15,000 daily trips – patronage figures authorities didn’t forecast until at least 2021. And, of course, rounding the year off was the Sydney project, which opened on December 15. This project saw more than 150,000 passengers in its first weekend. Three significant light rail projects opening in one year, in a country that as recently as 2014 had just two commercial light rail lines outside of Melbourne. The three new lines joined the Gold Coast’s light rail, which is now onto its third stage of development. Now that trams are rolling down streets in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and of course Melbourne, perhaps a little more of that evidence can be used to counter the critics. Mainstream media in all of Australia’s new light rail cities had an absolute field day throughout planning and construction of all of these projects. Common sense went out the window at times as projects, inevitably and understandably, disrupted businesses, commuters and motorists. There were regrettable mistakes made, occasionally, throughout planning and construction, particularly in Sydney, but projects of this scope are never delivered without bumps in the road. The bottom line is this run of projects, and their patronage success, is no coincidence. It’s hard evidence validating the decisions by state, local, and at times federal governments to fund them. With even more light rail in the pipeline and perhaps more down the track, the industry would do well to capitalise on the proofs of concept it now has in five
different states and territories. Versatility and scalability are two of the primary benefits of light rail transit. The former of those two qualities has been proven with this range of projects in different cities. The latter has been proven in cities like Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and it’s the quality decision makers should look to capitalise on now they have the hard evidence they need to counter the critics. To kick off our first issue of 2020, I am excited to take over as the new assistant editor of Rail Express. Having previously covered the Australian manufacturing sector, I know what impact the major rail projects that are underway across Australia are having on local industry. Additionally, the rail sector is undergoing a significant shift in its digitalisation efforts, similar to the manufacturing sector. I look forward to keeping Rail Express readers up to date on these significant projects.
connor.pearce@primecreative.com.au
Oliver Probert After eight years as a reporter and then editor for Rail Express, Oliver is shifting his focus within the publication to continue its growth as the Business Development Manager. In the new role, he is more immersed than ever within the rail industry and committed to growing its individuals and organisations. He can be reached at: oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au
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National
What’s next for Inland Rail?
Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller.
Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller updated industry on the progress of Inland Rail at AusRAIL in December. “We’re moving over the next few months to the next section,” Wankmuller told the Sydney conference. The Gowrie (northwest of Toowoomba) and Helidon (east of Toowoomba) (G2H) section comprises 28 kilometres of new dual gauge track. “This is much larger – at least double the size of what we’ve completed so far,” the Inland Rail boss continued. “The centrepiece is a 6.2-kilometre-long tunnel to be constructed through the Great Dividing Range at Toowoomba, a mountainous terrain which leads down into the Lockyer Valley. This creates topographical and geological challenges that require 11 rail and two road bridges and viaduct structures totalling 6.7 kilometres in length between Gowrie and Helidon. “[The tunnel is] going to be an engineering marvel not just because of its size and its length but because of all the challenges that are involved in designing a world class and efficient system.” One of those design challenges is ventilation. “When you put a diesel freight train through a tunnel like that you have a lot of heat and you have to make sure you’re
6 | ISSUE 1 2020 | RAIL EXPRESS
ventilating it appropriately and making it safe,” Wankmuller explained. “We are also future-proofing it so passenger rail can go through if needed in the future.” Among other major challenges: “The highest of the 13 structures along this section is the Six Mile Creek Viaduct which is expected to be about 966m long and 49m high at its maximum. By comparison, the total length of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is 1,149m and the bridge’s height clearance for shipping is around 49m. “The second viaduct is expected to extend to about 1.8km in length, and in addition to rail bridges there are three crossing loops posed between Gowrie and Helidon, each about 2.2km in length.” The extensive geotechnical investigations have been carried out with substantial stakeholder consultation, according to Inland Rail. “This is one of the more challenging sections and it is challenging on a world scale, so we had to put together a world class team and we’ve done that. We now have 400 or so of the world’s best working directly for Inland Rail, not to mention the 1000s of service providers helping us meet this challenge. But the challenge is real,” Wankmuller said. “But Inland Rail’s ingenuity isn’t just
about these really difficult challenges, it’s also about what we do every day. We’re very proud of what we do and safety is near and dear to our heart every day. “We look at innovation in all industries and one of the interesting things we’ve adopted is one we stole from the mining industry where we’re electronically tagging our people so when they enter a danger zone with equipment, that equipment automatically shuts down before there can be any reaction to that person and their equipment. “We’ve changed the steel rail profile itself, which for many years has been the same design. We’ve rounded it out so we don’t need to grind it to get our trains in operation, this is going to lead to less maintenance. “In 1,700km, we’re going to have 2-3 million concrete sleepers. We’re going to have to get those fabricated, delivered, and unloaded on site. We’ve found a way to do that efficiently, by designing hydraulic machinery we can use to unload it in the most efficient way possible and touch it the least amount of times. If we can save 10 minutes or even 2 minutes every time we unload it across all those millions of sleepers, it saves a lot of time and productivity gains.”
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News
National
Dalla Valle renews push for road-rail access equality On the eve of federal, state and territory transport ministers’ roundtable meeting in November, the CEO of Australia’s largest rail freight operator renewed calls for significant cuts to rail access charges along key routes. Dean Dalla Valle, CEO of Pacific National, said ministers attending the Transport & Infrastructure Council meeting in Melbourne on November 22 should seriously consider the virtue of the access charges forced upon
Pacific National CEO Dean Dalla Valle.
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operators like PN, and the resulting imbalance of road and rail freight across the nation. Citing the Inland Rail deal signed between Queensland and the Commonwealth, Dalla Valle praised the agreement itself, but noted “operators like Pacific National will pay for the cost and future maintenance of Inland Rail through rail access charges – charges that are currently too high on many existing rail lines; like the transport corridor between
Melbourne and Sydney”. “By the time Inland Rail is due to be completed – 2025 at the earliest – the Newell Highway between the Victorian to Queensland borders would have undergone massive upgrades, including more heavy vehicle town bypasses. Once highways are upgraded, governments feel compelled to approve the roll-out of bigger and heavier articulated trucks like A-doubles and B-triples. This further deepens the decline of freight on rail.” In the past, Dalla Valle has called for rail access charges between Melbourne and Sydney to be completely abolished, given just one per cent of the 20 million tonnes of palletised and containerised freight moving between Australia’s two largest cities are currently moved by rail. “It’s frustrating that the many and varied benefits of rail freight, including reducing accidents and wear and tear on roads, are rarely factored into land freight pricing models,” Dalla Valle said. “The country’s busiest freight corridor by volume has become a conveyor belt of 700,000 B-double equivalent return truck trips each year along the Hume Highway. Rail freight continues to pay its way, but ever-increasing government charges to access railways merely drive more freight onto local, state, and federal roads.” Pacific National estimates road user charges for B-double trucks could increase just 1.4 per cent between 2012/13 and 2020/21, after the Transport & Infrastructure Council agreed to freeze heavy vehicle charges in November 2015. By contrast, Pacific National estimates rail access charges could increase on average by 22 per cent over the same timeframe, having already come off a higher charging base than road freight. “The guts of the issue is that relative to rail freight access prices, the trucking sector enjoys a rails run in terms of user charges,” Dalla Valle said. “The result; in the last decade, on major transport corridors like Melbourne-Sydney and Sydney-Brisbane, large volumes of freight have shifted to bigger and heavier articulated trucks. “Rail access charges need to be reduced so operators like Pacific National have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with road freight.”
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News
New South Wales
23 more Alstom trains for Sydney Metro
Sydney Metro Northwest opened to large patronage numbers in 2019.
Alstom will deliver signalling and 23 more driverless trains for the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project, after the Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) consortium’s public private partnership (PPP) was extended to the new line last week. On November 22, the NSW government announced it had approved Sydney Metro’s decision to exercise a pre-agreed extension to the existing NRT PPP, awarded in 2014 for the operation of trains and signalling along the Sydney Metro Northwest line, which opened earlier this year.
The extension means the consortium will operate along the entire 66-kilometre line between Rouse Hill and Bankstown, once the Sydney Metro City and Southwest portion opens between Chatswood and Bankstown. Alstom’s portion of the contract, worth around $570 million, makes it responsible for the project management, design, supply, manufacturing, testing, and commissioning of 23 six-car fully-automated Metropolis trains, along with its Urbalis 400 Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system. Alstom will build the 23 new trains at its
manufacturing centre in Sri City, India, as it did with the 22 Metropolis trains operating on Sydney Metro Northwest. The contract also includes an option to purchase more trains if required. “Sydney Metro has been a game changer for the travelling public of Sydney and Alstom is delighted to continue to be a part of this iconic project,” Alstom’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand Mark Coxon said. “It strengthens Alstom’s position as the market leader for the supply of railway technologies in Australia.” The extension news came as Sydney Metro Northwest reached more than 11 million customer journeys in its first five months of operation. NSW transport minister Andrew Constance said expected operational issues in the first few months of operation were becoming less frequent, with 99 per cent of train services delivered in September and October. “Like all new railways right around the world, there has been a period of bedding in and we apologise to our customers for the small number of issues that have occurred,” he said. “Performance has been improving on a month-to-month basis as we settle in the new service and integrate metro rail with the community and Sydney’s wider public transport system.”
Construction begins on regional rail fleet maintenance facility Construction towards a maintenance facility for NSW’s new regional rail fleet has begun in Dubbo. According to minister for regional transport and roads, Paul Toole, $2.8 billion will go towards building the maintenance facility as well as replacing the existing XPT, XPLORER and Endeavour trains as part of the Regional Rail Fleet Project. Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said “the facility will include a main building for standard maintenance, a second for wheel maintenance and a train wash facility using non-potable water. “The project will also include straightening the Main Western Line through the site and 10 | ISSUE 1 2020 | RAIL EXPRESS
building three tracks within the facility for train maintenance and three outside of it.” Construction will continue into 2021 and the new trains are expected to be running from 2023. “The new facility will create around 200 jobs during the construction phase and approximately 50 long term jobs when it opens, including apprenticeships and traineeships,” Toole said. Momentum Trains, a consortium which includes CIMIC Group companies Pacific Partnerships, UGL and CPB Contractors, was selected earlier this year to deliver the Regional Rail Project as a design, build, finance, and maintain contract.
The facility is expected to be built in time for the new trains to be running from 2023.
John Holland partners with Strukton for new CRN bid process will be to gather information to inform a process that provides good customer service, delivers an industry best practice contracting model, encourages competition, maximises value for money and ensures network sustainability,” the state said. “The market sounding will assist TfNSW to assess the best in market delivery model and contracting strategy for the CRN. The market sounding process is not part of the procurement process and is not a request for a proposal to deliver services of any kind. No respondents will be included or excluded from participation in the RFP process as a consequence of taking part in the market sounding.”
NSW’s regional rail network with the CRN shown.
John Holland hopes to continue its maintenance of the CRN.
John Holland has announced a partnership with global track maintenance firm Strukton Rail to bid on the next operations and maintenance deal for the New South Wales Country Regional Network (CRN). John Holland has operated and maintained the CRN under a 10-year state government contract since 2012. With that contract due to end in June 2021, Transport for NSW commenced a market sounding process for the next contract in May 2019. John Holland’s executive general manager for Rail, Steve Butcher, said a partnership with Strukton will help the company continue the work it has done since 2012. for the next decade. “We have a decade-long record of ensuring passengers and freight can move around regional NSW safely and reliably, and now we want to take this to the next level,” Butcher said. “We want to drive innovation on the network in order to boost regional economies. This partnership will help us to better connect our regions with global leading-edge technology.” Butcher noted in its decade operating and maintaining the CRN, John Holland
has helped cut lost time due to speed restrictions by 50 per cent on passenger and grain lines. During its first three years running the network, John Holland managed to remove 99 of 103 temporary restrictions. The firm has also replaced more than 1.5 million sleepers along the network, resurfaced more than 7,000 kilometres of track, and upgraded 155 level crossings. The CRN comprises 2,386 route kilometres of operational passenger and freight rail lines and 3,139 route kilometres of non-operational lines, as well as 27,000 hectares of land and infrastructure. In all the network includes 1,312 level crossings, 300 of which are active. It has 1,200 property assets, including 356 heritage assets. There are 600 rail underbridges and 384 road over-bridges to be maintained. In its market sounding announcement, the NSW Government said it wanted to hear from parties with relevant experience or knowledge, or who may be interested in participating in delivering operation and maintenance of the CRN. “The purpose of the market sounding
WWW.RAILEXPRESS.COM.AU | 11
News
New South Wales
Parramatta Light Rail construction ramps up The Carlingford Line was closed in the New Year for its conversion to light rail.
The Parramatta community will soon see the first signs of construction for the Parramatta Light Rail. NSW government member for Parramatta, Geoff Lee, indicated that preliminary works commenced in January 2020. From February 2020, Church Street between Macquarie and Market Streets will become a pedestrian only zone, with mobile work sites established for utility relocation work. From June 2020, major work will commence. Major work will include the building of light rail bridges, pouring of 60,000 tonnes of concrete, and moving more than 215,000 tonnes of earth in Greater Parramatta. Work began in January 2020 once the single-track T6 Carlingford Line was closed for its conversion to dual-track light rail. The Parramatta Light Rail will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia and is set to open in 2023. Early and enabling works, including site investigation work, took place in 2019, in preparation for major construction. More
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than 1000 underground site investigations have taken place so far, in order to identify known utility services, such as water, gas, telecommunications and electricity, under the light rail route. “The community will start to see work ramping up with fencing and hoardings installed along the future light rail route, and construction sites established,” Lee said. “We know these works will involve some disruption and it’s not going to be easy. It’s our priority to manage the project carefully
Early works were underway in 2019.
and minimise the impacts of construction on businesses and the community.” “Transport for NSW has spent more than three years carefully planning and undertaking detailed investigations to reduce the risk of encountering unknown underground utilities, heritage finds, and contamination.” Lee has said that if, during construction, unknown utilities or heritage items are encountered, there is a “robust process in place to allow effective preservation or localised removal on site”.
News
Victoria
Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop details revealed The Victorian government has announced the details of its plans for Victoria’s dedicated, standalone Suburban Rail Loop. “A year ago, Victorians voted for the Suburban Rail Loop and we haven’t wasted a moment getting on with it” Premier Daniel Andrews said. “We’ve removed 30 level crossings, we’re building the Metro Tunnel, and we’re doing the vital planning and design work for the Suburban Rail Loop,” Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan added. After 12 months of technical, planning, and design work, the government has announced that the 90km rail ring will be a twin-tunnel line solution with a dedicated fleet of quick, high-tech trains enabling “turn-up-and-go” services. It will fully integrate into the existing public transport network with up to 12 new stations connecting the existing rail system with the new standalone line. Passengers will be able transfer between both networks easily, using the same ticketing system. According to a Victorian government statement, building the loop as a separate line will allow it to integrate advanced systems without having to retrofit technology. It will also mean that the design of the dedicated fleet won’t be constrained by the The Suburban Rail Loop will be built with a dedicated fleet of rollingstock in mind.
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Stage One of the project will run from Box Hill to Cheltenham.
requirements of Melbourne’s hundred-year-old train network. As such, the new trains will be faster than the existing fleet. They will be four to five carriages long, which means they can arrive more often. The platforms will also be shorter – reducing the distance passengers need to walk at the station each day to get on the train. Geotechnical drilling is now well underway
on the Stage One route from Box Hill to Cheltenham. Fourteen boreholes have already been dug, with close to 100 to be drilled by mid-2020. The information collected during this stage will inform the final alignment and station locations for the project. Construction on Stage One of the Suburban Rail Loop is expected to begin in 2022.
$910m in crossing removal work awarded A pair of major contracts awarded on December 9, 2019 will see the removal of six level crossings and the construction of three new train stations in Melbourne. A team of Lendlease, Acciona Coleman Rail, and WSP has won a $744 million deal to lower the Frankston line and remove level crossings at Edithvale Road in Edithvale, Station Street in Bonbeach, and Argyle Avenue, Chelsea Road, and Swanpool Avenue in Chelsea. The contract also includes new stations to be built at Edithvale, Chelsea, and Bonbeach. The second contract, awarded to Fulton Hogan, is a $166m deal to remove the Clyde Road level crossing in Berwick by lowering the road under the Pakenham line. The two new contracts, bring the total number of contracted crossings to 50 under the Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal Program. The program has a stated goal, currently, to remove 75 crossings in total.
Edithvale station will be rebuilt as part of a major crossing removal contract.
News
Victoria
ARA concerned over Melbourne Airport options
The ARA supports a tunnel over an above ground route.
The Australasian Railway Association has asked for “visionary thinking” from Victorian and federal politicians amid reports both sides are leaning toward a cheaper above-ground route for the future rail link to Melbourne Airport. Both federal and state governments have committed $5 billion to the project but the combined $10bn is unlikely to be enough to fund a new tunnel between Sunshine and the airport without private sector involvement. While more expensive, a tunnel could provide greater capacity, said the ARA in a statement, and could connect to the federal government’s planned Geelong fast rail. It would also enable the state government to turn Sunshine into a transport super-hub, building off the airport link, the Geelong and Ballarat Lines, and the Western Rail Plan. The federal government had been pressuring the state to commit to a tunnel option, but recent reports have suggested the state’s preferred groundlevel option could win-out. “Our ambition is to have a train journey to the airport from the city that
is fast, affordable and meets the needs of travellers,” a spokesperson Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure, Alan Tudge, said in The Age in December. Responding to the news, ARA boss Danny Broad said it was important Victoria and the Commonwealth come to a unified agreement which fulfils longterm needs. “With Melbourne forecast to become Australia’s biggest city by 2028, and also the expected increase in international and interstate travellers, it is crucial that the Airport rail link can manage frequent and fast journey times to deliver the level of service expected of an international city,” Broad said on December 13. “We need visionary thinking from our elected leaders to ensure the infrastructure we build for the future meets customers’ expectations, is efficient and delivers adequate capacity for the population growth that Melbourne will undergo. If financing is an issue, then Governments should look to the private sector for additional investment.”
North East Line Upgrade awarded The Australian Rail Track Corporation has appointed a main works contractor for its North East Rail Line Upgrade project in Victoria. ARTC chief executive John Fullerton announced on December 9 John Holland will deliver the multi-million-dollar main works package for the line between Melbourne and Albury. John Holland was among three parties shortlisted for the $235 million contract in June. Work will include ballast depth improvements along the entire rail corridor, mudhole removal and track resurfacing, drainage upgrades, and around 100 level crossing and rail bridge upgrades. Fullerton said the work would push the North East line one step closer to improved reliability, smoother journeys and reduced delays. “Over the previous months, we have 16 | ISSUE 1 2020 | RAIL EXPRESS
been following a rigorous competitive tender process,” he said. “We are thrilled to award the contract to John Holland and are confident that their extensive experience delivering large scale rail infrastructure projects will ensure the best outcomes for the project.” John Holland’s executive general manager for rail Steve Butcher said the team was thrilled to have won the contract. “John Holland’s Rail Infrastructure Services team is well equipped to deliver this important project that will reinvigorate a large part of regional Victoria,” Butcher said. “We understand the upgrades are a key priority for those living in north east Victoria and look forward to delivering these improvements and the benefits they will bring to the local community, businesses and economy.” The ARTC said significant early works have already been completed on the line this
year, including a significant scope of work during a recent 60-hour works shutdown. Further targeted works are planned to help address some current V/Line services performance issues. “We know the reliability of North East line services is a real and on-going concern for passengers, and we continue to work with the Victorian transport agencies to find ways of improving the track condition ahead of the commencement of the upgrade’s main works,” Fullerton said. “Recent works undertaken in September enabled the removal of six temporary speed restrictions (TSRs). Since then we have procured a high-speed tamper which is stabled at Benalla. “A further 11 TSRs have been removed and 60 kilometres of track tamped. We plan to continue targeted resurfacing works over the coming months as well as ballasting and mudhole removal.”
News
Queensland
Queensland bags Brisbane port link business case, light rail funding in Inland Rail deal The Queensland government has secured more federal money for light rail on the Gold Coast, and $20 million to fund business cases for a Port of Brisbane Connection and the Salisbury to Beaudesert rail line, as part of an Inland Rail deal with the federal government. Queensland on November 20 became the last of the three states involved to sign up to the federal government’s Inland Rail project. The state had been holding out, arguing it was not receiving its fair share of infrastructure funding, and would not sign up to Inland Rail until it was satisfied. That all came to an end on Wednesday with a $1.9 billion road and rail agreement. The deal includes $680m in new funding and $650m in accelerated funding from the federal government, along with $606m from the state government. It includes $157m in additional federal funding for Stage 3A of the Gold Coast Light Rail project, which will extend the existing rail line from Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads. It also includes $20m in business case funding – $10m from the state, $10m from the Commonwealth – for a dedicated freight rail connection to the Port of Brisbane for the Inland Rail line. There’s also $20m for a business case for the Salisbury to Beaudesert passenger rail link, which shares an alignment with the Kagaru to Acacia Ridge section of Inland Rail. Both business cases will have $10m in funding from both the state and federal governments, with money to flow from 2020/21. The federal government has also committed $50m in new funding to relocate Logalea Station closer to Logan Hospital, a project identified in the Queensland Rail Station Accessibility Upgrade Program. It has also accelerated $90m in funding for the North Coast Rail Line Upgrade between Beerburrum and Nambour. Queensland’s Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said the agreement for new and accelerated funding justified the state’s holdout on signing up for Inland Rail. “This is a massive win for Queensland,” Bailey said. “Inland Rail presents an opportunity to move more freight onto trains and take trucks off roads. That becomes more important as south east Queensland continues to grow. “This deal also prioritises planning for
Joint ministers celebrating the deal on the Gold Coast.
the passenger rail services that will be needed to serve growing parts of south east Queensland, like the Salisbury to Beaudesert rail link.” Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack and Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the agreement was a good result for all involved. “The Inland Rail project is a critical investment for Queensland and is projected to create 7,200 construction jobs and a more than $7bn boost to the state economy,” McCormack said. “We’re also bringing forward funding and delivery for key projects to benefit not only road freight but improve safety for locals and tourists such as the Rockhampton and Mackay ring roads.” “By bringing forward these important road projects we will drive jobs, boost the economy and make Queensland roads and highways safer, while reducing travel times so people can be with their families instead of being stuck in traffic,” Morrison added. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was “always best” when state and federal governments worked together. “We have called for a better deal for Queensland and the Prime Minister has
listened,” the Premier said. “We’re getting projects off drawing boards to create more jobs in more industries and deliver the things that make people’s lives better.” Australasian Railway Association CEO, Danny Broad, congratulated all parties. “Getting the Queensland government onboard was critical for final planning, approvals and rail corridor preservation to get the project moving and create thousands of jobs,” Broad said. “The 1,700km Inland Rail line will link Brisbane directly to Melbourne via Toowoomba, Moree, Parkes and Albury, allowing rail freight transportation along that corridor in less than 24 hours,” he said. “Double stacked trains will vastly improve the efficiency of rail freight, helping our industries get products to market more quickly, improving our supply chains and benefiting the Australian economy. “Gold Coast Light Rail has proved to be tremendously successful and we anticipate more benefits to flow with its extension further south,” he added. Pacific National CEO, Dean Dalla Valle, praised both state and federal representatives for finally coming to terms on an Inland Rail deal. “Intergovernmental agreements for major infrastructure projects don’t happen overnight,” he said. WWW.RAILEXPRESS.COM.AU | 17
News
Queensland
Mount Isa Line incentive scheme launched Queensland has launched an $80 million fund to subsidise rail freight on the Mount Isa Line over the next four years. Announced in June’s state budget, the four-year, $20m per year funding program is expected to support the growth of the mining industry in Queensland’s north west. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, visiting the rail line on November 18, said the government understands the importance of the North West Minerals Province to the resources sector. “In the year to September 2019, Queensland’s exports topped $87.6 billion,” she said. “Investing in this region, where 75 per cent of the state’s base metal and mineral deposits are, is crucial to growing this figure and supporting local jobs.” Pacific National CEO Dean Dalla Valle said the Mount Isa Line Incentive Scheme puts Queensland on track “to have the best rail freight pricing policy in the country”. “Rather than sitting on the sideline and continuing to let rail freight languish in the steam age with high rail access charges, the Queensland Government has positioned itself firmly in the policy driver’s seat,” Dalla Valle said. “High government access charges put rail freight at a competitive disadvantage to road freight.
The scheme also hopes to revitalise Mount Isa’s economy.
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“By creating a scheme to incentivise rail freight, the Queensland Government will successfully help shift volumes of bulk minerals from trucks to trains, and create more regional jobs across the transport supply chain.” Palaszczuk said the government has worked with Queensland Rail and the industry on how best to approach the subsidy plan since it was announced in June. “After holding two consultation workshops in Townsville in September and Brisbane in October and receiving industry feedback, the implementation arrangements have been finalised,” she said. “Today the government will be releasing the scheme guidelines and the application form to allow eligible users on the Mount Isa Line to apply for the incentive.” Deputy Premier and Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad said the scheme will make rail freight more competitive and incentivise a shift from road to rail. “The Mount Isa Line is critical for servicing the mining industry and this investment will help existing mining operators get their resources to the Port of Townsville for export as well as encourage new investment in the state’s north west,” Trad said. “We have made significant repairs on the 300 kilometres of track on the Mount
The Mount Isa Line Incentive Scheme looks to improve pricing conditions for the mining sector using the railway.
Isa Line damaged during February’s unprecedented flood event, to ensure that north west Queensland has reliable transport infrastructure. “The scheme will be administered by Transport and Main Roads, with the first quarterly payment commencing at the end of this year, backdated from 1 July 2019.” Industry members are encouraged to make formal submissions on proposals for government’s further consideration. Applications are to be emailed to MILscheme@tmr.qld.gov.au. More information on the scheme and how to apply is on the Transport and Main Road’s website at www.tmr.qld.gov.au
Palaszczuk joins Downer to celebrate 150 years at Maryborough Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk joined Downer employees, industry leaders and government representatives on December 6 to celebrate 150 years of manufacturing at Maryborough. At a ceremony to recognise those who have contributed to Downer’s history building trains, sugar mills, and ships at the workshops on the Fraser Coast, the Premier credited the facility for being “the very heart of this historic Queensland city”. “Downer’s motto is ‘Relationships creating success’ and that rings especially true in Maryborough,” Palaszczuk said. “Since the first Queensland Government contract was awarded back in 1896, the workshop has designed and built our long-haul tilt trains, delivered hundreds of units for our suburban and interurban rail network, and soon will perform essential accessibility upgrades on 75 New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) trains as part of an $85 million rectification contract.” On top of this, Downer also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Queensland Rail to develop a new strategic partnership agreement. The tenyear agreement will see closer collaboration, increased regional investment and better outcomes for Queensland’s rail passengers. Tim Young, EGM for Downer’s Rollingstock Services, said the partnership will help secure the future of manufacturing in regional Queensland and cement Downer’s longer-term
The partnership will secure future manufacturing in regional Queensland.
Palaszczuk addressed the audience and then sat in for the 150-year ceremony.
relationship with a key customer. “We’re proud to today be celebrating the 150-year milestone of our operations in Maryborough,” he said. “For many years, this facility has been recognised as a leading manufacturer of rollingstock, supplying more than 900 rail cars and 1,000 locomotives to customers around Australia. “With a strong pipeline of work for our factory, and the signing of this MOU with Queensland Rail, we hope to see this facility evolve and grow, enhancing our ongoing commitment to the Fraser Coast region.”
Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy said the operator was proud to continue its longstanding partnership with Maryborough. “This agreement will offer a range of improvements for Queensland Rail’s rollingstock maintenance program, including better collaboration, planning and value for money outcomes,” Easy said. “Like Queensland Rail, Downer has played a pivotal role in Queensland’s rail industry, being the original manufacturer of both Queensland Rail’s suburban and longdistance trains for many years.”
The agreement will offer a range of improvements for Queensland Rail’s rollingstock maintenance program.
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News
South Australia
Three consortia shortlisted for Adelaide Metro contract
Three consortia are competing to take Adelaide’s metropolitan railways private.
Three consortia have been shortlisted to tender for the operation, maintenance and service delivery of the Adelaide Metro Train Services, the South Australian state government announced on December 19. Adelaide Next, Keolis Downer, and TrainCo will be invited to submit a response to the
state’s invitation to tender, to be released in the first quarter of 2020. Adelaide Next comprises Deutsche Bahn, Bombardier Transportation Australia and John Holland, Keolis Downer comprises Keolis and Downer EDI, and TrainCo is a consortium between Transdev and CAF. The state
government will select the successful tenderer in the second half of 2020. “We agree with South Australians and know that our public transport system has room for improvement,” said Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Stephan Knoll. “What we are seeking to do is bring trains and tram in line with the same model that our buses have operated under for the last 20 years – that accounts for around 70 per cent of our public transport network. “Encouragingly we’ve seen some green shoots and in the last financial year we saw public transport patronage increase by over one million trips compared to the previous year. “The short-listed consortia all have experience in the management and service delivery of rail services, some of which in other jurisdictions in Australia. “These companies have proven records in improving service delivery and customer experience and supporting employees through the transition from a public to a private operation.”
Extra funding to get Flinders Link over the line A $415 million funding package to boost the South Australian economy will accelerate the delivery of some of the federal government’s $100 billion infrastructure pipeline, including the Flinders Link rail project. The project consists of a 650-metre extension of the current Tonsley rail line to the Flinders Medical Centre, “creating new connections to the health, innovation and education precincts,” according to the SA government. An extra $16m has been allocated towards the Flinders Link project in the funding package announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and SA premier Steven Marshall in late November. The total cost of the project has now increased from $125m to $141m, with both the federal and state governments providing an extra $8m to the project which increases each government’s total
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The project is jointly funded by federal and state governments.
contribution from $62.5m to $70.5m). The funding is immediate and is intended to enable the completion of the project ontime in late-2020. It includes construction of a new Flinders
Station and removal of the existing Tonsley Station, as well as an elevated single track over Sturt Road, Laffers Triangle and Main South Road, and Flinders University to the passenger rail network.
News
New Zealand
KiwiRail unveils intermodal freight hub plans A three-kilometre-long intermodal freight hub will combine a container terminal, warehousing for road transport operators, and bulk goods and forestry loading operations with KiwiRail’s train operations and maintenance facilities. Palmerston North, in New Zealand’s North Island, is a critical freight distribution point. Goods travel through it from the upper North Island, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, and the South Island. The New Zealand government’s Provincial Growth Fund has invested $40 million towards developing the hub, which allowed KiwiRail to design it and purchase the land. The hub is intended to make rail a more attractive option to help manage the numbers of trucks on regional roads. “A purposely designed facility to link rail and road together like this hasn’t been seen in New Zealand. We are creating something world-class, which will support the growth of Manawatu’s logistics industry well into the future,” KiwiRail’s group chief executive, Greg Miller, said. “It brings road and rail freight together in a much more integrated and seamless way, improving efficiency and saving in costs. The design allows for consumer
The hub is designed to accommodate 1.5-kilometre trains.
imports and bulk exports to be managed at one place, and there is plenty of room to co-locate freight partners and meet their warehousing needs. “With freight volumes expected to increase in the decades ahead, this intermodal hub will be a crucial freight centre for the lower North Island.”
The hub is designed to accommodate longer, more economical 1,500 metre trains – a 60 per cent increase in length and capacity – which will increase capacity. KiwiRail is now working with local councils and stakeholders to identify sites near Palmerston North where the hub could be built.
The location, in Palmerston North on New Zealand’s North Island, is considered a critical freight distribution point.
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Light Rail Thales
Q&A: Thales contributing to light rail revival In this exclusive interview, Andrea Bastianelli and Massimo Poli discuss the innovative, digital solutions Thales is bringing to light rail transit, including the future Parramatta Light Rail project.
INTERVIEWEES Andrea Bastianelli, Thales product line manager for Light Rail Transit (LRT) Management and Control Systems is based in Florence, Italy. Massimo Poli has spent his recent life as project manager of many of Thales LRT projects, and is currently in Australia as global project manager of Thales’ Parramatta LRT.
Rail Express (REX): What’s your perspective on the revival of light rail transit in Australia and around the world? Massimo Poli: Transport needs and challenges vary from city to city and the flexibility of light rail provides each city with the means to adapt LRT solutions to best serve their transportation needs and solve their challenges. For example, it is in used as the main public transport mode in medium sized cities like Florence, Palermo and Manchester, and in larger cities it is used to complement the likes of metros and/or buses, to guarantee a multimodal and efficient public transport journey.
It is often used to connect emerging neighbourhoods to the main transport ring in larger cities like Taipei, where the new districts of Danhai and Ankeng are connected to the metropolitan transport network via the LRT line, or in Shanghai where the new district of Songjiang is connected to the urban mass transport system through an LRT network. The same goes for the Brazilian city of Santos and, of course, Parramatta in Western Sydney. In other cases, LRT lines are also used to connect two citiestogether, as is the case in Cosenza-Rende, Italy.
Thales is providing signalling and communications for the Parramatta Light Rail project.
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Light Rail Thales
One reason for light rail’s global resurgence is its flexibility. The Danhai light rail – for which Thales designed and manufactured the signalling, communications, and operational control centre systems – connects the Danhai district to Taipei’s larger transport network.
With flexibility and sustainability at its core, it is a pleasure to be directly contributing to the rebirth of this transport system all around the world. In recent years, Thales has been actively involved in the implementation of LRT projects in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. Andrea Bastianelli: The introduction of new generation LRT vehicles, with a low floor guaranteeing greater comfort and performance, has also contributed to the rebirth of this sector. Newer project designs are increasingly providing lanes reserved for public transport. This has also ensured a more regular and punctual service. If we also consider the characteristics
of cost effectiveness, attractiveness and sustainability, it is easy to imagine why LRT networks become part of the cultural identity of the cities they serve – symbols of civic pride. REX: So improved vehicles and corridors have been the key? Poli: In part, yes. However, over the years every single LRT has been improved in order to provide a better value for money solution. Thales has always provided control systems for public transport systems, including LRT. In particular, over the last 10 years or so, Thales has redeveloped its solution designed specifically for this type of market, so that we can continue to
Collision avoidance is a developing area Thales is working in to help drive further automation in the light rail space.
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deliver the highest levels of satisfaction – both for passengers and customers alike. Our solutions innovatively address the needs of passengers: Having a regular service, being informed accurately during normal operation or special events, security, and above all command and control systems that guarantee the movement of vehicles in a safe way. REX: How does Thales help achieve that? Poli: Our LRT solution provides the operator with an innovative command and control tool that performs functions in an integrated way; for example: • Planning, automatic vehicle localisation, tram regulation, innovative priority management at road intersections, and signalling; • Passenger information and comfort, and passenger security; • Remote control and communication. Our new generation LRT solution was installed for the first time in the city of Palermo, in Italy. The architecture of the system and the technologies used give the system a high degree of flexibility, modularity and upgradability. REX: And you’re always working to improve that offering? Poli: Yes. Since the first commissioning of the first version of the new generation system, Thales has continued to regularly develop and improve its LRT solution based on experience and
feedback from our customers. One example is the development of a highly integrated control system that allows the optimisation (reduction) of hardware and software components on board, on the trackside and in the control centre, which in turn reduces equipment dimensions, installation complexity, maintenance requirements, simplifies configuration, and provides significant energy savings. Another example is the development of an innovative architecture for the Automatic Vehicle Localisation (AVLS) function and priority request at road crossing and tram regulation, which provide the ability to automatically manage even special operating scenarios. We’ve also worked to provide operators with a selection of technologies, so they can choose what’s appropriate to the operational scenario in question. An example would be the option of a passive RFID tag rather than inductive loops for vehicle detection. Thales also provides additional tools such as configuration, simulation, playback functions including analysis tools and quality of service tools which are all focused on improving the LRT solution. This results in increased efficiency, reduced capital and operational costs, and a better customer experience.
REX: As we enter a new decade we can expect the further digitisation of systems all throughout rail – what’s the roadmap for light rail? Bastianelli: As Massimo described, Thales is continually updating and improving its LRT solution, to provide public transport operators and other customers with an increasingly efficient solution. The digitisation process of the LRT solution has been underway for several years. Of particular note, some of the packages we are developing are focused on increasing the level of autonomy for light rail systems, some of which are already under test in Europe: • Smart Positioning will allow the vehicle to geo-locate itself safely and autonomously using different sensors and information including Global Navigation Satellite Systems. • Obstacle Avoidance to avoid collisions with possible obstacles on the LRV route. • Broadband connectivity including the future operating scenario which will lead to autonomous driving for transport systems of this type implies. This required the ability of the vehicle to be always connected with the ground and control centre devices with large data exchanges between these devices. • Of course for Thales, cybersecurity is integrated into our systems across all sectors, so such countermeasures have already been integrated into the solution
and will also be configured in the next system that we are implementing for one of our customers. These macro functions, combined with autonomous studies Thales is currently carrying out, will constitute the autonomous driving system for LRT-type transport, the implementation of which will follow the timeframes and recommendations that the national and international regulatory authorities are discussing. During this transition period, macro functions will be added progressively to the standard solution in order to contribute with increasingly advanced systems in the implementation of efficient and sustainable LRT systems. REX: Thales is sponsoring and taking part in the ARA’s Light Rail 2020 event in Canberra in March. What are you hoping to see discussed at the event? Bastianelli: The message I would like to share is for customers to ensure they select delivery partners who have developed specific solutions for this market, with a high degree of innovation and additional functions in order to provide a regular and high quality service which is able to seamlessly manage normal operations as well as special events. The selected partners should also have a clear vision on the future of digitalisation, without forgetting the knowledge of the specificities of the destination country.
In medium-sized cities, like Manchester, light rail can provide the primary transport mode.
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Light Rail Sydney Light Rail
Light rail travels down Sydney’s CBD once again Rail Express rode the first tram down Sydney CBD’s main boulevard, George Street, since trams last travelled the route in 1958. Opened by NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian in mid-December, the new link operates on average every six to eight minutes according to Transport for NSW. During its first week of operations, more than 115, 000 customers had used the L2 Randwick Line light rail between Circular Quay to Randwick. These patronage figures are about three times the daily patronage of the Inner West Light Rail (IWLR). “The trams should never have been taken out! So, we’ve put them back in, but there’s no footboards on this one, so there’s no riding them on the side,” NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said at the opening. Frank Ayrton, who had worked as a conductor on the old network, which was ripped up
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by 1961, was among the first to ride the first service down George Street, alongside Constance, Berejiklian and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. He told Rail Express his job included walking along the outside of the trams to collect fares from those riding on the footboards. “One hand was for the money, the other hand for the tickets and all you had to hang on with was your elbow,” Ayrton said. Berejiklian took the opportunity to address the delays to the project: “I just want to say to everyone in the community: thank you for your patience. The people of NSW, whether you live, work or come to visit Sydney, have been extremely patient with us.” “Literally thousands of men and women have spent many hours assiduously over the years
to make this a reality. They’ve started a major network and made a network that is changing our city and transforming our state, and I’m excited to see the light rail form a broader part of our transport network. The young people here today will grow up knowing that we had a city that’s integrated, that’s modern, that’s looking to the future,” Berejiklian said. Secretary of Transport for NSW (TfNSW), Rodd Staples, also addressed the challenges. “Whether you’ve been involved in the original conception of this service, whether you’ve been involved in building it, whether you’ve been a community member or a business member, whether you’re a tram spotter, while you’ve had a long way – it’s fantastic to be here with you today to celebrate the commencement of this service.”
direction) during peak times once fully operational, according to Alstom. As part of the contract, the consortium has also taken over the operations and maintenance of the existing IWLR, which connects Sydney’s inner west with the Pyrmont peninsula, Darling Harbour, and the southern CBD. “This new light rail system will transform Sydney and provide a step change in the city’s public transport capability and reliability while protecting the aesthetic appeal of the CBD and improving sustainability of the overall transport network,” managing director for Alstom in Australia & New Zealand Mark Coxon said. Opening day issues included a driver braking suddenly. The service was briefly delayed while the driver was replaced. A tram also lost power later in the afternoon, which necessitated all trams be stopped for 30 minutes, leading to congestion. In response, ALTRAC held a conference in the afternoon to address the issues, saying additional customer resource officers were deployed on the ground, stops were being monitored on CCTV and crowd management crews, heavy tows and police were stationed throughout the network. “It’s been a bumpy day,” chief officer light rail operations Transdev Australasia Brian Brennan said. “Tram failures do occur, it’s reality, but today has been an outstanding success.”
“The young people here today will grow up knowing that we had a city that’s integrated, that’s modern, that’s looking to the future.” Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Premier
More than 200,000 km of testing has been carried out on the line while each of the 100 drivers have undertaken 190 hours of training, according to TfNSW. However, introducing customers on real journeys presents different challenges. As capacity grows on the network and customers become more accustomed to the system, journey times will further improve as the L3 Kingsford Line opening approaches in March 2020, a state government spokesperson said.
Sydney’s new light rail service hit the track last December.
Constance also addressed the challenges that plagued project delivery. “The city has been a construction zone over the last couple of years and during construction, I found out that we had a secret helper. Gladys’s father, Mr Berejiklian, would quite often go into the city and find a construction zone and just talk to the workers, and then report back to the Premier about how things were really going,” he said. The ALTRAC consortium – Alstom, Transdev, Acciona, and Capella – delivered the integrated system. The 12km network was delivered under a turnkey PPP model, which included the design and supply of 60 Citadis X05 Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs), power supply equipment including over two kilometres of wire-free ground-based power supply, energy recovery substations, signalling, communications, depot equipment, and a 19-year maintenance agreement. The 60 LRVs will be able to move up to 13,500 commuters per hour (6,750 in each
Andrew Constance addressing the crowd.
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Light Rail Sydney Light Rail
Highlights from Sydney Light Rail launch 3
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A representative from Sydney Tramway Museum rides the new trams.
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Constance and Berejiklian unveil a plaque to commemorate the occasion.
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The service looks to improve transport and traffic through metropolitan areas.
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The Sydney light rail service in action with its first passengers.
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Constance said the original trams should never been taken out.
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Frank Ayrton, conductor before Sydney’s original tram network was torn up in the 1960s.
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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sydney’s young people will grow up in an integrated and modern city.
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A relic from the Sydney Tramway Museum.
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Berejiklian thanked everyone for their patience with the launch.
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Rail Express is Australia’s authoritative business to business rail publication. Combining the resources of our respected journalism team and our unparalleled industry contacts and affiliations, Rail Express provides uniquely extensive and comprehensive coverage of breaking news and trends in key areas such as infrastructure, investment, government policy, regulatory issues, technical innovation as well as rail jobs and international news and views. Our subscribers stay up-to-date via
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Light Rail Alstom
CREDIT: RAIL GALLERY
Alstom supplied 60 Citadis X05 light rail vehicles to the Sydney Light Rail CBD & Southeast project, which opened in December.
Sydney opening caps big year for Alstom Alstom Australia’s managing director Mark Coxon sat down with Rail Express after a whirlwind 2019, with big wins for Alstom across multiple states and sectors. The New Year’s break is a welcome opportunity for rest and relaxation for many professionals. But for Mark Coxon and his team at Alstom Australia, the 2019/20 break was perhaps the most well-earned in recent memory. Eleven days before Christmas, Sydney opened quite a large present. The first revenue services for the Sydney CBD & South East Light Rail line between Circular Quay and Randwick represented the culmination of four years of construction and delivery. Around 160,000 passengers rode the new line in its first two days, and they rode on some of the 60 Citadis X05 light rail vehicles delivered by Alstom. By January 8, the line had already handled its first million passengers. Alstom has also delivered the project’s
power supply equipment (including two kilometres of APS wire-free ground power supply), energy recovery substations, signalling, communications, and depot equipment for the project, and is now underway on a 19-year maintenance contract. “We’re very happy with this project,” Coxon, Alstom’s managing director in Australia and New Zealand, told Rail Express shortly after the Sydney opening. “The Alstom scope has been on time, and we’ve had new technologies brought for the first time to Australia – another sign of confidence in the Alstom delivery capability.” Light rail vehicles are rolling down George Street for the first time in more than 60 years. Unlike the original system, it is free of overhead wires for two kilometres of its route thanks to Alstom’s ground-based APS power supply.
APS, originally Alimentation Par le Sol – “fed through the ground” – but now anglicised to Aesthetic Power Supply, uses modern technology to safely feed power through the base of the LRV via a third rail between the tracks. Coxon notes APS is a new technology in Australia, but also that the Citadis X05 is the latest version of Alstom’s light rail vehicle range. “On top of that, the reverse cycle poweroptimised substations were in our scope,” Coxon continues. “So that’s a number of new technologies we’ve brought to this iconic project, and it was great to see trams going down George Street – and great to be on that first tram. While Alstom’s share of the project was successful, Coxon is well aware of the disruptions caused throughout the overall
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Light Rail
project’s delivery. But he’s confident the quality of service passengers will enjoy in the longerterm will make up for it. “It’s obviously become a well-known project to Sydneysiders, and it’s been quite disruptive to residents during construction. But over time, I am sure the people of Sydney will appreciate the project, particularly as journey time reduces and the reliability continues to grow,” he said. “To be honest, these projects historically around the world are quite disruptive, and this is on one of the oldest and busiest streets in Australia. It would be difficult to implement that kind of project anywhere in the world. We managed to get this one online in 2019, a bit later than planned, but the opening has been successful and we look forward to the growth of patronage of that system.” The first revenue service for the new light rail line was successful for Alstom in the region.
CREDIT: ALSTOM
SYDNEY METRO A ROARING SUCCESS Despite all the exciting new technology in Sydney’s new light rail, perhaps the most exciting thing delivered by Alstom in Australia during 2019 was north of the city. When Sydney Metro Northwest opened on May 26, passengers rode on a fleet of 22 new six-car, driverless metro trains from Alstom, which also delivered signalling and will handle ongoing maintenance work. In its first six months, the new metro line had serviced more than 11 million journeys. “It’s been a successful journey,” Coxon said. “It’s the first driverless metro system in Australia, so that took some time for passengers to get used to, but the reliability growth that we’ve seen on our system has been as expected, and very similar to other projects around the world. Today, we’re getting to around 99 per cent availability of the system.
Sydney Metro Northwest runs on 22 automated six-car trains from Alstom.
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CREDIT: ALSTOM
Alstom
Alstom Australia managing director Mark Coxon (left) with Western Australia premier Mark McGowan (centre), signing off on the Metronet railcar contract alongside transport minister Rita Saffioti (right).
“That project contains two successful aspects for us: the Alstom rollingstock but also the signalling system, our CBTC driverless Urbalis 400 system. The integration between the CBTC system and the rollingstock has been extremely good, and I think that’s one of the advantages of being an integrator of both technologies.” MAINTENANCE DETAILS The success on Sydney Metro Northwest led the NSW Government to exercise a pre-agreed extension in the original contract to the next portion of the line, Sydney Metro City and Southwest. The news – a $570 million win for Alstom – means Coxon’s team will now deliver another 23 trains (with an option for more), and its Urbalis 400 CBTC along the new portion of the line. Coxon told Rail Express the extension demonstrated the government’s confidence in Alstom and its colleagues in the Sydney Metro delivery team.
“We always knew the success of Northwest would be a critical component on the augmentation for City & Southwest,” he said. “It’s such an iconic and strategic project for Alstom, and City & Southwest is a similar scope to what we executed on Northwest. Again I think it will demonstrate the importance of integrating the CBTC signalling technologies with the rollingstock.” Once complete, the City & Southwest project will combine with Northwest to create a 66-kilometre continuous line, complete with Alstom rollingstock and signalling. “We’re looking forward, as well, to extending the maintenance scope to that full line,” Coxon added. HUGE WIN IN WA Alstom’s success in 2019 wasn’t limited to the east coast. Early in December it finalised a $1.3 billion deal to deliver 246 EMU railcars 6 DMU to PTA, the public transport operator in WA. Under the 10-year contract, at least 50 per cent of railcar assembly will take place in WA, at a 12,000 sqm plant near the old Midland Railway Workshops. Alstom will also undertake maintenance for 20 years with the option to extend to 30 years. Coxon told Rail Express the contract win was the result of more than two years of work with the government, local businesses, training organisations and community. “We’ve had a lot of engagement with local and international suppliers about the local content, and that concluded with the award of that project to Alstom, which we’re absolutely delighted with,” he said. “We’re looking forward to building a train in Western Australia that the people of Perth can be proud of.” Work to build what will become Alstom’s new rollingstock base in WA is expected to be completed in 2021. Local work under the contract is expected to create at least 200 jobs in supply and maintenance, revitalising the
CREDIT: ALSTOM
Alstom is looking to build a good partnership with WA’s Public Transport Authority.
Sydney Metro, so it’s not the first time we’ve installed it here in Australia, but again is a first for Western Australia.” NEXT X’TRAPOLIS IN THE WORKS Alstom has been supplying its X’Trapolis metro fleet to Melbourne’s Metro Trains network for nearly two decades, with more than 102 trains delivered. “It has proven to be one of the most reliable products in Australia today, so we’re very proud of this product and our skilled workforce in Ballarat who deliver this,” Coxon said.
After being awarded the preliminary design contract for an X’Trapolis 2.0 in late 2018, Coxon said the team spent a large portion of 2019 working with the state towards a new generation of the successful train. “The X’Trapolis 2 will have all the latest technologies, adapted to integrate seamlessly into the Melbourne network. We would like to see this product rolled out on the Melbourne network and continue the long and successful story of X’Trapolis Melbourne trains.”
CREDIT: ALSTOM
state’s rail manufacturing sector. “Obviously, it’s a long journey, and we’re going to be part of that recreation of the railcar manufacturing industry in Western Australia, but that’s not the first time Alstom have done that,” Coxon said. “We’ve done it all around the world; the US, South Africa, India, and of course 20 years ago in Victoria with the X’Trapolis trains. “We’re not newcomers to it, but it is a new journey in Western Australia, and we’re interested in taking the suppliers on board for that journey, as well as our future employees. We’re going to have to build up a strong skilled workforce in Western Australia.” Coxon said Alstom is also looking to build a good partnership with the state’s Public Transport Authority, along with its suppliers to build a train which we hope to have on tracks by the middle of 2022. “What made that contract so attractive to Alstom was the long-term maintenance contract, which allows us to make sure the rollingstock is designed to maintainability as well,” Coxon explained. “We’ll build a strong workforce for the build, and then progressively for the maintenance. “We’ve included in the project our HealthHub technology which focuses on the predictive maintenance capability, to ensure we’re maintaining the core components as they’re being used, and we can plan our maintenance schedules to optimise availability of the product. That’s a similar product to what we’ve installed for the
At least 50 per cent of WA’s new fleet will be manufactured in the state.
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Light Rail Hobart Light Rail
The fight for passenger rail in Hobart A community-based action group is advocating for a passenger rail solution in Hobart, where the only public transport option is the bus. A decommissioned heavy rail corridor in Hobart’s northern suburbs has been the focus of a community-based campaign lobbying for the instalment of a passenger rail service since 2010. Formerly a freight rail line, the corridor was decommissioned in 2014 after the last freight train passed through Hobart. “Since then the heavy rail track has remained idle,” founder and former president of the Hobart Northern Suburbs Rail Action Group Inc (HNSRAG), Ben Johnston, told Rail Express. The HNSRAG wants the decommissioned railway tracks to be utilised for passenger rail services rather than being converted into a bus way. “It would be a tragedy to remove the rails from the railway, it would be a very backward step in my opinion,” Johnston said. “Keeping rails on the corridor has strategic advantages for future freight if becomes necessary again, and you keep a lot more options open than if you convert it into a busway.
The Tasmanian government studied the best mode for transport for the corridor.
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“We’ve got the corridor, and polling shows 80 per cent community support, with Hobart now the third or fourth most congested capital city.” The Australian Automobile Association’s Road Congestion in Australia report found, in 2018, the Glenorchy to Hobart CBD route, specifically, was increasing in travel time by 0.5 minutes. When the Hobart City Deal, signed in February 2019, allocated $25 million to delivering a transport solution on the Northern Suburbs Transit Corridor, the state government undertook a study to determine the best mode for the corridor, be it a train, a bus or a trackless tram. The study will be published later in 2020 the year. While support has been voiced for a passenger rail corridor by all three of Tasmania’s state political parties at numerous elections since 2010, some in HNSRAG are not optimistic that the City Deal will result in a passenger rail service but rather that converting the corridor to a busway is now a likely option. Ian Addison, a committee member of HNSRAG, suspects that there is support in
influential circles for a “trackless tram” solution, which he says is essentially a guided bus. “I’m very supportive of investment in buses but not of converting a rare and valuable rail corridor to a busway,” Addison said. “Unfortunately, as it currently stands, it seems very unlikely that rail will be the mode of choice for activating Hobart’s rail corridor as a passenger transit route. Up till about a year ago there appeared to be good momentum building for a passenger rail service with quite a high public support as well as the main councils within Greater Hobart. “However, the trackless tram is being promoted by its advocates as a replacement for light rail in future. I have concerns that a rail-based option, well-tailored to the particular circumstances on this corridor, will not be given appropriate consideration.” Hobart’s public transport network is currently served by bus services travelling lengthy routes to the widely spread-out suburbs. Alongside the low service frequency, Hobart has some of the lowest public transport patronage in Australia.
ideas Invigoration Inventiveness Inspiration Intuition
The first 60 years of the Superpit was celebrated in 1953 with a cartoon of the ‘YATES’ Universal Miner, capturing the essence of innovation in safe and efficient mine processing, transport and integrated systems .... and 67 years on .... the driving force lives on! Here are a few samples in Light rail operations. Maybe you should find out a bit more on how to improve your bottom line benefits! It starts here .... Donald YATES CEO / Group 08 9379 9479, columbus-innovation @ iinet.net.au 10 Thompson Rd, Success Hill WA 6054 Australia
Smart operations on poor tracks When heavy axle load traction engines & poor track are the issues .. then it is time to adopt Light Rail distributed drive unit engineering & applied rapid track rebuild & repair 3D printing.
Pic : ABC News
R3 Rapid Railtrack Restoration
Autonomous drive units connect standard containers filled with ore or grain that can be easily & quickly stockpiled, blended and loaded on ships. Even ‘Tier 3’ rail networks can be used. No heavy axle loaded traction engines. Uses trackside renewable power
1. Gauge & alignment reset 2. Holding fingers - gap creation 3. FRP sleeper inserted between old 4. Rail rail bonding to sleeper 5. FRP rapid 3D printed sleeper & rail is bonded to ‘glued’ ballast. Also : double layer conveyor belts for temporary & permanent tracks 2014 ZENITH Process & Control Engineering Awards
MTT - with more RAPID 3D Printed solutions MMT Mass movement transit
The core structure, drop down access ramps, doors & panels are 3D printed in recycled PLA, running on 360 deg rotational all driven wheels with VRS - variable ride smoothness for easy sideways ‘hail-like service’ and input STORMBIN drive power.
2014 WINNER 2015 WINNER 2017 WINNER
Innovative Mining Solutions Minerals Processing of the Year Environmental Excellence
2017 WINNER
Mining & Minerals Processing
2003 WINNER
Business & Commercial software
2019 Sustainability Awards 2010 WINNER HIGHLY COMMENDED
SOLAR PV smart lights
Seagrass Stimulation / Blue Carbon credits
Light Rail Columbus Group
The importance of intuitive light rail Engineering firm Columbus Group is known as an industry innovator. CEO Donald Yates spoke to Rail Express about the innovation light rail can offer. Light rail’s flexibility, according to Columbus Group’s CEO Donald Yates, allows for consistent innovation. “The boundaries of light rail no longer stop at the edge of the world’s CBD,” Yates said. “It is utilised almost everywhere because it calls for practical inventiveness.” Yates explains how light rail does this. “With or without guidance rail tracks, light rail needs to be able to adapt.” “It needs to move sideways, to pick up passengers, and to get out of the way of other road users, including during pause duration cycles when recharging might be needed, be it via rapid battery swaps, zapping super capacitors or refilling with hydrogen for the fuel cell vehicle propulsion power.” Further, capital costs for fixed platforms are no longer needed because drop-down or pop-up ramps provide better accessibility, contributing to ever leaner operation. “For some, the air-conditioned waiting areas add to the whole experience, but this is innovative in that air can be exchanged with the light rail units during a short stop cycle. There is no longer the need to carry the physical weight and provide power to the rail car air conditioning.” Fully pivoting, sequential steered, driven wheel mechanisms make flexibility possible, allowing the vehicle to move sideways. “This can work with the normal vehicles as well as driverless ones, which can learn on the move. For example, when encountering potholes, they can automatically direct the following wheel sets to avoid the hurdle. The light rail set can then instruct the next approaching service to avoid the same potential interruption, so the whole system works together for better outcomes.” The technology which allows light rail to interact with its operating environment can also be applied to heavy rail operations, according to Yates. “Long loaded trains can be subject to gradient changes and side wind loadings, that impact adversely and lead to rapid track wear, and lowered efficiency. By examining IoT data from the sleeper loadings, an optimal train 36 | ISSUE 1 2020 | RAIL EXPRESS
Using light rail thinking can solve a number of issues.
speed can be transmitted to the train control system, leading to minimal track damage, optimal safety and efficiency. Learning from light rail engineering has bottom line gains for heavy rail operations.” Committed to innovation, Columbus Group has won three Australian Mining Prospect Awards since 2014. The engineering firm’s initial win was for an Innovative Mining Solution featured a flexible additive 3D printer. According to Yates, 3D printing can be applied to all aspects of light rail. “Starting with the light rail core rail cars, the new generation of 3D printers can produce an integrated package with a mix of materials, including various metals with fibre-rich panels for lightness and structural frameworks for strength. Previously, such complex assemblies would result in substantial build costs that could incur considerable time penalties,” Yates said. “With 3D printers, innovative design is possible for a range of assemblies, from regenerative brakes to comfortable seats. Access facilities are also possible, as are smarter batteries for a compact physical size and extended range as needed. “The world of 3D printing has already trialled puncture-free tires, that provide variable ride smoothness using stored memory alloy components to change the ride characteristics and traction grip in real time. “3D printers can produce the permanent ballast structure that works with the onepiece track for rapid installation of both long operating life and short-term access rail services, particularly where mining operations are the core activity.”
Yates uses the old Tier 3 rail networks of Western Australia as an example. Prior to World War II, the track did not have the level of maintenance to safely allow heavy diesel engines and their concentrated considerable axle loadings. He points out that light rail practices were taken up to replace the diesel engine at the front of a string of grain wagons with distributed drive lightweight assemblies along the whole length of the trains, possibly supporting load carrying containers. The resulting axle loadings were considerably less heavy, so that adding the appropriate suspension systems to such distributed drive units made it feasible to utilise the Tier 3 networks without necessitating major corrective repairs to the infrastructure. “Taking the same approach as the Tier 3 solution for grain movement, it is possible to transport products like iron ore, keeping within the feasible axle load limits. Mining companies and track owners get improved utilisation just by viewing the situation through ‘light rail’ glasses. “The light rail approach includes changing the input energy sources to match the power demands of a lower weight train system, be it in the country, on a coal mine or even the city. In CBDs and suburbs, the take up of renewables, now complemented with battery systems, is making what are distributed power systems more popular. “It has been considered that even the simple storm water pit found in most streets to reduce localised flooding, can be retrofitted with solid state 24/7 geothermal energy extraction that does not depend on the wind blowing or the sun shining to produce reliable power for adjoining microgrids and passing light rail infrastructure.” Yates concludes that light rail can operate like a “battery on wheels”. “It could operate by moving energy from a recharge point to an area in need of battery boosting on a demand basis, generating automated cost offsetting revenues without even being noticed.”
Light Rail Andrew Engineering
Adelaide tram network acquires Australia’s first Mobiturn 2 Providing turning capability in a tram depot comes with a unique set of challenges compared to that of a train depot. Rail Express spoke to Andrew Engineering’s engineering director, Chris Parish, to find out how the supplier went about the challenge. When Australian equipment supplier and engineering firm Andrew Engineering was contracted to provide wheel turning capability at Adelaide’s Glengowrie tram depot in 2017, the supplier’s multi-faceted capabilities endowed it with the flexibility to adapt to a different type of depot. “Tram depots, especially on brownfield or existing sites have unique challenges compared to heavy rail,” Parish said. “The systems generally operate around existing road networks, so maintenance facilities are often located in wellestablished urban areas with all the requisite planning restrictions.” “Train depots, however, tend to be in remote locations with less restrictive planning environments, where civil construction works are often a cost effective alternative. As such, space is often at a premium at tram depots and major civil construction works are restrictive and expensive.” At Glengowrie, a highly restrictive location with very little room “even for mobile equipment”, Andrew Engineering undertook a process of providing wheel turning capability that limited civil construction works. “We measured up the relevant sections of the facility, provided proposals and layouts and helped the client settle on the most cost-effective location.” The supplier prides itself in its significant technical capabilities as an engineering firm. Its highly skilled team of engineers and technicians are able to develop bespoke technology and provide offthe-shelf solutions. They are also able to provide comprehensive support for rail depot equipment with custom designed rail wheels, bogie exchange system (BES), turntables, lift platforms, and automated
handling systems, according to Parish. “We have a strong engineering focus, so we’re not just a reseller or an agent. We have a large number of tradespeople that work alongside with engineers and project managers all within the same organisation.” At Glengowrie, the maintenance of the tram fleet was enabled with the supply of Andrew Engineering’s purpose-built mobile wheel lathe and mobile lifting jacks. “Our Eurogamma mobile jacks and Hegenscheidt MFD Mobiturn 2 mobile wheel lathe were particularly well suited to this depot,” Parish said. These products greatly minimised civil engineering requirements allowing the client to make minor modifications to their existing maintenance roads in order to achieve in-house turning capacity. The Mobiturn 2 has the only genuine mobile wheel lathe on the market, according to Parish, and is the world’s first and only wheelset machining system which comes to the rail vehicle. “Our competitors provide small devices capable of re-truing single wheels but none of them provide the necessary performance for serious wheel maintenance.” It has been specifically designed for the machining of wheels, wheelsets and brake discs of rail vehicles in both the installed and dismantled state. It is a pit-less lathe
The Mobiturn 2 minimised civil engineering requirements.
for machining installed wheel sets on raised vehicles, single wheel sets and bogies. The machine moves by motorised traction drive, and using radio control, under the wheel set to be machined, it can also be moved by means of a shunting vehicle. The machine is provided with transport lugs to allow it to be loaded/unloaded onto trucks The Eurogamma Jacks, alternatively, were designed specifically to fit in the restricted space of the Glengowrie depot. “They are highly sophisticated synchronised lifting jacks capable of operating in a 4, 8 or 12 jack configurations. “The jacks have all the requisite features required to meet local and international standards, including primary and safety nuts, failure detection, obstruction detection, automatic lube etc., as well as sophisticated electronics that control the lifting plane to better than 1mm across all 12 units. “They are also intuitive to use with a display that constantly updates the operator on their status,” Parish said. The Glengowrie depot fit-out was completed in 2019 and contributed towards improved vehicle maintenance, with shorter rolling-stock downtimes and considerably higher efficiencies in maintenance.
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Light Rail Bombardier
Bombardier maintains keen local focus during light rail boom Bombardier Transportation’s Todd Garvey sat down with Rail Express to discuss the mobility solutions provider’s approach to the booming light rail market. Australia, already home to the largest tram network on the planet, has become a hotbed for light rail developments in recent years. With new projects opened across multiple cities in the last five years, the project pipeline remains strong. Despite this rapid development of a range of new opportunities for light rail vehicle (LRV) manufacturers in the region, Bombardier Transportation’s Todd Garvey told Rail Express the company doesn’t see its role changing drastically. Instead, the company plans to continue to rely on the
qualities that have made it a successful player in the local market for years. “There is a range of projects coming up that have a huge amount of focus for our business that we are excited about,” Garvey, the company’s head of sales for Southeast Asia and Australia, said. “We’re focused on maintaining our role as a market leader in the supply and endto-end manufacture of local content for Australia’s LRV needs. We’re working hard to ensure our local LRV manufacturing teams and indeed supply chain have a good, solid pipeline of work ahead of them.”
Maintaining the strength of the local supply chain has long been a key focus for Bombardier in Australia. “Bombardier is in a unique position given our local manufacturing and supply chain for LRVs,” Garvey continued. “Given Bombardier has been in this market for so long we have a huge amount of production in Victoria and for the Flexity with over 50 per cent local content, we also have LRV engineers and subject matter experts locally in our business. That means there is an ability to not only identify and resolve the day-to-day challenges but also
Bombardier has developed the E-Class tram to specifically respond to the challenges of the Melbourne network.
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Light Rail Bombardier
Todd Garvey is Bombardier Transportation’s head of sales for Australia and South East Asia.
evolve the local supply chain capabilities for specific LRV requirements.” E-CLASS TRAMS The primary manufacturer of LRVs for Melbourne since 2013, Bombardier has now delivered around 85 E-Class trams to the Yarra Trams network, and has a current orderbook that will bring that figure to at least 100 LRVs. Garvey told Rail Express the E-Class, which is comprised of Bombardier Flexity model LRVs, is the result of the company’s long-term approach to supply chain and market engagement. “The Flexity is a world class tram,” he said. “They’re DSAPT compliant and built with passenger safety and comfort in mind.” Beyond safety and comfort, however, the Flexity LRVs running in Melbourne have been developed to suit a network that presents a unique array of challenges for a fleet manufacturer/maintainer. “Vehicles in Melbourne operate on a vast network that is unique in so many ways,” Garvey explained. “One major factor is that in many sections of the network the vehicles will be operating on brownfield tracks. Some sections have been in existence for many decades, and in some cases for more than 100 years. “In Melbourne it makes it even more important the LRVs are built to withstand these tough conditions,” said Garvey. “Fortunately, the Bombardier Flexity class is designed to suit this environment and has a proven track record in providing safe and comfortable passenger services in Melbourne.
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“We’re focused on maintaining our role as a market leader in the supply and end-toend manufacture of local content for Australia’s LRV needs.” Todd Garvey, Bombardier Transportation “The car body and bogie are robust to suit local network requirements, and have been built to European fire and crashworthiness standards, which enhance the vehicle’s safety levels to that of worldwide leader status.” ODAS TRIAL PLANNED Bombardier plans to trial its Obstacle Detection Assistance System (ODAS) with its Victorian partners midway through 2020. A joint development with the Austrian Institute of Technology, Bombardier’s ODAS uses an array of stereovision cameras focused on the area in front of the LRV, and highly advanced software algorithms which evaluate the vehicle envelope in real time along the track.
Bombardier has supplied 18 Flexity 2 LRVs to the Gold Coast, and is in discussions to supply the additional vehicles Stage 3A of the project.
As soon as the system detects a considerable risk in front of the vehicle, it can alert the driver using visual and aural alerts. “The ODAS product is progressing well and is active in the Flexity class in Europe,” Garvey said, ahead of the Victorian trial. “In Frankfurt alone we have almost 150 systems in service. So far the ODAS platform has accumulated more than 10 million kilometres of passenger services, ensuring new levels of passenger safety and security.” Bombardier has designed ODAS to be easy to upgrade, and switch in and out, thanks to its decentralised design featuring three separate components. The first component is the camera unit: three identical stereo cameras within a single housing, mounted onto the inside of the windscreen. The cameras provide the high-resolution imagery and depth perception needed to provide accurate visual data for analysis. That analysis is carried out in the second component of ODAS, the control unit. The unit is responsible for picture processing and interpretation, as well as additional routines which can provide further functionality. The third component of the system is called the sync box, and is responsible for energy supply to the cameras, managing inputs and outputs, and providing a watchdog function to the controller. The sync box also acts as the liaison between the system and the tram, taking in vehicle information and delivering hazard warnings when needed.
The performance of the Flexity fleet during the Commonwealth Games was a success.
LOOKING TO CONTINUE GOLD COAST SUCCESS Bombardier is in discussions to supply vehicles for Stage 3A of light rail on the Gold Coast, and Garvey took a moment to reflect on the success of the 18 Flexity 2 trams Bombardier supplied to the project’s first two stages. “The Gold Coast vehicles are performing extremely well,” he said. “Between 2014 and December 2019 there have been more than 46 million paid passenger trips on trams on that system, all on Bombardier LRVs.” A particular point of pride for Bombardier was the performance of the fleet during the Commonwealth Games in 2018. “On some days during the Games they were running for 24 hours straight, in high traffic and warm weather conditions,” Garvey said, “and they did so without any issues.” The fleet carried nearly 100,000 passengers a day during the Games, more than three times the daily average at the time – a success highlighted proudly by state transport minister Mark Bailey. “It’s great to see so many people using the light rail network and other public transport modes to travel to events during the Commonwealth Games,” Bailey said in April 2018. “It is clear south-east Queensland
commuters have responded well to taking all forms of public transport.” Just prior to the Games the state managed to commission Stage 2 of light rail on the Gold Coast, which connected the original terminus at University Hospital to the Helensvale railway station – thus connecting the light rail to the region’s heavy rail network. The results were immediate, with Bailey citing a “massive uptake of heavy rail commuters from both Brisbane and Varsity Lakes” during the games, and more than
180,000 passengers travelling to the Games via the heavy rail network in the Games’ first week. With that success in the books, in November 2019 Queensland secured a funding package from the federal government to help deliver Stage 3A of Gold Coast Light Rail, further south to Burleigh Heads. The state has said the 6.7-kilometre extension will require five new LRVs “similar to the 18 current vehicles,” and industry engagement is underway.
The ODAS in action.
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Light Rail Tehnika
One-stop-shop for LRV operations Tehnika’s Matt Burey explains the benefits of a single supervisory interface for light rail vehicle operations. Brisbane-based software firm Tehnika will be showing off its t-visor RAIL platform at the Australasian Railway Association’s Light Rail 2020 conference in Canberra in March. Already used extensively on the Canberra Light Rail and Gold Coast Light Rail systems, t-visor aims to provide a single platform for a range of different systems, including Automatic Vehicle Location, traffic light and priority management, signalling, timetable and performance monitoring and automatic vehicle location, and interface with external software applications, traction power SCADA, infrastructure SCADA, passenger information, public address, CCTV, and platform information displays. Feature rich, t-visor also has comprehensive performance monitoring to assist operators manage KPIs, network monitoring and stray current monitoring. Modern and highly scalable, the t-visor RAIL software platform is described by Tehnika chief technology officer, Matt Burey, as “the most advanced supervisory platform designed for light rail currently available on the market”. “Having a single user interface means operators don’t need to log into multiple different systems,” Burey said. “This saves time and ensures operators can be focused on the task at hand and not get distracted or interrupted by having to switch systems.” Furthermore: “Front line operators only need to be trained on one system and not each individual sub-system – there’s no need to remember different passwords and the unique way each disparate sub-system functions.” This single-platform approach also means the LRV operator is not bombarded with unnecessary information. “Only relevant and system critical information needs to be displayed or made visible to operators which results in them being better focused on their operational role.” Tehnika’s in-house team to build and develop its systems, and Burey believes this is a key differentiator and a major advantage working within the local rail sector. “Having local resources means we have the flexibility and the agility to respond immediately to changes in client demands or project scope,” he said. “Our significant investment in research and development
means Tehnika is able to develop, test, and deploy proven and fit-for-purpose solutions that are unique to the Australian market.” Burey told Rail Express the supervisory platform was designed specifically to provide light rail operators with a single, seamlessly integrated solution for a full range of control and monitoring systems. Interfacing with passenger information, t-visor allows for fully programmable messages with both automatically recurring and custom, one off messages, images, and videos, Burey explained. “By integrating public address systems, operators are able to record and play specific messages on demand as well as record one off messages for special events,” he said. Along with PA systems, t-visor can also incorporate situationally aware CCTV feeds which automatically start when the emergency help or information button is pressed or other alarms are raised. The platform’s Automatic Vehicle Location function uses a combination of GPS, vehicle odometers, and trackside equipment to display
the exact location of a light rail vehicle. The AVLS also presents a real time view of rail signalling, point positions and track occupancy. “Each LRV trip is tracked against the planned timetable providing the operator with an interactive display that clearly shows service punctuality and/or headway,” he said. “t-visor’s traffic signalling priority system (TSPS) is fully integrated with SCATS and STREAMs. The TSPS function provides detailed intersection status and request priority when an LRV approaches an intersection. It also allows operators to request a manual White T from the OCC.” Additionally, light rail vehicles and any other equipment such as radio handsets can be tracked using a geolocation map, Burey added. The system’s traction power SCADA feature allows operators and users of the system to remotely monitor electrical traction supply and perform isolation/energisation. The system also provides power quality and stray current monitoring and energisation status including DC overhead lines and AC feeder lines. Tehnika’s team is exhibiting at the ARA Light Rail 2020 event in Canberra on March 2-3.
The t-visor RAIL platform is already in use in Canberra and the Gold Coast.
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Major Projects DCWC
Striving for certainty Donald Cant Watts Corke infrastructure lead Peter Gill tells Rail Express about his biggest concern during the rail sector’s growth phase, and how governments and the private sector can improve their approach. Peter Gill doesn’t mind being the bearer of bad news. In fact, he makes it his business. As managing director of the infrastructure division at Donald Cant Watts Corke (DCWC), Gill says the most valuable thing he can provide is certainty. Like many working in and around the rail sector, Gill is aware of the level of rail spending proposed, planned or underway by state and federal governments in Australia and New Zealand. But he is also aware of the frequency with which such projects overrun their budgets and the public damage which can be caused. He says as spending goes up, accuracy and accountability will be critical to ensuring governments continue to commit to such projects in the future. “We have some real concerns in the infrastructure sector about cost overruns which can be easily overcome by abiding by the guidelines of Treasury and Finance in Victoria, New South Wales and other states,” he tells Rail Express. Gill says too often in Australia guidelines
are being ignored, and sign-off on the final budget has, on several key projects, resulted in a figure far higher than the original. “The problem of underestimated budgets is created when advisors to governments do not abide by these guidelines,” he says. “It’s essential that engineering and quantity surveying firms become acquainted with relative guidelines and be required to sign off that they have complied with these requirements. With the lack of assurance currently, some in our industry are hiding behind the inadequacies of others. This is causing governments to lose faith in professional services firms, leaving a bad taste, and it is hurting our industry as far as reputation goes.” Gill believes that the professional sector needs to work closely with governments to establish a workable set of assurance criteria making it mandatory for design engineering firms and quantity surveyors to sign off when they have completed services to the required guidelines. This means
It’s important to have an accountable, end-to-end project team to ensure complex projects don’t overrun their costs.
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There should be a process of design review by appropriately experienced personnel in order to determine that the cost estimate: • Captures all the relevant scope of the project statement; • Reflects, as best as possible at the business case stage, good practice design solutions, construction methodology, constraints, program scheduling etc.; • T he cost estimation process is prepared following best practice; and • I s reasonably based on professional judgement and experience and there is confidence that it can be achieved through good planning of hard and smart work. … [Furthermore,] assumptions – where design information is scarce, the estimator may be required to make assumptions about the design – these should be clearly set out. Source: Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, ‘Investment Lifecycle
and High Value/High Risk Guidelines: Preparing Project Budgets for Business Cases Technical guide’ pp16, 23.
Major rail projects can often run into unexpected costs when they interact with existing underground infrastructure and unforeseen latent conditions.
that they can be held accountable when there are significant cost overruns to the original budget. “We need to stop repeating the mistakes of the past, perpetuating the same mistakes over and over again. Somewhere we need to draw a line and put an end to this – we can’t just keep having cost blowouts because of bad advice with no fear of retribution.” Work carried out by DCWC on Victoria’s Suburban Roads Upgrade Project meant that the works required were more expensive than previously advised to government and additional funding was sought from Treasury and Finance. DCWC believes that future related advice from the market will prove that this initiative was the correct one. “Providing appropriate design and cost advice can be done, and it should be done in the very early stages,” Gill said. “We aim to provide an integrated quantity surveying team, not just to provide cost advice, but to actually challenge the design, and where it is lacking, provide design assumptions and practical construction solutions. We are raising the bar by abiding by well thought out guidelines, and we are happy to sign off
that we have done so. “If I were asked to sign off on the services provided to recent government projects, I would have no hesitation whatsoever,” he says. “The advice that is coming back from the market is in line with what we prepared for these projects.” A white paper presented by Gill in 2019 suggested transport infrastructure projects too often suffer from a lack of flexible cost options and proper benchmarking and market testing. He told the conference the total outturn cost for major transportrelated projects is often underestimated by as much as 15-20 per cent due to these factors. When asked what it’s like to essentially break bad news to a project proponent – ‘This project is going to cost more than you thought’ – Gill says providing such a reality check is an interesting part of what he does. “We approach each project by challenging the design and constructability issues based on our experience with past projects,” he says. “We don’t just look at the estimate of costs, we actually take the design itself and provide additional advice based on how we think that design will actually be constructed. And that’s grown our reputation significantly.”
BRINGING TOGETHER DESIGN AND COST Gill believes that the best way to provide end-to-end support and to ensure a project is properly budgeted throughout design and delivery, is to have betterintegrated management teams. “Fully integrated project teams – rather than a separate design and a separate cost team – we think are the answer to saving time and cost blowouts in the future,” Gill says. “We advocate that our clients focus very heavily on the constructability and operational requirements prior to projects going to the market. We’re trying to encourage governments now to do that work upfront, before they go to market.” DCWC has eight divisions in its Group, including Infrastructure, Project Management, Advisory, MEP Services and four Quantity Surveying divisions, and Gill says a diverse talent pool like this is critical to performing such an integrated role. “We can’t claim all of the success on these major projects for our Division, we share this success with the other divisions. In our experience, such integrated project teams can provide assurance of documentation and cost impact by up to 20 per cent.” To find out more, visit dcwc.com.au.
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AUSRAIL National Shaping Projects
The four projects shaping Australia – New Zealand Four “nation shaping” projects are contributing to Australia and New Zealand’s substantial infrastructure pipeline. Their project directors gave overall updates on these major transport projects at AusRAIL PLUS 2019. CROSS RIVER RAIL While Queensland has enjoyed significant population growth in recent years, nearly 90 per cent of that growth has occurred within South East Queensland (SEQ). This region is expected to further increase its population by around 1.5 million over the next twenty years. Cross River Rail will address a major bottleneck within this region. As such, it is Queensland’s highest priority infrastructure investment and the government has allocated $5.4 billion towards the project. Currently, there is only one crossing over the Brisbane river and just four inner-city stations. Cross River Rail will unlock the bottleneck by providing a second river crossing, therefore doubling the capacity of the network and allowing more trains to run more often, as well as integrating with roads and bus services to enable a turn-upand-go public transport system across the whole of SEQ. The project incorporates a 10km rail line from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, which includes 5.9 kilometres of twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and the CBD, with four new underground stations. A new European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling system is also being delivered to improve safety and assist in managing capacity constraints in the network. Numerous station upgrades between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and three new stations at the Gold Coast end the network are also planned. Cross River Rail Authority’s program director David Lynch says early works have now been officially completed, though these are relatively small in the overall scheme and context of the project. “Our procurement processes are essentially complete as of the end of October, and construction is now underway across all three packages, with four to five years of construction and
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commissioning ahead,” Lynch said. “All major work sites have now been handed over to the contractors.” The mammoth project will be delivered under three major infrastructure packages of work: the Tunnel, Stations and Development (TSD) public-private partnership (PPP); the Rail, Integration and Systems (RIS) alliance; and the European Train Control System (ETCS). The TSD PPP will deliver the underground section of the project, including the tunnel from Dutton Park to Normanby and the construction of four new underground stations. It includes the associated mechanical, electrical and safety systems, such as vertical transportation for passengers at underground stations, above and underground track work, tunnel portals and dive structures, traction power systems and rail operation and control infrastructure. The package also includes a property development opportunity above Albert Street station. It will be delivered by the
The TSP PPP will deliver the undergroud section of the project.
PULSE consortium. The RIS “UNITY Alliance” will deliver the design, supply and installation of the supporting rail system, including rail civil and electrical works, rail operation systems and controls, as well as rail signalling and communications work. The alliance will also deliver accessibility upgrades to six suburban stations. The alliance will be responsible for the integration of Cross River Rail into Queensland Rail’s train network. The ETCS signalling system will be introduced to enable increased capacity on the network. It will be rolled out over several stages starting with a pilot program on the Shorncliffe Line in 2022 with early works commencing in late 2019. As part of these early works, trains and tracks will be fitted out with ETCS equipment which sends continuous data about the position, direction and speed of trains and enables the system to calculate a safe maximum running speed for each train. The ETCS will be delivered by Hitachi Rail STS.
Cross River Rail is being delivered with the help of Project DNA, the CRRA’s Project Digital Network Approach. “It is a complete digital twin of the Cross River Rail project. Now, we are currently working in the space of 3D and 4D, but developing additional dimensions as we move forward.” Lynch explains how the digital twin was developed, “where previously we built separate systems and models, here we’re using a common data environment.” “Essentially, it is one model with multiple applications to be used by multiple teams, so whether in the space of project delivery, program controls, communications and engagement or future precinct and planning and delivery, we’re using the one integrated model.” The model is built in three layers according to Lynch, the first being the Building Information Modeling (BIM) at the core of the model. “The second layer gives us geographic information system (GIS) mapping, which enables us to move from the 2D into the 3D environment, while the third layer uses the unreal gaming engine to provide an interactive and virtual reality experience.” The collaborative approach enabled by Project DNA helps in the design, construction, management and operation of the assets built, says Lynch. It will also improve the ontime and on-budget delivery of the project. The first stage of demolition for the Cross River Rail has commenced and Cross River Rail is now well into the delivery phase. An 85-metre tower crane will be used to bring down three buildings at the Brisbane Transit Centre site. Each building will be demolished level by level, which will take up to a year. METRONET A historic lack of investment into public transport resulted in the significant sprawl of Western Australia’s capital city, particularly north-south along the coast. This is why the Metronet initiative, the single largest investment in Perth’s public transport, is about unlocking the latent capacity within the existing network, according to executive director of Infrastructure, Planning and Land Services Owen Thomas. Thomas says that, ultimately, the initiative will close to triple the capacity of the existing network through targeted investments, including a high capacity signalling system and more trains. Metronet is the state government’s longterm plan, equally focused on transport infrastructure as on land use outcomes,
which will see new communities created as a result of investment. The underpinning target is a 45 per cent increase in dwellings near high frequency transport infrastructure by 2031. As part of delivering against that, the state’s Department of Communities, which largely delivers social housing, is targeting their investment program around specific Metronet sites as part of a social and affordable housing package. Fundamentally, the initiative involves the creation of 72km of new railway, up to 18 new stations, the removal of eight level crossings, the replacement of the aging A series rail car fleet and acquisition of an expanded fleet of 246 new C-series railcars, and the optimisation of nearly 5000 hectares of land. According to Thomas, the most significant and challenging aspect of the project is the implementation of the communicationsbased train control (CBTC) across the network. The final business case for the system is currently under consideration. According to Thomas, once it is rolled out, the signalling system will enable more frequent services, every 4 minutes in peak. Through early works, Thomas says that his transport infrastructure team, working in conjunction with the station precincts development team, have found that it will take $20-$25 million for other enabling infrastructure, such as utilities, to be delivered at the stations. “We’ll likely see the rail infrastructure delivered within four to five years from the project commencement, but regarding the longer-term outcomes, we will not see many of the station precinct developments on site until up to 15 to 30 years away. So, one of the key challenges is how to incrementally stage those outcomes so that you get the long-term benefits you want but don’t have a sterile station environment from day one.” In late December, “NEWest Alliance” was awarded a major Metronet contract for $1.25bn, to deliver the Yanchep Rail Extension and the Thornlie-Cockburn Link. The consortium comprises CPB Contractors and Downer, who will start construction work in mid-2020. The project will add 17.5 kilometres of rail to connect the Armadale and Mandurah lines through existing stations at Thornlie and Cockburn Central. The new link will include two new stations at Ranford Road and Nicholson Road. The Thornlie-Cockburn Link will be the first east-west connection between rail lines on the Perth network. It will involve
“The most significant and challenging aspect of the project is the implementation of the communicationsbased control across the network.” Owen Thomas, Executive Director of Infrastructure, Planning and Land Services
replacing a pedestrian level crossing with a footbridge, duplicating the Canning River Rail Bridge, and modifying the Ranford Road Bridge. The Yanchep Rail Extension will deliver the last proposed section of the Joondalup Line, from Butler to Yanchep, along a 14.5km route. It will public transport journey times by at least 30 minutes to and from the city. It’s estimated that by 2031, the ThornlieCockburn Link and Yanchep Rail Extensions will serve a population catchment of 400,000 people. Downer EDI was named as the preferred proponent to build the major rail components at one of Metronet’s level crossing removal projects, at Denny Avenue. This level crossing removal will be delivered through two design and construction contracts and will include raising more than 800 metres of track and associated infrastructure to enable a new road underpass. Early works on the project began in 2019 with geotechnical testing, demolition of buildings and removal of a number of Railway Avenue trees. Utility relocation will start in early 2020. Also in late December, Jacobs was named the preferred proponent to create the business case for the removal of the other six level crossings on the Armadale Line. Preliminary planning identified the potential for more crossings to be included in the project scope. “[2020] is shaping up to be a defining year for Metronet construction. Perth will have six Metronet projects under construction WWW.RAILEXPRESS.COM.AU | 47
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Main works will be delivered through a competitive alliance contract.
at once, creating thousands of local jobs and opportunities for local business,” said premier Mark McGowan. The other major Metronet contract, to deliver the main works for the MorleyEllenbrook Line, will not be announced until late 2020. The Morley-Ellenbrook Line will connect the north-eastern suburbs to the broader rail network and is the signature Metronet project. It will include 21km of rail, new stations, two underpasses to allow the rail line to enter and exit the Tonkin Highway median, associated infrastructure to connect to the existing line, road and bridge reconfiguration works and integration across other projects. Due to the complexity of the MorleyEllenbrook Line project, the works are divided into four packages, including the Bayswater Station Upgrade (to be awarded in early 2020), the Tonkin Gap project (civil and structural works to allow access in and out of the Tonkin Highway, to be awarded in mid-2020), the forward works and the main works. The forward works will be delivered under a series of standalone contracts, managed by the PTA and will include geotechnical field investigations, survey works, and the relocation and protection of the in-ground and overhead services of both the PTA and third-party assets. Main works will be delivered through a competitive alliance contract. It will include the design, construction and commissioning of rail track, systems and five stations. This will include bulk
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earthworks and retaining, structures, grade separations, roads and drainage. CITY RAIL LINK From transferring 14, 000-tonne historic buildings to new foundations to avoiding volcanic lava flows, the Auckland City Rail Link (CRL) project has been one of the more challenging transport infrastructure projects in the Australian/New Zealand pipeline. Similar to other jurisdictions however, Auckland has had a significant population increase. Since 2010, Auckland’s population has risen by 50 per cent. “We were at a stage where the road network was unable to cope,” City Rail Link’s CEO, Dr. Sean Sweeney, said. When a new station was built in 2003, it took until 2014 for the line to be electrified and new rollingstock provided. This resulted in the doubling of patronage numbers. “That passenger growth has continued ever since and City Rail Link has an ever-increasing need for public transport.” Construction towards the $4.4bn project officially commenced in 2018 with preliminary works ongoing since 2016. Its scope consists of the construction of twin 3.5 km long double-track rail tunnels underneath Auckland’s city centre, between Britomart Transport Centre and Mount Eden Railway Station. Two new underground stations will be constructed at Aotea and Karangahape. Britomart will be converted from a terminus station into a through station and Mount Eden Station will be completely rebuilt with four
platforms to serve as an interchange between the new CRL line and the existing Western Line. Wider network improvements are also part of the project. It is slated for completion by 2024. “Similar to Sydney and Melbourne, we’ve got some form of a loop. The Western line and the Southern line converge at one railway station with the Eastern line, so all of Auckland’s rail traffic goes into the Britomart station and then basically stops there so that the trains get backed up, full or not,” Sweeney said. “Essentially, what City Rail Link is seeking to do is make Britomart a through station and extend the line back up to the rail network so you can run trains in both directions. Then, by enabling longer, nine car trains, with longer platforms, we can triple the capacity of the rail network.” This means increasing capacity from 14,000 pph to 54,000 pph into the CBD, allowing for a train every ten minutes in peak. “By our calculations that’s the equivalent of 16 lanes of traffic into the city centre in peak,” Sweeney said. This will double the number of people within 30 minutes of NZ’s biggest employment hub, bringing with it significant commercial and residential opportunities around stations. Though early works commenced in 2016, Sweeney explains that about 10 years ago a forward-thinking Auckland mayor decided to start the project without funding from central government. “This project had quite an unusual start. The mayor realised that to make Britomart a
through station someone had to start building tunnels underneath the city, so Auckland council went out and started construction without central government support which was a very brave thing to do. “They managed it with a whole range of contracts and multiple contracting types, which made it a little bit confusing but it was what they had to do to get going, and it’s gotten off with different forms of construction, bored tunnels, cut and cover tunnels, etc. There’s a really complex grade separation into existing railway lines.” One of the challenges for the project is that Auckland is built on volcanoes “some of which erupted as recently as 800 years ago, which is very recent geologically”. “So, to try and avoid some of the recent lava flows we built an incredibly complex geological model. We used the information that was available to us to plot the safest route. We used this model to locate the top striations, so to avoid some of the most recent lava flows. That was a very complex investigation and we have made that model available to the bidders.” Another challenge is the current size of the infrastructure pipeline across a number of sectors in Australia and New Zealand. Over an eighteen-month period, Sweeney tracked the pipeline from $80bn in September 2017 to more than double that in August 2018, and then $220bn in February 2019. “I’ve never encountered this extent of growth and the way that this complicates what we have to do and the effect it has on our market is a real stretch. Certainly, historically New Zealand has built very little in 20 years and so, even getting major international contractors to take us seriously and come and bid for us was a big piece of work.” However, early works are now “pretty much completed” according to Sweeney. Moving forward, the agency has wrapped up the outstanding works (highlighted in yellow) – including the remaining tunnels, stations and rail systems infrastructure, as well as the related wider network and tracks – into one contract, Contract 3, to be delivered by a “Grand Alliance”. The alliance consists of: Downer, AECOM, Tonkin + Taylor, WSP Opus, Soletanche Bachy, and Vinci Construction. In October 2019, the demolition of thirty empty buildings demolished near the Mt Eden railway station began. This will ensure space for the construction of the southern portal for the City Rail Link’s twin tunnels. The cleared site will be used as a staging area for a Tunnel Boring Machine and other machinery.
The first phase of this demolition is due to be completed in March 2020 , and is being managed by the alliance. MELBOURNE METRO During January, works towards Melbourne’s metro tunnel ramped up with crews working throughout the month to excavate the final section of the tunnel’s entrance and make room for the new track which will connect existing lines to the tunnel. The crews will complete major concreting works at the tunnel entrance, pouring the final sections of the tunnel roof slab and installing the tunnel support structures. “It’s now two years since we signed the contract and we’re well up and running at seven construction sites along the alignment,” Tunnel and Stations package director at Rail Projects Victoria, Linda Cantan, said. As package director Cantan has overseen the procurement and contract negotiation for the $6bn package to build five new underground stations as well as the tunnel itself. She is responsible for managing the contract throughout construction. A number of companies are building the tunnel, and construction is split across several work packages. Early works to relocate services and prepare the construction sites were delivered by John Holland KBR. New tunnels and stations are being built through a Public Private Partnership, named the Cross Yarra Partnership consortium which includes: Lendlease Engineering, John Holland, Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital. Yarra Trams will deliver tram infrastructure works. Rail systems including signalling and systems integration work will be provided by CPB Contractors and Bombardier Transportation, while a consortium comprising John Holland, CPB Contractors and AECOM will deliver rail infrastructure works including the tunnel portals and realignment of existing rail lines. The project is projected to be complete by 2025. “We’re creating is a dedicated rail line between Sunbury and Dandenong. People ask why a dedicated rail line, by taking capacity out of the city loop we free up extensive capacity through the rest of the rail network.” The Melbourne Metro Rail Project includes twin nine-kilometre rail tunnels between South Kensington and South Yarra and five new underground stations. The project will take three of the busiest train lines (Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury lines) through a new tunnel under the
city and thus free up space in the city loop to run more trains in and out of the suburbs. “We have 4 tunnel boring machines doing our tunnelling, which were launched from our two logistics sites at North Melbourne and Anzac Station. Meg and Joan are travelling out to the west at the moment. “Joan has travelled 470 metres out of north Melbourne, and we’ve had to negotiate the city link viaduct under the Mooney Creek. Meg has gone about 137 metres. We’re also travelling along all of the rail network, so extensive work is needed to make sure we’re doing that in a safe way. To date progress has been very good and in fact the grand settlement has been better than predicted. “On the eastern side of the alignment, we have Millie and Alice who will launch early next year. They’ve been delivered to Domain, beside Anzac station, and will launch in the first half of 2020. They will be heading out to the eastern portal, then be retrieved and brought back to be relaunched and head towards the city.” “We’re in quite a narrow corridor and have retaining walls to build to ensure that there’s no settlement of the existing tracks, but we’re working in a very tight environment to create those exits and entrances to the tunnel structures. The PPP is constructing a shaft in that area for the TBM retrieval early in 2020.” “We’re developing these stations for ten car, high capacity metro trains, which will be procured under a separate PPP. As such our construction boxes are about 250 metres long and the width, depending on the station, about 25 to 30 metres,” Cantan explains. The Eastern tunnel entrance stops beyond South Yarra station as there is not enough room in the corridor. “What we’re trying to do here is to put another two train lines in a very congested corridor, where we have multiple train lines coming in from the South East. “This is another area where we have our Rail Infrastructure Alliance working alongside the PPP. The PPP can build their shaft, that will be used for the extraction of the TBM, right next to where the Rail Infrastructure Alliance are doing the cut and cover structure.” “We’re now underground in a lot of locations so I keep saying to people be: patient with us because we don’t open till 2025, but we’re now underground, tunnelling, excavating and starting the build out of our stations,” Cantan concludes.
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AUSRAIL Future Leaders
The SafeMILE pitch team accepting their award at the AusRAIL PLUS 2020 Gala Dinner.
Stellar third year for Future Leaders program A modern approach to safety during the first and last mile and navigating public transport through the language barrier were just two of the difficult problems tackled by teams during the ARA’s third annual Future Leaders program. AusRAIL PLUS 2019 helped bring to a close the latest iteration of the Australasian Railway Association’s Future Leaders program, which graduated a cohort of 33 young professionals from seven different Australian states and territories and New Zealand in 2019. Future Leaders is one of the ARA’s key initiatives in response to the ongoing skills crisis threatening the rail sector’s potential. “Within the rail industry there is such a demand for resources and skills due to the major investment by governments right across Australia and New Zealand in new rail infrastructure,” ARA chief executive officer Danny Broad said when discussing the program in its third year. To address this, the program aims to build a network of future leaders and provide a two-way exchange between future and current leaders in the rail industry. This higher level of engagement with the next generation of leaders is aimed at retaining them within the sector as they progress through their careers. The program is delivered in part by Dr Polly
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McGee, an author and professional training expert who has worked with the ARA since the inception of Future Leaders in 2017. “We’ve heard a lot throughout AusRAIL about people, and people being the centre of everything we do as a sector. Leading them, inspiring them, and understanding them is key,” McGee told the AusRAIL 2019 audience. McGee explained the process of the Future Leaders program, which is split into three parts. “In the first part, we really want the participants to look at themselves,” McGee explained. “Who are they in the mix? What do they bring to their leadership? And what do they need to have as part of their own development to be able to really effectively lead other people, and lead them from any part of the operation.” This first stage was delivered during a three-day workshop in July. Starting with a Myers-Briggs test, participants learned more about themselves and their personality traits. After an open discussion of some of the
wicked challenges facing rail, and drawing on the Myers-Briggs results, six diverse project groups were established to get to work solving them. “The first phase of the program really helped us look within and see where our strengths were, and maybe where they were not – and how we as leaders can adjust to better manage and work with others based on that knowledge,” participant Shakira Rawat told Rail Express. “They specifically put us together into groups because we were very different personalities,” fellow participant Tahni Littlejohn added. “Different minds working together with different strengths – you get the best of everything.” The Future Leaders got together again in September for their second workshop, which kicked off with alumni from past Future Leaders program during a speed networking breakfast. “One thing that’s really beautiful to see, now that we have these three cohorts graduated,
“We’ve heard a lot throughout AusRAIL about people, and people being the centre of everything we do as a sector. Leading them, inspiring them, and understanding them is key.”
The SafeMILE pitching team, from left to right: James Shaw, Tahnia Littlejohn, Shakira Rawat and Thomas Pulsford. (Absent: Josef Brennan and Matthew Green)
Dr Polly McGee, Author and Professional Training Expert is that the alumni group has become really strong,” McGee said. “Now they’re starting to reach out and support each other, it’s becoming an ecosystem of leadership.” Following the alumni networking was a tour of Yarra Trams’ Tram Hub and Metro Trains Melbourne’s Metrol facility, a Port of Melbourne boat tour, and a series of major project briefings. The second workshop also included a certified Dare to Lead training program, developed by bestselling author Dr Brené Brown. “This program is so essential in the current environment we’re in,” McGee, a certified Dare to Lead facilitator, explained. “What it does is ask leaders, ‘How do we train you to lead from courage and vulnerability?’ Courage and vulnerability are the two things that are going to be able to take us forward as a sector. “I’ve never met anyone in rail who said they were in the sector for the brand-new Tesla and the giant house. They’re here because of rail’s legacy, and they come because it’s important to them, so they need to be able to express themselves and be who they are in their roles. The Dare to Lead program gives them those tools, and it puts them in a place of deep discomfort from which they can really learn.” “The key takeaway for me from Dare to Lead was understanding yourself and having a belief in yourself,” Shez Islam, a senior project manager at VicTrack, told Rail Express. “During the project our group had a number
of times where we doubted ourselves, and what we could do. But the self-belief that we had kept us going towards a great result. It was a lifelong lesson that we’ll take with us throughout our careers and in our everyday life.” “The program is actually quite challenging,” Kelly Iverach, an associate director for workforce planning, train crewing and support at Sydney Trains added. “It asks you to dig quite deep and consider why you are responding to certain situations in a particular way; digging down to find what’s at the core of why we find things challenging, and that’s a different journey for everyone.” The third workshop occurred the day before AusRAIL PLUS on December 2. The six project teams, having worked together throughout the year, pitched solutions to their chosen wicked problems to a panel of ARA Board members. “We ask the teams to look at some of the wicked problems of rail, and come up with some really innovative, able-to-becommercialised ideas, that they can pitch to our panel of experts on the final day of the program, before they graduate,” McGee explained. “We ask them to do something meaningful and real – and the six projects that we had this year were nothing short of extraordinary.” Helping teams throughout their project were mentors – senior leaders selected from around the rail sector. One such mentor, Robert Angus, technical director for
Infrastructure Projects at Aurecon, said the Future Leaders program was helping make the rail industry a better one. “My focus was helping the team channel and focus some of their ideas and provide helpful guidance and an independent view where I could,” he said. “But ultimately it’s great to see young future leaders across the industry collaborate together towards a common cause.” SAFEMILE The winning pitch, voted for by attendees and announced at the AusRAIL Gala Dinner, was SafeMILE, an app concept developed by Matt Green, Tahni Littlejohn, Thomas Pulsford, Shakira Rawat and James Shaw. The basic premise behind SafeMILE is to use a peer-to-peer ride sharing model to help individuals find companions or groups to travel with. “Our project matters because we are aiming to transform the first and last mile into the SafeMILE,” Littlejohn said during the team’s presentation. “As a lot of work is being done to make transport journeys safer, the first and last mile remains a wicked problem – one our group has tried to address.” While relevant to all users of public transport, the SafeMILE team opted to target university students, given they are often financially restricted, and travelling late at night. One study reviewed by the group showed 79 per cent of surveyed female students had experienced harassment,
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AUSRAIL Future Leaders
groping or stalking on public transport in the last three years. Another found 90 per cent of female students surveyed in Sydney were not comfortable walking home at night. The SafeMILE team’s own survey found 80 per cent of respondents had felt unsafe on public transport, and more than 50 per cent said they felt unsafe specifically during the first or last mile of their journey. Their solution is a peer-to-peer ride sharing application for smartphone users. Using Google Maps data and public transport operational data, the app aims to plan journeys and connect users, providing key in-journey safety features. When a user selects a journey, they are informed whether there are any other app users taking that same journey. They can then request to join that person – or group, if one is already established – on that journey. Users can opt for varying levels of anonymity, but are assigned a rating, and can view each other’s level of verification:
bronze is a simple email verification, silver is an account connected with a university email address or at least two social media platforms, and gold is an account which has provided police clearance. Along with its basic purpose, the app also features journey sharing, GPS location, a duress alarm, and an incident reporting service. The journey sharing feature allows the user to notify people within their ‘circle of trust’ (e.g. family, close friends) the details of their journey, and GPS then keeps those people up to date with the user’s location throughout their journey. The SafeMILE team has also suggested this feature could be linked up with university security, if applicable. “In cases of duress, there’s a button within the app and on your smart watch, if you have one. Or you can also click your power or volume up button four times, and this will send an alert to your circle of trust, as well
The Transport Assist Australia pitching team, from left to right: Tristan Smith, Shez Islam, Aaron Hargraves, Luke Stevenson and Kelly Iverach. (Absent: Daniel Adams)
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as campus security, or to public transport security, depending on your location,” Shaw, a senior systems engineer with Calibre, explained during the pitch. “Separately the incident reporting feature allows users to report areas or sections of their trip where they witnessed threatening behaviour or felt unsafe, and this information can then be shared with other users of the app so they can make informed decisions about their journeys home that night.” Littlejohn added: “That data can also then be used by public transport users or universities to target unsafe hotspots, and focus their resources most appropriately to address them.” The SafeMILE team was at AusRAIL pitching for a $250,000 investment, which they believed would help them deliver a user-ready app, and invest in targeted advertising to help develop a starting user base. Revenue would come from in-app advertising.
2019 ARA FUTURE LEADERS GROUP PROJECTS: • WINNER: S afeMILE: Transforming the first and last mile into the SafeMILE – Allowing commuters to connect and engage within their level of comfort to travel the first and last mile to help them feel safer. Author and keynote speaker Dr Polly McGee helped facilitate the Future Leaders program.
TRANSPORT ASSIST AUSTRALIA The second-placed pitch, also presented to the wider AusRAIL audience, targeted improved customer satisfaction, reliability, and levels of engagement on public transport for nonEnglish speaking residents and tourists. It was presented by Transport Assist Australia, a team of Daniel Adams, Aaron Hargraves, Shez Islam, Kelly Iverach, Tristan Smith and Luke Stevenson. Using Bluetooth beacon technology, an app would help users navigate stations and concourses in their native tongue. Beacons would be set up around a station and used to trigger alerts via the app on the user’s phone. One example would be a welcoming beacon, which would provide key information and options as the user approached the station itself. Another would be a safety beacon, which would ensure users are alerted that they are in or near an unsafe location, e.g. beyond the yellow line while waiting on the platform. “We spoke with both transport operators and effective users, and 96 per cent of those users said they would use an application like this while on transport here in Australia. 88 per cent of operators agreed this would improve ticketing and 100 per cent agreed it would improve wayfinding,” Hargraves, an infrastructure response team leader at Metro Trains, outlined. Hargraves explained when you combine
the 800,000 Australian residents who speak little to no English, with the 13 per cent of the average eight million annual tourists visiting Australia who are in the same boat, there is certainly a substantial target audience for this product. Under the team’s business model, $176,000 would be spent in year one to develop Southern Cross station as a pilot site for the program. $155,000 would be spent in each of years 2-5 to expand the program to the full City Circle – 30 stations – and develop interstate opportunities. $72,000 would then be spent in years 6-10 to maintain the City Circle systems and expand into other sectors and outside of Australia. HEADING INTO 2020 The ARA has announced plans for the 2020 edition of Future Leaders. Nominations will open in mid-March, ahead of a trio of planned workshops: • Workshop 1: Tuesday 30 June – Thursday 2 July in Melbourne • Workshop 2: Tuesday 1 – Thursday 3 Sept in Sydney • Workshop 3: Monday 30 Nov (AusRAIL 1 and 2 Dec) in Adelaide Find out more on the ARA’s website: ara.net.au/future-leaders-program
• R UNNER UP: Transport Assist Australia: A multi-lingual application to make navigating Australian railways simple and efficient for everyone. • Re-Rail Your Career: A social media campaign targeted at people who believed that their skills and experience cannot be easily transferred to the rail industry. • T IES – Tertiary Institution Engagement Strategy: Connecting students to the industry through rail course content. • o neTrack: Across the Australian rail market there is a distinct opportunity for the introduction of a centralised rail safe-working tool. oneTrack would act as a “one-stop-shop” for location based safe-working and operational information regardless of network owner/operator. • M omentum Materials Management: A tool to provide inter-organisational visibility of stock levels of key railway materials and share/purchase stock of standard items in order to keep the rail industry moving.
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Bumper year for ARA I’m very proud of where the ARA is now, and feel it is the right time to pass on the reigns to our new CEO.
AusRAIL 2019 would be Broad’s last as CEO.
“I’m very proud of where the ARA is now, and feel it is the right time to pass on the reigns to our new CEO.” Danny Broad, ARA CEO
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Danny Broad shed some parting thoughts to the rail industry about the importance of smart rail technology and the need for young blood. Outgoing Australasian Railway Association CEO Danny Broad hosted his last AusRAIL as CEO before handing over the reins to incoming CEO Caroline Wilkie. Broad was elected ARA chair at the 2019 ARA Annual General Meeting (AGM), taking over from Bob Herbert – who will continue his contribution to the rail industry as Chairman of the ARA’s harm prevention charity, TrackSAFE Foundation. “I thank Bob for his strategic leadership and achievements as chairman of the ARA, specifically the development of a new constitution, leading to improved governance and democracy within the ARA,” Broad said. As part of his outgoing address, Herbert addressed some of the issues he considered significant to the rail industry.
“Rail is a victim of our federation. There is no one sovereign government calling all the shots for rail like there is for industries like defence or shipbuilding. Make no mistake, this holds rail back, with nine governments to deal with on key national issues,” Herbert said. “It has stopped rail throughout its history, from the time the first rail tracks were carried. The cause lies in the way our political imperatives play out, it brings a natural cautiousness in decision making. Governments are always in different stages of the election process and rail is disadvantaged as a consequence.” As an example, Herbert cites the operation of the Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC). “This is the forum where transport
Bob Herbert bemoaned the lack of national policy on rail.
ministers across the jurisdictions come together twice a year and are supported by a body of senior bureaucrats. Unfortunately, outcomes from this process can only be described as last common denominator.” As such, he explained how trying to achieve a National Rail Plan is “still illusory”. “The bureaucrats so often have differing priorities to industry, and they become entrenched within government departments. In some cases, meeting with industry seems to be anathema to them, so progress is at a snail’s pace and this is extremely frustrating for industry.” In August 2018, members of the ARA met with the council so that companies could present their challenges to the council. “These were telling representations from our members on challenges relating to skills, resources, and standards,” Herbert said. As a result, the council decided to develop the Rail Action Plan through the National Transport Commission. “We’ve seen the first cut of this plan and so far, I regret to say, it falls a short of what we would like. So, there’s a lot more argy bargy to be doing with the National Transport Commission.” However, he warned industry against relying on government to deliver “what we can deliver ourselves”. As part of his own AusRAIL address, Broad recapped some of the ARA’s activities in what he called “an exciting and demanding year in all sectors of rail”.
The ARA, Broad said, spent 2019 advocating to governments about some of the biggest issues facing the industry. “We have focused on advocating to governments on how best to address the skills shortage, resulting in the development in the National Rail Action Plan, by the National Transport Commission.” The ARA has been calling on state, territory and federal governments to commit to a unified pipeline for major rail projects, to allow the private sector to better prepare itself with adequate skills and equipment to ensure contracts are executed as efficiently as possible. As part of this, the organisation recommended the federal government resource the Australia & New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline in its 2019-20 Budget Submission. The ARA lodged seventeen submissions to parliamentary and government inquiries on behalf of the sector over the last year. One of the key issues for a number of its submissions to government in 2019 included advocating for fairer rules for freight rail operators. “As far as possible, domestic rail freight markets should operate on an even footing with other modal choices. This requires an environment with equitable regulatory settings to enable competitive neutrality between competing modes of transport,” says the ARA’s annual report 2019. The ARA also called for an extension of the
Inland Rail line, the largest freight rail project in Australia. “The current project has the Inland Rail line ceasing at Acacia Ridge. The ARA calls for a commensurate project to ensure a freight rail line continues all the way to the Port of Brisbane. Research undertaken by Deloitte shows that building a dedicated freight rail connection to the Port of Brisbane could achieve a 30 per cent rail modal share, which would remove 2.4 million truck movements from the local road network,” according to the annual report. Among other issues, the ARA also calls for a “pragmatic approach to fast rail that recognises the need to plan for an invest in elements such as modernised signalling systems, passing loops, track duplication, and other critical requirements to increase infrastructure capacity and speed of passenger services”. “We have been progressing the smart rail and technology agendas, working with industry and governments on improving accessibility, advocating for rail and supporting rail careers through programs such as the women in rail pilot mentoring program and the formation of the young leaders advisory board, a potential attraction and retention campaign and the future leaders program to name just a few,” Broad said. “I’m very proud of where the ARA is now, and feel it is the right time to pass on the reigns to our new CEO,” Broad concluded.
Broad identified smart technology and rail careers as a focus for the ARA.
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AUSRAIL Faster Rail Agency
CREDIT: RAIL GALLERY
Rail solutions can alleviate population pressure.
Australia’s faster rail future Faster rail forms part of the federal government’s strategy to deal with population growth and congestion. The National Faster Rail Agency’s acting CEO Malcolm Southwell discusses his agency’s work at AusRAIL Plus 2019. Australia’s major cities are a key driver of the nation’s economic success and support the majority of the population in employment and economic growth. They are also growing, exponentially. “Our population is expected to reach 33 million people by 2040, and most of those 6.6 new Australians will settle in our major capital cities,” acting CEO of the National Faster Rail Agency (NFRA), Malcolm Southwell, said at the AusRAIL Plus 2019
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event held in Sydney. “Around 64 per cent of us live in cities and we’re one of the most urbanised nations in the world. As such, we have issues with congestion, housing supply and affordability.” Congestion costs are also expected to rise. According to Infrastructure Australia’s estimates, road and public transport congestion in the major cities will cost almost $40 billion by 2031, more than doubling from around $19bn in 2016.
Over 80 per cent of the estimated $21bn increase will occur in Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne and south east Queensland. A faster rail solution will go some way to alleviating population pressure in the cities. In comparison to other countries around the world, Australia has a relatively large land mass but low population density. While Australia has 3.2 persons per square kilometre, the US has 36. The UK has
275 persons per square kilometre, and Japan has 347. “We’re not just about building fast rail in the hopes that it works, we’re taking an evidence-based approach,” Southwell said. “Professor Andrew McNaughton of the UK, who is working with the NSW government on their faster rail plans, has publicly noted that reducing transit times to one hour or less is a particular sweet spot for improved access to higher paying jobs in capital city CBDs and increased economic development in regional centres.” The Faster Rail Plan, which the NFRA is tasked with delivering, intends to better align future population growth by linking major cities and growing regional cities in order to take pressure off the cities and strengthen economic ties with regional areas. With the December 2019 appointment of Barry Broe as inaugural chief executive officer of the NFRA, the agency is expected to ramp up its operations this year. Southwell was acting CEO from the agency’s creation in July 2019 until January 2020. He spoke at AusRAIL to update the rail industry on the NFRA’s work to date and what to expect in the future. So far, eight faster rail corridors have been identified, including: Sydney to Newcastle, Sydney to Wollongong, Sydney to Parkes (via Bathurst and Orange), Melbourne to Greater Shepparton, Melbourne to Albury-Wodonga, Melbourne to Taralgon, Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. The NFRA will work in partnership with state and territory governments and private industry to develop the rail infrastructure necessary to accommodate a faster rail solution between major cities and key regional centres. It will develop proposals, examine routes and begin the process of corridor planning, acquisition and protection. “We’ve started a conversation with states
on the east coast about interoperability and standards of faster rail projects to avoid a repeat of issues around passenger services between jurisdictions,” Southwell said. An expert panel will provide advice to government on faster rail related matters including existing business cases, new potential faster rail corridors, future developments across networks and infrastructure requirements and priorities. The panel will advise on staging and delivery options. The NSW government has appointed Professor Andrew McNaughton to lead the panel. He has more than 45 years’ experience working on rail infrastructure projects, including the UK’s High Speed project. The first three of the overall eight faster rail business cases have now been completed, the agency confirmed in January. The business cases for Sydney to Newcastle, Melbourne to Greater Shepparton and Brisbane to the regions of Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast are now being reviewed by the agency. NFRA will provide advice to government on the findings and its recommendations for next steps in the coming months. These corridors and the remaining five, which are “progressing well” according to the agency, were identified based on the intention to support growing population movements. For example, the agency’s first priority, to deliver faster rail between Geelong and Melbourne, will have major benefits for those living along the corridor, including quicker access to work and services in both locations, as well as greater choice around housing and less congestion. “Geelong is one of the fastest growing regions, growing at a rate of around 2.7 per annum,” Southwell said. “Transport connectivity between
“Faster rail can be achieved through upgrades and modifications to existing rail infrastructure, such as passing loops, new signalling systems and level crossing removals.” ARA’s Annual Report 2019 Melbourne and Geelong is constrained by existing infrastructure and rail investment has not kept up with population growth. These constraints have a range of flow on effects, including hampering regional development and increasing road congestion. The agency acknowledges, however, that better connectivity could, in some circumstances, result in regional towns becoming dormitory suburbs for larger cities. “We’re very much aware of these concerns and as part of our work we’ll look for the opportunities where faster rail can actually work for the economy and job markets in these regional towns. We’re actively talking to regional centres about the challenges and opportunities faster rail will bring to their economy.” Southwell is adamant that faster rail will resolve population pressures if regional
A faster rail solution will link Australia’s major cities with the growing regional centres.
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AUSRAIL Faster Rail Agency
NSW’s short- to medium-term focus will be on upgrades of existing rail routes.
centres are made attractive. “For example, lowering operating costs for enterprises in regional towns will attract businesses to the area. Faster rail will provide these businesses will labour markets in the capital cities and provide opportunities for economic development in regional towns. “That effect is evidenced here in Australia. In Geelong, rail was instrumental in maintaining the attractiveness of the city following the large and sudden downturn in the manufacturing sector. Research and modelling work have shown that the emergence of strong employment centres has been able to attract service jobs, and that was greatly facilitated by an increase in efficient rail services.” Faster rail services are capable of reducing travel time in the corridor even further, from an hour to closer to half an hour, and thus enable more commuters to travel along the rail corridor. Another challenge the agency will need to soon resolve is cost. “Studies conducted between 2010 and 2013 on a high-speed rail between Melbourne and Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane found that it would have an estimated construction cost of around $114bn in 2012-dollar terms. “Noting current construction market pressures and inflation impacts, this figure will increase significantly in today’s terms
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and could be as high as $150 to $200bn. “Whatever the amount, this is a significant cost, and obviously needs to be considered against all the other projects making up a core share of taxpayer’s funds.” The Australasian Rail Association says that it supports the utilisation of innovative financing and funding mechanisms such as “value capture” development opportunities along rail corridors to help fund faster rail infrastructure. “It will be critical that the Agency, under Mr Broe’s leadership, recognises the need to invest in existing and new lines to stretch government dollars and provide a faster rail service offering that meets the needs of the Australian population,” ARA chair Danny Broad said. “In addition to supporting the establishment of new fast rail lines as a means to decentralise Australia’s population and support regional development, the ARA highlights that optimising our existing networks cannot be overlooked,” the ARA’s Annual Report 2019 said. “Faster rail can be achieved through upgrades and modifications to existing rail infrastructure, such as passing loops, new signalling systems and level crossing removals.” Meanwhile, the NSW government says it will examine a range of funding options and smart staging, as part of the Fast Rail Network Strategy, to ensure the fast rail
network provides value for money. Each funding option considered as part of the strategy will be assessed based on the estimated cost of the project in light of economic and other benefits to the community, and complementary revenuegenerating opportunities. The state government says that international experience shows that fast rail networks can be delivered in stages, with each stage delivering immediate benefits. NSW’s short- to medium-term focus will be on upgrades and the optimisation of existing rail routes, with dedicated track improvements such as junction rearrangements, curve easing, deviations, passing loops and level crossing removals on existing routes. Its longer-term focus will be on a dedicated and purpose-built rail line, with new lines and routes, as well as new rolling stock. According to Southwell, the national agency is cognisant that its work will affect the future of how people live. “This is no simple task and requires debate and dialogue from all sides of the equation. We’re still very new but through ongoing conversations with our key stakeholders, including those in regional communities, we acknowledge that consideration needs to extend well beyond just building a new rail line and a train station,” Southwell said.
Safety & Assurance RISSB
Sharing investigations – lessons for industry In its monthly column, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board discusses the Sharing Investigations Forums scheduled in March and September 2020. One of the forums RISSB co-ordinates on behalf of the rail industry in Australia and New Zealand is the Sharing Investigations Forum. The aim of this forum is to share lessons from a deep dive into incidents involving rail transport operators. The ATSB has attended part of each forum and provided an analysis of, and lessons from, a rail incident. Or at the most recent forum, from an aviation incident. Featuring high on the agenda has been a presentation from a university around incident investigation and systems thinking. To date, two forums have been held – one in Melbourne in 2018 and the other in Brisbane in 2019. Both Sharing Investigations forums were fully booked, and feedback was phenomenal with two further forums planned for 2020 – Sydney on 30th March at John Holland, Pyrmont and the second in Perth, likely to be held in September 2020 at Fortescue Metals Group in Perth. Organisations that have presented and discussed an incident and the ensuing
Many lessons from incidents were shared during the forum.
Investigations into major incidents are a key platform for knowledge building.
investigation into that incident have included: MTM, TasRAIL, ARTC, QR, Arc Infrastructure and Aurizon. While there were many lessons shared, there were several common but critical lessons for industry that emerged from the in-depth discussions. These include: • The need for clear, accurate safety critical communication (including the need to proactively monitor and demonstrate this). • The need to support identification of local risks (where workers do not perceive the level of risk, or the changing risk profile over time on site). • The importance of leadership from senior management/senior executives (response to incident is to ensure safety before continuing operations). • The benefits of reinforcing positive behaviours (through providing a just and safe culture).
• C larity on each person’s role and responsibility (ambiguity leading to assumptions that something was done). RISSB is gathering lessons from these forums and turning them into a series of key lessons for industry that will be presented at the 2020 RISSB Rail Safety Conference in Sydney on 31 March and 1 April 2020. In relation to communications, RISSB has worked with industry to develop and publish a Safety Critical Communications Guideline (January 2018) and has since developed and is offering a Safety Critical Communications Course. For more information about RISSB’s 2020 Rail Safety Conference, please visit www.rissb.com.au/events/rissb-rail-safetyconference-2020/ To view RISSB’s 2020 training and events, please visit www.rissb.com.au/events/. WWW.RAILEXPRESS.COM.AU | 59
Industry Associations ARA
Light rail has ‘returned to the fabric’ of Australian cities
ARA board chair Danny Broad.
Danny Broad examines the state of Light Rail in Australasia, and reflects on his time as ARA CEO. The ARA 2020 Light Rail Conference scheduled to be held in Canberra on 4-5 March heralds our inaugural industry rail conference for the decade. The conference will also be Caroline Wilkie’s first event as ARA CEO. As we commence a new decade, new ARA leadership and converge on our Nation’s capital for our annual light rail conference, I felt it timely to celebrate the renaissance of light rail in our regional cities, the nation’s capital, and recent rebirth in Australia’s largest city, Sydney, 50 years after its last tram lines were ripped up. With light rail now in multiple major
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and regional cities around Australia, on the agenda in others, and Melbourne home to the world’s largest tram network, we can well and truly lay claim that light rail has returned to the fabric of Australasian cities, and regions. Late last year saw the much-anticipated return of light rail operations to George Street in Sydney. The 12km route featuring 19 stops, extending from Circular Quay along George Street to Central Station, all the way to Randwick, significantly expands light rail in Sydney and was no small feat to deliver. It now plays a key role transporting thousands of customers between the city
and Sydney’s inner west and south eastern suburbs, building on the existing Dulwich Hill Line in Sydney’s West. The network will be further expanded with the Kingsford Line which is scheduled to open in March this year. Like many light rail projects before it, I’m sure the pain felt during construction will soon be forgotten and the benefits of light rail travel through Sydney embraced. Elsewhere in Sydney, construction is due to commence this year for Parramatta light rail. Expected to open in 2023, it will be built in two stages to keep pace with the thousands of new houses and jobs being created in Western Sydney. Stage 1 will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia with a two-way track spanning 12 kilometres. The currently preferred route for Stage 2 will connect Stage 1 and the Parramatta CBD to Sydney Olympic Park along a nine-kilometre route. A key component in the strategy to renew the Newcastle CBD, Newcastle Light Rail commenced operations in 2017, with a six station 2.7km service running from the Central Business District to Newcastle Beach Park. The first fully integrated public transport network in Australia, the system was designed to turn around declining public transport in the city and has been a resounding success. Operation of the 12km initial stage of the Canberra light rail, including 13 stops, commenced in April 2019 connecting the northern town centre of Gungahlin through Dickson to the Canberra city centre. More than one million passenger journeys were completed in the first three months, cementing the success of Canberra light rail. Following the success of this route, the ACT Government is now progressing with the development of the second stage to connect the city centre to Woden. With the business case for Stage 2A endorsed, work has commenced on extending light rail from the city centre to Commonwealth Park. Like many light rail projects before it, Canberra’s light rail has spurred significant commercial and residential property development along its
route. It will no doubt provide an interesting case study on light rail and its ability to rejuvenate and densify cities. It could be argued that the Gold Coast led the resurgence of light rail in Australia. The initial stage of Gold Coast Light Rail that commenced operation in July 2014 runs from the Gold Coast University Hospital to Broadbeach South. Fast, frequent trams connect 16 light rail stations along a 13-kilometre route. The Stage 2 extension opened in December 2017 ahead of schedule and under budget in time for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, establishing a vital connection from the existing northern light rail terminus to the regional passenger rail network. With federal and state government funding now secured for the long-awaited Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3A from Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads, following a competitive tender process, a contract for the design and construction of Stage 3A is expected to be awarded in late 2020. Like Sydney and many other cities around the world, Adelaide phased out its tram network in favour of buses and cars in the 1950’s. Last year, the South Australian Government went to tender to privatise the operations of its heavy rail passenger network and is also contracting out the 16.5km tram operations, as part of an integrated bus-tram tender. Contracts are expected mid-2020 As in many other cities around the globe, light rail has been on and off the agenda in Perth. As Perth’s population grows, its Metronet program will deliver up to 72 kilometres of new passenger rail and up to 18 new stations. During 2019 the Western Australian Department of Transport commenced early planning for an inner city light rail project. Across the ditch, investment in transport infrastructure is also booming. The Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) has committed to providing light rail between the City Centre and Māngere to Auckland’s northwest within the next 10 years. The New Zealand Government has requested the New Zealand Transport Agency and Infrastructure New Zealand prepare refined proposals for this light rail rapid transit corridor and future network integration, for government consideration. When the government’s assessment process for the City Centre to Māngere Light Rail line is complete early next year, there will be a better understanding of the next steps for the City Centre to North West corridor. Without a doubt the jewel in the crown of Light Rail in Australia is the Melbourne tram network, which dwarfs all others. It is indeed the world’s largest, with over 250km
The ARA Light Rail event heads to Canberra in March.
of double track, completing over 200 million trips annually, by 493 trams with over 1,760 stops. The network is being continually upgraded with a rolling program of new and consolidated tram stops, new substations, track upgrades, as well as maintenance and repairs on existing infrastructure. It is ubiquitous to Melbourne, Australia’s fastest growing city, and is successfully woven into the city’s fabric. It is one that we should all be truly proud of. This is my last editorial for Rail Express as the ARA CEO. The next edition will be authored by our new CEO Caroline Wilkie who commences with the ARA in mid-February. I’m immensely proud of the ARA Team and their achievements over the last four years to support our members and all sectors of the rail industry. The numerous highlights are difficult to summarise, however a number of milestones come to mind including: • Publishing the National Rail Industry Plan and the Value of Rail reports to highlight the economic and social benefits that rail provides for our communities, • Publishing the BIS Oxford Economics Skills Gap Report that highlighted the skills and resources challenges facing our industry and advocating how government and industry can best address these, • Presenting with 12 senior rail executives to all Transport Ministers at the Transport and Infrastructure Council in August 2019 on the rail industry skills and resources challenges and gaining their support to develop an action plan with the National Transport Commission, • Progressing the Smart Rail Route Map and technology agendas, • Working with industry and governments to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
• L odging countless submissions to parliamentary and government inquiries, advocating for rail, engaging with governments and industry to advance the Inland Rail project as well as the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, • Supporting Rail Careers and the drive for a younger more diverse workforce through programs such as Future Leaders, Young Rail Professionals, the Women in Rail Pilot Mentoring Program, the formation of the Young Leaders Advisory Board (Y-LAB), and our work with careers advisers at careers fairs, • Holding hundreds of functions and events including conferences, training courses, networking dinners, lunches, seminars and forums to provide networking and knowledge sharing opportunities for our industry, • Growing the ARA’s membership to more than 150 companies, • Developing with the ARA Board, Y-LAB and the ARA Team the ARA Strategy Map 2019 to 2024 to set the strategic direction over the next five years. This map details both strategic objectives and strategic outcomes that will provide a platform for Caroline and the ARA Team to drive a supportive agenda for all sectors of the rail industry. I’m very proud of these and other achievements of the ARA Team and thank them, our former chairman Bob Herbert AM, the ARA Board and all our ARA member companies for their continuing support. I’d like to express my thanks also to Rail Express for its partnership with the ARA and continuing to produce quality digital and print rail news publications. Rail has a bright future and I look forward to continuing to support the industry in my new role as ARA Chair. WWW.RAILEXPRESS.COM.AU | 61
Industry Associations ALC
Modal shift a key Forum focus In his monthly column, Australian Logistics Council CEO Kirk Coningham talks about the goals of the ALC’s upcoming Forum.
Australian Logistics Council CEO, Kirk Coningham.
A key challenge for Australia’s freight rail sector in 2020 is to demonstrate how boosting rail’s share of the freight task will enhance the efficiency, safety and sustainability of freight movement through supply chains. Western Sydney is fast becoming a showcase for what can be achieved in this respect, through the establishment of the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal – a facility that will help drive modal shift and alleviate road congestion in Australia’s largest city. To bring national attention to these developments, the Australian Logistics Council has decided to stage its signature annual event – ALC Forum 2020 in Western Sydney on 18-19 March. The event will connect business leaders, government representatives, investors, infrastructure owners, educational institutions and leading logistics companies with the business opportunities that now abound in Western Sydney through Australia’s supply chains. ALC Forum 2020 will present attendees with the chance to connect with those who are designing the future – and make sure their businesses understand what that future means for them.
ALC Forum 2020 will explore how some of the best-practice approaches to planning, building and optimising freight infrastructure in Western Sydney can be deployed across other parts of Australia, enhancing the efficiency, safety and resilience of the national supply chain. Other elements of the ALC Forum 2020 program will discuss the challenges and opportunities for the freight sector nationwide in productivity, safety and building a sustainable workforce. There will also be insights from leading political figures, researchers and major industry figures as they share their perspectives on emerging trends in freight movement, and discuss the policy and regulatory reforms needed to accommodate a freight task that will increase by 35 per cent by 2040. This is the one industry event that connects the whole supply chain - service providers, infrastructure owners, investors and customers – in the heart of Australia’s fastestgrowing economic region. To be part of it, visit www.austlogistics.com.au/ ALCForum2020
The ALC’s annual Forum will head to Western Sydney in 2020 following a successful event in Melbourne in 2019.
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