Rail Express May 2023

No safeguard for rail

Pacific National has warned that the Federal Government’s transport safeguard mechanism will drive more freight from trains to trucks, increasing carbon emissions.

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Will fare-free public transport work?

Liebherr excelling everywhere all at once

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Ray Chan Editor - Rail Express

Welcome to the May issue of Rail Express

This year’s Heavy Haul Rail Conference provided plenty of food for thought for delegates. Held in Perth, the heavy haul centre of Australia, the event heard from presenters addressing local and international project expertise, and tackled key issues such as decarbonisation, trends and innovations, and developments in equipment, technology and maintenance.

If anything, the conference reiterated the importance of having an efficient and resilient rail freight structure across the country, amply demonstrated by the WA experience. Rail systems form an essential part of the transport landscape upon which the entire state economy depends, from the world-leading systems in the rich Pilbara minesites to the long distance interstate supply chain and bulk grain export networks.

During the pandemic, the iron ore industry was able to maintain record export levels, thanks to an efficient line of haulage run by the miners in a very challenging period.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of inter-state freight. The domestic markets were almost brought to a standstill when the South Australian floods cut the East-West rail line for a month, culminating in bare supermarket shelves.

It’s an example of how climate change has emerged as a significant challenge for rail supply chains. As extreme weather events become more frequent, rail infrastructure is becoming increasingly vulnerable to damage.

This issue, we take a deeper dive into the problems confronting our supply pipeline. It’s no secret that it has been facing several challenges in recent times, hindering the efficiency and reliability to move goods over long distances.

Rail supply chains are the backbone of the modern economy, facilitating the efficient movement of goods and resources across vast distances, and it remains the most efficient and cost-effective option for many industries.

One of the most significant problems facing it has been the lack of investment in infrastructure, resulting in ageing tracks, bridges, and other assets that require constant maintenance. This has led to delays and disruptions in the movement of goods, as well as increased costs for businesses.

The current shortage of skilled personnel in the industry also doesn’t help. It goes without

saying that the sector requires a highly trained and experienced workforce, including engineers, conductors, and technicians, to ensure that trains run smoothly and efficiently.

COVID exposed several weaknesses in the system. Border closures, travel restrictions, and disruptions to global trade have all had a significant impact on rail transport.

Many rail companies have had to reduce their services, some logistics operators have shut down, while others have had to find alternative routes to move their goods. These have led to increased costs and delays in the movement of goods, affecting businesses across the country.

Commendably, when it comes to keeping products flowing, Australia’s largest private rail freight company, Pacific National, is not resting idly. It stepped in quickly to help the nationwide transport of refrigerated goods after the collapse of Scotts Refrigerated Logistics in March, while its CEO Paul Scurrah continues to remind our governments of the need to build tougher, stronger rail lines for transport.

Elsewhere in this issue, there’s a feature on how the booming rail industry has also been of benefit to Indigenous businesses across Australia.

As an industry that operates at the heart of the community, the rail sector reflects the needs of everyone it serves, and that means embracing the need to be more inclusive.

When the industry proactively engages with Indigenous businesses, not only does it bring in fresh ideas, but also helps develop long term career opportunities for Indigenous people.

Meanwhile, a new University report has recommended the introduction of a fare-free public transport system, arguing that such a move would entice more drivers to leave their carbon-emitting cars at home and switch to more economical and environmentally friendly modes of mass transit.

However, there is concern free rides would inevitably result in a rise in public transport use, leading to substantial crowding on the network.

Rounding off the magazine are our usual roundup of state and national industry news, contributions from our industry partners, updates on contracts and tenders, and a focus on contractor capabilities. Enjoy the read!

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New South Wales

NSW farmers reach Inland Rail agreement

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and the NSW Farmers Association (NSWFA) have jointly produced an information pack that provides further details on how Inland Rail is addressing issues of concern to landowners along the alignment, including the property acquisition process, fencing standards and Inland Rail’s complaint management process.

In December 2021, the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee report on Inland Rail recommended that an independent mediator be employed to facilitate an improved working relationship between the two parties.

In response to this recommendation, both sides have been engaging in open and productive mediator-facilitated discussions, working through issues of mutual concern.

Inland Rail acting chief executive Rebecca Pickering said the release of the information pack was a demonstration of the organisation’s shared commitment to listening and understanding the perspective of farmers in the state and “reaching mutually beneficial solutions which enable the safe and efficient delivery of Inland Rail for the benefit of regional Australia”.

“We have worked very closely with NSWFA to develop an improved understanding of how we can work more effectively together and deliver better outcomes for property owners,” she said.

“We are confident that this information pack

that we have developed with NSWFA will be a valuable resource for property owners and will help them better engage with Inland Rail.”

NSWFA Inland Rail Taskforce chair Peter Wilson said there had been frank and robust conversations with ARTC executives about the expectations of farmers and other landholders, and “we’re pleased with the result”.

“Our goal was to improve engagement between the ARTC and landholders to be more transparent, fair and honest. We’re hopeful this will provide a better way forward for Inland Rail for all parties involved,” he said.

When completed, the Inland Rail project will connect Melbourne to Brisbane with a heavy freight line. But the project was met with opposition after many landholders along the

route had raised concerns about the way ARTC and some of its contractors were operating.

“There will always be a problem of a power imbalance when a powerful, government-backed agency turns up in the country with instructions to build infrastructure,” Wilson said.

“These projects – no matter how important or well-supported – will always have an impact on existing land use and that needs to be dealt with first, and this interaction with ARTC in sitting down together, identifying and agreeing on where there is unfair treatment of landowners, and sorting out a better way forward, should be template for how all agencies of government better deal with the real issues of building infrastructure on private farming land.”

Haylen vows to fix train network failings

New South Wales’ freshly-minted transport minister Jo Haylen has announced an independent investigation into the malfunctions of Sydney’s train network.

Incidents over the past few months have included delays and widespread outages, such as the recent digital radio system failure that shut down the entire system, and discontent over the controversial Korean-built train fleet which led to a transport worker strike.

“Signal failures, shutdowns, cancellations and delays. After years of the Liberals ignoring problems on our railway, it’s time to start looking for solutions,” she said.

“In March alone, our rail network saw two signal failures leading to delays across the network, and a snapped power line saw 500 people stuck on a train for 90 minutes.

“We’ve inherited a rail network riddled with

serious problems. It will take time to solve them, but that work begins now.

“That’s why we are carrying out a vital review into our trains. It’ll find rapid and durable solutions for the problems our network faces.

“This review will mean a safer and more reliable service, so passengers aren’t left on platforms and rail workers aren’t left frustrated because they haven’t been listened to.”

Haylen has engaged former National Transport Commission chair Carolyn Walsh to oversee an external audit of Sydney Trains –despite the service’s advice that an internal review would suffice.

“With Carolyn leading the review and the Sydney Trains team ready to work with her to find solutions, I’m confident we’ll find new ways to deliver a better rail service for all of NSW,” Haylen said.

As shadow minister leading up the recent state election, Haylen had claimed that the Liberal Government was warned of the potential for a train network failure a year ago, and did nothing.

“Passengers simply want a safe and reliable public transport system,” she said.

Haylen also praised the H set trains, a class of electric multiple units currently operated by NSW TrainLink.

“The H-set trains are some of the last to roll off NSW production lines,” she said.

“Built in Newcastle, they’re reliable, wellbuilt and ready to keep serving the network for years to come.

“When we build things here, they last and create thousands of jobs along the way.

“That’s why we’ll build the next generation of Sydney trains here as well.”

There had been concerns about the way ARTC and some of its contractors were operating along Inland Rail routes.

Queensland

Smashing time for some Queensland drivers

Queensland Rail has released footage of erratic and irresponsible drivers smashing through boom arms at level crossings, prompting a plea for caution around the tracks.

Queensland Rail Senior Manager Security and Emergency Preparedness Drew Brock said the footage painted a distressing picture of drivers blatantly ignoring safety signs and signals as they dashed across the train tracks.

“Boom arms are being dislodged and cars are hurtling through the level crossings, sometimes seconds from a collision with a train – it’s hard to watch,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s inattention or indifference, if you ignore the warning signs, the result can be the same – catastrophic.

“Trains travel fast, they’re slow to stop and they can’t swerve – so it’s up to motorists to stay safe obey the flashing signals and boom arms at level crossings.”

Brock said boom arm strikes across the South-East were on the rise.

“We saw seven drivers strike Queensland Rail boom arms in just one month in January, following an alarming upward trend. In 2022 there were 85 boom strikes – up from 72 the previous year,” he said.

“Aside from the obvious danger to lives, damaging boom arm infrastructure is costly, leaves the level crossing exposed to traffic and causes service disruptions.”

Brock said the increase in year-on-year boom arm strikes prompted Queensland Rail to join forces with Queensland Police and refresh a targeted safety campaign.

“Our message is simple, avoid harm, stop before the boom arm,” he said.

“There are flashing red lights that operate for at least eight seconds before boom arms start to lower, so drivers need to pay careful

attention to these, and just like you stop at a red traffic light – stop at red flashing lights at level crossings.”

Queensland Police Service Senior Constable Jason Goodwin said police would continue to patrol South-East level crossings.

“We’ll have mobile message boards around the network, as an added reminder but we’re pleading with motorists to do their part and make safe choices.,” he said.

“If you’re doing the wrong thing, rest assured you’ll be glad it’s us catching you and not an oncoming train.

“Drivers also risk heavy fines – disobeying warning lights at level crossings can result in a $431 infringement notice and three demerit points.

“Any damage to rail infrastructure (including boom arms) could earn $1150 in fines and four demerit points.”

Cross River Rail costs blow out by $960 million

The costs for Brisbane’s transformative Cross River Rail (CRR) project have blown out by $960 million to an estimated $6.3 billion.

As well, the opening of the subterranean network to the public has been delayed by about three months, to the first quarter of 2026.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said an extra $848 million was required to deal with rising costs, while a further $112m has been allocated to acquire additional land at Roma Street.

He said economic turmoil from a multitude of factors had resulted in similar revisions for other rail mega-projects.

“There have been 50-80 per cent cost increases on Brisbane Metro, Sydney Metro, and the West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne, with

between one to three-year delays,” he said. “In comparison, the impacts on Cross River Rail have been the lowest in the nation, at a 17 per cent cost increase and delay of only three months.

“It’s unavoidable to have impacts from COVID, from La Niña, the Ukraine war, supply chain impacts.”

Praising the work already done on CRR, Bailey said track installation inside the tunnels had been completed.

“What an achievement from the construction team. They’ve faced workforce challenges, COVID delays and supply chain issues, and still managed to pull of this huge achievement in less than a year.”

Meanwhile, CRR crews have completed one

of the longest and most complicated pieces of track work ever undertaken on South East Queensland’s rail network, realigning the Exhibition line to run over a new 150-metre bridge outside the RNA Showgrounds.

Around two years of preparation was needed to enable the mammoth 21-day program, which saw continuous day and night shifts.

Over the three weeks, crews removed and rebuilt tracks in an almost 1.2kmcorridor outside the RNA Showgrounds, demolished the old eastern rail bridge, and fitted new track and overhead wires onto the new rail bridge before connecting it to the existing Queensland Rail network.

To avoid harm, drivers must stop before the boom arm.

Locals help shape Townsville station upgrade

The new multi-million-dollar upgrade to Townsville railway station in Queensland will consider suggestions and feedback from the local community.

The station is a major transport hub in the city, with close to 32,000 people moving through it each year.

Community consultation, held in March, will mark the start of a $1 million feasibility study to improve the facility.

Queensland Rail Acting Head of Regional Scott Cornish said this first stage of consultation would help inform the concept designs.

“Now that the initial consultation has closed, the project team will focus on delivering concept designs for the community to view and provide further feedback on,” he said.

Transport and Main Roads minister Mark Bailey said the Townsville upgrade was one of many regional rail investments across the state.

“The Townsville upgrade is part of an ongoing investment of more than $63 million

“Consultations on station upgrades will also kick off in Bundaberg and Cairns this year.”

The Townsville station design proposal includes an upgraded station building featuring a customer lounge with improved seating, tables and air-conditioning, breakout areas with device charging stations, and an integrated luggage check-in facility.

Other proposed upgrades include refreshed

significantly improving the customer experience.

Accessibility improvements will include the installation of tactile ground indicators, handrails where required, variable desk height at the luggage check in desks and new accessible toilets.

New accessible car parking will be delivered along with a drop-off zone that integrates with other public transport providers.

The public will soon be able to offer feedback on new concept designs for the station.

Collisions between trams and vehicles on rise

The Victorian Government has urged motorists to drive safely around trams, as the number of serious vehicle-to-tram collisions rise across Melbourne.

A number of Yarra Trams units have been taken off their tracks to undergo major repair works following collisions with vehicles.

There were 960 vehicle-to-tram collisions recorded in 2022, with 166 of them classified as serious.

call for motorists to share the road safely with trams and to never drive in the path of a moving tram.

Most collisions involving trams occur when a vehicle turns in front of a tram or drives on to tracks attempting to overtake others.

Around 95 per cent of tram-to-vehicle collisions are caused by vehicles on the tracks.

Vehicle-to-tram collisions can cause major damage to trams and vehicles, as well as injuries

There are 10 trams out of service for collision repairs at any one time on average – about half of one route’s trams that are unavailable for service.

Melbourne’s trams weigh up to 62 tonnes – or about as much as 30 rhinos – and while some vehicle-to-tram collisions are minor, other collisions require major work by a skilled team at the Preston Depot to bring the trams back into service.

Public Transport minister Ben Carroll said Melbourne’s tram network was essential to keeping locals and tourists moving – so when serious vehicle-to-tram collisions occur, it can cause lengthy disruptions and result in the trams requiring major repair works for a long period of time.

“We know the network is shared with other road users and we want to keep it safe – so we’re urging motorists to take extra care when driving around trams and drive down the number of vehicle-to-tram collisions,” he said.

Yarra Trams acting chief executive Adele McCarthy said the company had integrated global best practice from across the world to streamline the repair process for its trams.

“Keeping a large and diverse fleet of trams on the network is no easy task, especially when repairing damaged trams is so labourintensive, but we’re keeping Melbourne moving even in challenging circumstances,” she said.

New purpose for level crossing timber

Trees removed as part of the Cranbourne Line upgrade in Melbourne have been repurposed.

As a result of the works, trains are now running every 10 minutes on average from Cranbourne in the morning peak, two dangerous and congested level crossings are gone for good and a new station at Merinda Park has been built.

With an eye to sustainability, the Level Crossing Removal Project looked for ways to re-use trees that could not be retained on the project.

The timber will be transformed into indoor and outdoor furniture and wood sculptures for Melbourne primary schools and kindergartens, as well as community projects, thanks to a partnership with Treasuring Our Trees.

The community organisation was founded in 2021 with the aim to rescue timber for re-use in Victorian schools and community projects and to help children learn how to value and recycle resources.

Founder David Ferrier said he was determined to salvage timber for use by schools and artists. His first mission was to collect fallen trees in communities afflicted by the severe storms of June 2021, which struck the Dandenong and Yarra ranges.

“The Level Crossing Removal Project is focusing on sustainability, and that’s why we decided to partner with the project,” he said.

“We’re impressed by the LXRP team’s foresight to salvage these logs for a greater

purpose. This wood can be used for cabinets, tables, outdoor furniture, yarning circles and kitchen gardens.”

Ferrier said on top of Treasuring Our Trees’ 20 primary school and kindergartens agreements in outer-east Melbourne, the company has recently begun presenting to secondary schools to raise awareness about sustainability.

“We also have more than 20 community projects, and we are absolutely determined to showcase the amazing work of local artists by providing them with natural resources to work with,” he said.

Across the Level Crossing Removal Project, more than 2.54 million trees, plants and shrubs have been planted.

There are 10 trams out of service for collision repairs at any one time on average.

Research grant helps to perfect plastic sleepers

A research team pioneering an eco-friendly alternative to the millions of railway sleepers across Australia has received a $500,000 research and development grant from the Victorian Government.

Since 2015, the Monash Institute of Railway Technology (Monash IRT), along with Victorian company Integrated Recycling, has been exploring the potential for transforming recycled plastics waste – such as shampoo bottles and plastic milk cartons – along with agricultural waste, into longlasting composite plastic railway sleepers.

The result has been the successful development of Duratrack sleepers, which have replaced timber sleepers in lowspeed railway yards and sidings as part of the upgrade of Victorian regional lines including Shepparton, Warrnambool and the Murray Basin. The sleepers have also been widely trialled by tourist and heritage railways, Metro Trains Melbourne, V/Line and Queensland Rail.

The latest Victorian Government investment builds on previous funding of $300,000 provided to Monash IRT and Integrated Recycling for the development of composite plastic railway sleepers in lowspeed rail networks.

Monash IRT director Professor Ravi Ravitharan said the latest funding would help the Institute to develop the next generation of composite plastic sleepers, this time to be used across Victoria and Australia’s mainline railway networks.

The Institute will work closely with industry partners Integrated Recycling, Advanced Circular Polymers, Pandrol Australia and the ARTC to develop the

sleepers in Australia. Of those, about 32 million are concrete, 11 million timber and 8.7 million steel, with numbers set to increase in light of Victoria’s $90 billion Big Build project.

He said through innovative projects such as the NextGen initiative, railways can play a significant role in meeting Australia’s carbon reduction targets, along with modernising the industry.

“This is another opportunity to change the mindset of the railway industry, which has generally been quite conservative and slow to implement innovative products,” he said.

“It’s also exciting because if you show

sleepers offer many benefits.

“These include a lower carbon footprint and a reduction in noise and vibration, which makes for a smoother ride for passengers, and a more peaceful environment for those living near train lines.,” he said.

Ravitharan said the plastic sleepers have a lifespan of up to 50 years and can be recycled at the end of their life, while a timber sleeper generally lasts only about 20 years.

One kilometre of the plastic sleepers divert more than 100 tonnes of recyclable plastic from landfill, representing a saving of up to $3000 per kilometre in landfill costs.

Murray Basin upgrades lift freight capacity

Upgrades as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project in Victoria have boosted freight capacity on the Ararat to Maryborough Line. New rail and ballast was installed along the 88-kilometre section of track, increasing freight capacity to 21-tonne axle loading for all wagons.

This stage of the project commenced in April 2022 and was completed in December following a 39-day closure of the line.

This upgrade will help to improve efficiency on the line by allowing freight trains to operate with heavier loads.

In a sustainability boost for the project, the rail for the project was delivered by 11 separate freight train trips from South Australia, replacing the equivalent of 357 truck trips for the more than 800-kilometre journey each way. This helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 76 per cent.

Up to 20,000 metres of rail removed during the line upgrade has also been sustainably re-used on the Daylesford Spa Country Railway.

Construction is underway on a new passing loop at Elmhurst, with other work this year to include passing loops at Emu and Tourello, installing a mobile refuelling station at Ouyen and signalling upgrades at the Ouyen and Maryborough yards.

Plastic sleepers lower the carbon footprint and reduce noise and vibration.

Report finds major problems with Inland Rail

The independent review of Inland Rail led by Dr Kerry Schott has found major deficiencies in the governance and delivery of Inland Rail.

While it confirmed that Inland Rail was an important project to meet Australia’s growing freight task, improve road safety and to help decarbonise the economy, it also found that it was running significantly over budget and significantly behind schedule, with just over 16 per cent of the 1700 kilometres of track completed so far.

Schott reported the estimated cost of Inland Rail blew out to approximately $31 billion under the previous government.

The revised estimate is almost double what the Coalition said it would cost as recently as 2020, a blowout described by Schott in her report as “astonishing”.

“Somewhat surprisingly, the project has commenced delivery without knowing where it will start or finish”, she said, adding that the final date and cost remain uncertain, because of a lack of confidence in the current estimates.

Infrastructure and Transport minister

Catherine King claimed that flagrant mismanagement of the project had led to the need for comprehensive change and a renewed look at the underpinnings of the project.

In her report, Schott outlines 19 recommendations to improve the delivery of Inland Rail, including through enhanced governance arrangements, the identification of intermodal terminal locations, and ensuring appropriate environmental approval processes.

“The Government has accepted all of Dr Schott’s recommendations in full or inprinciple,” King said.

in New South Wales – increasing resilience and improving supply chain productivity between Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Newcastle, the Illawarra and Adelaide.

“An independent cost estimator and value engineer will be tasked to undertake detailed assurance work to determine the updated cost and schedule for the program.

“Cost assessments will be informed from a position of greater certainty on the engineering and design of the route, with the Government acknowledging Beveridge and Truganina in Victoria, and Ebenezer in Queensland, subject to the completion of a business case with the Queensland Government, as the preferred locations for open-access intermodal terminals, with Beveridge and Ebenezer the end points for Inland Rail’s double stacked service offering.

“In the near term, work will continue to support completion of existing construction activities and planning works north of Parkes.”

New governance arrangements will ensure the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has the necessary skills and experience to deliver its functions. The Government has already commenced this process, having appointed Peter Duncan as the new chair of the ARTC and Collette Burke as a nonexecutive director in January 2023. A new substantive chief executive of Inland Rail will also be appointed as soon as possible.

“These moves will address the failures of the Coalition Government to meet its obligation to ensure the ARTC is governed properly and has the skills necessary for the work,” King said.

“The Government will also support Dr Schott’s recommendation to establish a

“ARTC has not received an updated the Statement of Expectations since 2018. This will be rectified shortly to give the necessary clarity and guidance to the ARTC Board to effectively deliver the Government’s objectives.”

Details of the Government response and the 19 recommendations made in the Schott Review, The Delivery of Inland Rail: An Independent Review, can be accessed from www.inlandrail.gov.au/independent-review

“When this Government can have faith that adequate environmental planning approvals are in place and there is sufficient certainty as to the scope and cost to build more of Inland Rail, we will do just that,” King said.

Australasian Railway Association chief executive officer Caroline Wilkie said the timely adoption of the recommendations would deliver certainty for rail freight operators and the wider supply chain, and maximise the significant benefits of the project.

“We must move more freight on rail to meet growing demand and respond to the climate crisis. It is absolutely critical that Inland Rail is delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible,” she said.

“Failure to do so would see more trucks on the road and undermine the rail industry’s efforts to support a more sustainable national freight network.

“Continued uncertainty about the project will make it harder for freight operators to plan and for complimentary businesses to invest along the route.

“It is therefore critical that the implementation of the review’s recommendations does not distract from work already underway and provides a clearer path forward for the remainder of the project.”

Wilkie said it was reassuring to hear that the Government is committed to delivering the entire 1700km track, which will directly link

“We welcome the commitment to ensure the route from Melbourne to Parkes is operational

“It is critical that there is certainty around the route beyond Parkes and we look forward to seeing approvals and more detailed costings being determined as soon

The ARA strongly supported the recommendation for Inland Rail to be established as a subsidiary company, which would enable ARTC to focus on the management and resilience of the wider national rail freight network.

The cost of Inland Rail has blown out to $31 billion.

Pacific National keeps cold storage moving

itself to be the safest, most efficient, and environmentally friendly way of transporting large volumes of containerised freight across the length and breadth of the nation,” he said.

“I’m proud to say, Pacific National was perfectly placed to help our customers in the national cold storage supply chain get through this challenging period.”

Pacific National has more than 180 main line locomotives and 2000 wagons dedicated to its nationwide containerised freight business, including the largest footprint of intermodal and import-export terminals in major capital cities and regional centres.

“Our rail terminals are unrivalled in terms of both strategic locations and capacity, allowing Pacific National to service its 300-plus freight customers at sites in close proximity to processing plants, supermarket distribution centres, and warehouses in major cities and regional centres,” Scurrah said.

Pacific National stepped in quickly to help the nationwide transport of refrigerated goods, after the collapse of Scotts Refrigerated Logistics in March.

Pacific National chief executive Paul Scurrah said the loss of such a big player in the cold storage supply chain had sadly impacted thousands of skilled frontline freight workers: “the unsung heroes in ensuring essential refrigerated goods are delivered daily to Australian households,” he said.

“Essential frontline freight workers from

Scotts who toiled day and night during the pandemic to help keep supply chains open and flowing under the most challenging conditions in a generation don’t deserve the current state of confusion and uncertainty.”

Scurrah said to help mitigate current disruptions and maintain the future integrity of the national cold storage supply chain, Pacific National worked closely with a range of customers in the sector to keep refrigerated freight flowing.

“During the coronavirus pandemic and associated border lockdowns, rail proved

“Collectively, Pacific National’s national network of interstate and regional intermodal and IMEX terminals can consolidate and tranship about 1.1 million containers (TEUs) each year, notably at major facilities in Sydney (including St Marys Freight Hub, Western Sydney), Parkes, Junee, Taree, Melbourne, Brisbane, Townsville, Rockhampton, Adelaide, Port Augusta, Whyalla, and Perth.

“Of this total TEU volume, Pacific National currently hauls more than 150,000 refrigerated containers (called ‘reefers’) each year for a range of logistics partners, notably Linfox and Lindsay Transport.”

Specialists merge into Rhomberg Sersa Australia

RKR Engineering and Rhomberg Rail Australia (RRA) have merged into a new entity, to be named Rhomberg Sersa Australia.

RRA is the Australian operating division of the Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group, a specialist in rail infrastructure engineering, construction and maintenance.

RKR Engineering is an established structural design, metal fabrication and site installation company based in Western Sydney and specialising in rail bridge and structure refurbishment.

RRA acquired RKR Engineering in March 2020, and since then both the teams

have built a strong relationship based on collaboration and innovation.

Highlights of the relationship during this time have included the design and construction of specialised concrete placement and finishing units for the Cross River Rail project, as well as working closely together on the Sydney Harbour Bridge Deck Replacement and North Coast Bridge Bearing Replacement projects.

The rebranding of the Australian operations is part of the move by Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group companies to provide a common brand across the world and continue to promote shared values and common strengths.

RRA managing director Richard Morgan said the changes signify the next chapter in the company’s history and would provide increased opportunities and efficiencies for employees and our clients.

“We are proud to have been involved in some of the world’s most challenging rail projects and look forward to providing innovative solutions that build on our combined strengths and experience,” he said.

While the companies will merge into the one entity, RKR Engineering will remain as a separate business unit within RRA and will continue to operate as normal.

Pacific National helped move goods affected by the collapse of Scotts Refrigerated Logistics.

Adelaide Metro returns to public ownership

The South Australian Government and Keolis Downer have reached an agreement which paves the way for the progressive return of the operation of the Adelaide Metro Passenger Rail Network (AMPRN) to public hands.

The agreement sets the key principles under which the management of operations will be transferred to the state in January 2025.

The train system has been managed and run by Keolis Downer, a joint venture between the Downer Group and French transport company Keolis, since January 31, 2021, after it was awarded the $2.14 billion contract by the previous Liberal Government.

However, the current government had always been intent on reversing the privatisation of Adelaide’s train and tram networks, a promise it made while in opposition and maintained as part of its election platform.

The operator said the agreement was not

reflective of the performance of Keolis Downer Adelaide (KDA) under its existing rail contract.

It is recognised that KDA has been performing well since taking over the network.

KDA will continue to deliver asset management and maintenance for the AMPRN and customer services into the future.

Keolis Downer said it and the South Australian Government had partnered collaboratively since the start of operations of the rail services, but now the association would continue in a different form, aiming to maintain a high-performing network while delivering benefits to the local community.

Keolis Downer chief executive Julien Dehornoy as a public transport operator, the company’s objective would always be to partner with governments to provide services that are safe, performant and deliver a positive passenger experience.

The agreement outlines the principles for:

•KDA to return operational functions for drivers, operations control, network and timetable planning by January 31, 2025

•The delivery of customer service and security management functions of Adelaide Metro to remain with Keolis Downer, returning to Government control in June 2027

•Maintenance of fleet and infrastructure to continue to be managed by KDA to 2035

•KDA to continue to provide expertise to Government around future innovation opportunities for customer services and the broader rail network.

SA transport minister Tom Koutsantonis had previously said that analysis had now shown that the privatisation would have cost taxpayers up to $120m over the contract’s potential 12-year life span, because more than 100 rail staff who did not transition to the private sector when the deal was struck currently “remained unassigned” but on the public payroll.

Call for unity on decarbonisation

The 12th Annual Heavy Haul Rail Conference was held in Perth in March, showcasing the best in local and international project expertise, and addressing key issues such as decarbonisation, trends and innovations, and developments in equipment, technology and maintenance.

The chief operating officer for Fortescue Metals Group’s iron ore operations, Dino Otranto, has called on the industry to rally together in facing the challenges posed by climate change.

Presenting the keynote address at the event, he said it was important for all stakeholders to play their part in decarbonisation.

Otranto said Fortescue, like its peers in the industry, was currently completely reliant on fossil fuels.

“If you’re a believer or not in climate change, for us as an organisation, the effects of the changes in weather patterns are real,” he said.

“We’re part of the problem but we can also be part of the solution.

“For me, there’s a dichotomy that we all need to address, as proponents in this room.

“We fundamentally have contributed to the problem, and I think it’s incumbent on all of us that we are actually the solution to prevent global warming.”

Otranto said Fortescue currently ranks fourth in global procurement global supply of seaborne iron ore in hematite, and will start commissioning a new product, magnetite, in the next few weeks.

“But actually our major export is not iron ore. They are in fact the carbon emissions that our products generate,” he said.

“The Fortescue rail fleet currently consists of 70 locos, 16 rakes each three kilometres long, and 244 ore cars, and from the mine to port, it can be about a 500 kilometre round trip for some of our operations. A total of about 760

kilometres of heavy haul rail.

“Even though our portfolio generates between two to three million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, when we convert the iron to steel, we’re talking about 200 million tonnes plus.”

Otranto reminded delegates that Fortescue had recently taken the initiative, venturing into the energy market and investigating various decarbonisation solutions.

“First off, I completely acknowledge all the steps everybody’s taking in this space and and I’ve been part of organisations that have been talking about decarbonisation for a long time and taking steps towards it,” he said.

“But what I see are targets that are reflective of the 2050s and the 2060s. And for me, that’s a target that goes beyond my generation in this industry. It’s not real.

“It keeps coming back to this group of people in this on what are we going to do about that?”

Otranto said Fortescue has been criticised for its aggressive and “probably ostentatious” target of completely eliminating the need for fossil fuels across its mine sites in seven years.

“It will mean the complete overhaul of our organisation as we know it, a reconfiguration of our entire network,” he said.

“And we need to reach out and work with folks like yourselves to solve those problems, because we can’t do this alone.

“For our part, we are going to commit and invest a number north of US$6 billion to convert our entire terrestrial operations.

“It means diesel, it means gas and for us we’re talking real zero, which also means no more carbon credits.”

Otranto said Fortescue was working on three different initiatives to help reduce carbon emissions.

The first was the world first, zero-emission so-called Infinity Train, adapted from racing car technology. The regenerating battery electric iron ore train project will use gravitational energy to fully recharge its battery electric systems without any additional charging

requirements for the return trip to reload.

Fortescue’s rail operations consumed 82 million litres of diesel in financial year 2021, accounting for 11 per cent of its Scope 1 emissions. This diesel consumption and associated emissions will be eliminated once the Infinity Train is fully implemented across Fortescue’s operations, significantly contributing to Fortescue’s target to be dieselfree by 2030.

Otranto said the second plan involved using more off-the-shelf solutions.

“Our notion is not to be cutting edge in terms of research and development. We want to take production-ready solutions, but group them together in different applications,” he said.

“So in terms of more immediate action, we’ve now procured two battery electric locos, eight axle locomotives that have an energy capacity of 14.5 MW hours.

“But the one that’s got the most excitement to date is our ammonia-fuelled loco.

“We developed two ammonium prototype engines at our own research and development facility here in Perth, successfully burning ammonia through a bunch of stages of blending ratios with diesel.

“Our end goal is to be 100 per cent ammonia-based and we’ve had quite a lot of people registering an interest in this particular application.”

Otranto described the third development as the pièce de résistance of Fortescue’s work over the past six months: the company’s first battery pack stack, which has been transplanted into the heart of an old Terex 4400 truck chassis.

“It’s production ready. Along with it comes a fast-charging station which can recharge this in less than 30 minutes.”

In closing, Otranto reiterated the need for all industry members to start taking action.

“We honestly believe the technology exists to meet the challenges, and most of it is already off the shelf in other industries,” he said. “I’m urging us all to start collaborating with each other, collaborate with us.

“We need help, we need people to come forward to believe, to have something different and bespoke that can help us solve some of these problems.”

FMG’s Infinity Train uses gravitational energy to fully recharge its battery as it travels along downhill sections.

Heavy Haul Rail Conference

Scholarship fosters exchange of ideas

Ten outstanding young professionals from the rail industry have been named as winners of the 2023 Heavy Haul Rail Next Generation scholarship.

The program was first launched in 2017 to encourage new industry entrants to share their ideas and share their innovative ideas on how to disrupt, improve or positively impact the future of heavy haul rail in Australia and New Zealand.

This year’s winners of the scholarship, supported by Speno Rail Maintenance Australia (SRMA), were:

• Will Penrose, Technical Sales Engineer, Vossloh Cogifer Australia

• Yit Shan Chan, final year student at Curtin University and undergraduate engineer, Downer

• Kelsey D’Rozario, communications officer, Downer Riley Gregson, mechanical design engineer, voestalpine

Duncan Minh Dang Nguyen, graduate rail engineer, WSP

gan Wong, graduate engineer, WSP

ussell Watt, mechanical engineer, BHP Jaime Hoelzl, graduate mechanical engineer,

amika Roberts, graduate mechanical engineer, Aurizon

oay Yousef, engineer, WSP

Speaking at the conference, SRMA managing director Mark Green said the company was proud to support young people as they entered their careers in rail.

SRMA itself takes in many graduate rail engineers to perform its rail asset longevity, maintenance, and quality tasks.

“The scholarship encourages youth to get into the industry and enables them to attend conferences and networking events where they can share their thoughts and ideas,” he said.

“The exposure and experience is invaluable.”

SRMA continues to lead in the field of rail maintenance, technology, diagnostics, and rectification, guided by its mission to provide sustainable, high-quality rail grinding and ultrasonic solutions in an innovative and safe working environment.

“We dedicate a significant amount of time and resources into our people, who are our strength,” Green said.

“Upskilling, educating and training is a priority, providing the necessary information, resources, support and qualifications to undertake their daily tasks competently, confidently and safely. We encourage our people to learn, question, contribute, progress and succeed.

“We are proud of our graduate succession plan which has a focus on sustainability of the industry and its people.

“And we’re currently developing a training program to align staff with systems and processes that will help them develop products to national standards.”

Bogie analysis new feature for Predge

Swedish data solutions company Predge is fast expanding its footprint in Australia, and pulled out all the stops by bringing in company chief executive officer Simo Pykälistö halfway across the world for the Heavy Haul conference.

Predge’s analytical predictive products have been developed in close collaboration with customers to ensure that the software is tailored to the specific needs and challenges the industry is facing, providing them with the most effective predictive insights possible.

Its most widely used product is one simply called Rolling Stock, and as the name suggests, helps predict failures in rolling stock operations.

It estimates remaining useful life and assists organisations in taking better decisions based on high quality information.

Also attending the conference from Sweden was the company’s chief technical officer Wolfgang Birk, who helped explain

the suite of products to the large number of interested delegates which visited the Predge display stand.

“We have some new features in our Rolling Stock application related to bogie performance,” he said.

“The software analyses wayside measurements to determine any potential problems with the bogies.

“They highlight deviating bogies and in doing so, can prevent events such as derailments.”

SRMA managing director Mark Green.

Predge CEO Simo Pykälistö.

Predge CTO Wolfgang Birk (left) and Country Manager Australia Tommie Åkesson.

Turnouts, tracks and technical talk

Martinus Rail had a large contingent of 10 members attending the conference to network with their counterparts in the industry and discuss various projects and products.

Among them was Martinus national business development manager Kane Lombardo, who said it was a delight to catch up once again with heavy haul representatives in person.

The team, from Australia and New Zealand, had also attended the specialist Rail Turnouts Workshop held the day before the conference, which focused on the exchange and transfer of technical knowledge from a range of experts working across rail turnouts.

Lombardo said the workshop was tailored to those looking for a detailed guide, or fresh perspectives, on the rail turnout challenges of track construction, signalling of turnouts, maintenance and management.

It included a presentation on a New Zealand case study by Martinus New Zealand engineering manager Jaco Vorster.

The drinks session was sponsored by Salix

Products, a company rebranded from the products team at Martinus.

Fulford, previously a general manager with Martinus,” Lombardo said.

solutions, and backed by the Salix brand, it now focuses on taking Australian-developed railway product solutions to the global market.

Power and passion from Penske

Penske Australia is a leading supplier of the world’s finest heavy duty trucks, diesel and gas engines, and power systems.

Distributing brands such as Western Star Trucks, MAN Truck & Bus, Dennis Eagle, Detroit, and Allison, it operates across the most dynamic markets including on-highway and various off-highway industries such as rail, mining, power generation, construction and industrial, marine, oil and gas, agriculture, and defence. As well, the company represents aftermarket products from leading oil, coolant, and filter brands.

Penske Australia is also the national distributor of Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ mtu brand, supplying generator sets as well as complete turnkey solutions from design, engineering, and manufacturing through to installation, commissioning, and aftersales support.

Services include the provision of rail traction engines, control systems, and underfloor power packs. Coupled with extensive aftersales maintenance and support, including the mtu ValueCare range of agreements for products and services, Penske Australia offers

comprehensive and customised support to meet the unique needs of clients.

The popular mtu Series 4000 diesel engine for locomotive and train set applications is EU IIIB certified, boasting

impressive environmental credentials. Featuring low emissions, noise, and vibration levels, along with low fuel consumption and high power to weight ratios, the engine is both clean and economical.

Penske Australia’s engineering team designs, delivers, and installs complete traction system solutions for new applications and re-powers including engines, transmissions, alternators, and other peripheral equipment.

Re-powering is the economical alternative to the purchase of new locomotives, as it delivers low operating and maintenance costs, cleaner, quieter movement, and increased uptime and reliability.

Spreading the good word about Penske at the conference was the company’s Business Manager for Rail, Greg Gilkes, who said the heavy haul event offered an opportunity to meet with representatives from a range of different businesses.

“We deal with a lot of heavy haul equipment, including mtu-powered locomotives for the likes of Pacific National, Qube, SCT Logistics, and KiwiRail in New Zealand,” he said.

Penske Australia’s Greg Gilkes.

Martinus national business development manager Kane Lombardo at the conference.

Heavy Haul Rail Conference

Siemens asset monitoring suite on show

The team from Siemens Mobility were on hand at the conference to talk about the company’s asset monitoring product suite.

Head of Product Sales Michael O’Sullivan said the comprehensive measurement and condition monitoring portfolio helps users acquire critical insights for their on-board and wayside equipment, using their general rail domain data.

These can include automated measurements of asset conditions during a maintenance intervention as well as the continuous collection of condition data during asset operation to derive trends and get early notifications about critical deviations of train and track, while the automated collection of image and 3D data can also be used to generate a digital twin.

“We’re currently developing a monitoring solution that is perfectly suited to Australian conditions,” he said.

Accompanying O’Sullivan was Roy Leslie, portfolio sales manager with MRX Technologies, the Perth-based company acquired by Siemens in 2017.

MRX developed a vehicle measuring system which could monitor the condition of bogies

and wheels as the trains arrived into the depots, and used sensors to analyse the tracks themselves instead of the equipment. These and other railway monitoring equipment inventions were the genesis of renowned Siemens monitoring applications such as the Vehicle Equipment Measurement System (VEMS) and the Broken Rail Detection

helped expand Siemens’ offering in the field had proven global results in increasing rail availability and throughput, enabling operators to achieve maximum value from existing assets while also extending maintenance intervals.

1. McConnell Dowell’s WA rail manager Martin Beales (left) and general manager for rail, Kyle Mortimer, who agreed with the FMG call for industry to work together towards decarbonisation.

2. Happily meeting clients and industry peers were SKF Australia national rail manager Patrick Hofstadler (left) and railway engineer Stephen Fasolo.

3. The UGL contingent included design manager Manikandan Pandurengan (left), stakeholder management consultant Amanda Mikhael, and senior program manager Benjamin Neville.

4. Attending from Downer were freight general manager Troy Sparkman (left) and head of emerging markets Usman Pervaiz.

Roy Leslie and Michael O’Sullivan at the Siemens stand.

Rail industry boom helps boost Indigenous businesses

Australia’s booming rail industry isn’t just benefiting the national economy; it also offers promising opportunities for First Nations businesses. recent Indigenous projects across the country.

When former Wallabies stars Saia and Anthony Fainga’a secured a contract for Stage 3 of the Gold Coast Light Rail recently, it was another shining example of how Indigenous businesses are playing an important part in the country’s expanding rail industry.

And in turn, it also demonstrated how the sector is enabling Indigenous and First Nations individuals, entrepreneurs and companies to make the most of its opportunities.

Moonyah Workforce, founded by the Fainga’as, was awarded a three-year contract to provide traffic management for the $1.2 billion project.

The project will add 6.7 kilometres to the light rail network, from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads.

Moonyah trains workers in traffic management and construction and works closely with clients to execute their Reconciliation Action Plans.

Being majority Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander-owned, managed and controlled, the labour company is a Supply Nation Certified business.

The twins established Moonyah in 2021 after retiring from the game. The company now operates offices in Brisbane and Perth and has previously worked on the M1 Yatala South interchange upgrade, Mango Hill State School expansion, and the Pacific Motorway upgrade from Varsity Lakes to Tugun.

The light rail contract is part of a 15-year plan mapped out for Moonyah, which includes being listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The Stage 3 extension is jointly funded by the Federal and State governments and the City of Gold Coast.

Member for Gaven, Meaghan Scanlon, said securing the multi-million-dollar contract was a major coup for the twin brothers.

“The pair established the labour hire business naming it after the Bundjalung language word for ‘safe house,” she said.

“The light rail extension to Burleigh Heads will be transformational for the Gold Coast. We’re proud to team up with a fully

“It’s so important to us to give back to the community and give people chances just like we got when we were able to play rugby at school and later as Wallabies,” he said.

“To be able to use our profiles and our voices to find work for people who want it is so worthwhile. It doesn’t matter where you’ve come from or what your situation is, everyone deserves a chance at a better future.

“People said we’d never play for the Wallabies, but we always had the support of our families. Now we want to be that support for people looking for work.”

SUBURBAN RAIL LOOP

Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop is helping First Nations waste disposal workers own their own trucks through their work on SRL East.

Djurwa managing director Nathan Martin said the work provides an opportunity for people who aren’t offered a chance anywhere else.

‘We’ll purchase the vehicle, look after the servicing, tyres, fuel, all of that. In three years, the employee will own the truck and have control of their destiny,” he said.

Martin said Djurwa’s name refers to cultural burning – a sophisticated fire management technique used by Aboriginal communities for thousands of years.

‘When we burn, we do it in a carefully controlled way,” he said.

“It’s a connected, circular approach that results in the land coming back to health, to the way it should be. In choosing the name of the company I felt it matched our approach to

Anthony and Saia Fainga’a with Queensland transport minister Mark Bailey at the announcement of a contract for the Gold Coast Light Rail project.

Indigenous Opportunities

waste management as an end-to-end process, with an emphasis on recycling.

“We’re a really young operation and it’s been a journey to get to this point, but all the stars have aligned.”

SRL East is providing excellent opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be involved in this city-shaping project, with a 3 per cent workforce target for the first phase of construction.

Ten Aboriginal businesses have already been employed on the project, including Indigenous construction firm Wamarra, which established the Clayton site where construction kicked off in June, and Panku Safety Solutions which supplies site workers with prescription safety glasses.

With a name meaning ‘united, together’ in the Nyiyaparli language of the Pilbara region in Western Australia, Panku has 25 years of industry experience. As well as supplying the glasses, Panku also gives workers on SRL East sites access to optometrists for eye tests, or the option to have existing prescriptions fitted.

SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill will be taking passengers by 2035 and will provide a massive pipeline of jobs and training opportunities throughout construction.

During this first phase of works on SRL East, around 14 per cent of total hours is being undertaken by Victorian apprentices, trainees or cadets, with opportunities for women, Aboriginal and disadvantaged Victorians –contributing to the next generation of highly skilled workers.

VICTORIAN LEVEL CROSSING REMOVAL PROJECT

Wiradjuri man Hayden Heta and his team at Wamarra have delivered work on a range of projects including Victoria’s Level Crossing Removal program.

Wamarra employs more than 45 workers across Melbourne and was set up two years ago to provide training and experience in a range of construction industry roles including landscaping, machinery operation, concreting and carpentry.

Wamarra means ‘to build’ in the language of the Wiradjuri people of central New South Wales and the Spotswood-based construction business is helping to build a brighter and more secure future for its employees.

“Together, we’ve completed site establishment works, fencing, hoarding and carpentry on road and rail projects for the Level Crossing Removal project, North East Link, Hallam Road upgrade, Mooroolbark MLCP, as well as other projects at Sunshine Hospital, Chisholm Road Prison and Youth

“The backing of the Level Crossing Removal Project has allowed our business to grow and invest in the next generation of construction workers.

“We’ve created pathways for people who otherwise might have struggled to gain this sort of employment and experience, enabling us to provide meaningful and sustainable careers.

“We support each of our Aboriginal employees by providing them with full-time work and individual training plans, in a culturally safe environment.”

One of the level crossing projects involved planting more than 360 trees and 38,000 shrubs, groundcovers and grasses across the new Chelsea Station precinct, created last year as part of work to remove five dangerous and congested level crossings on the Frankston Line.

The project team selected plants for the rail corridor that will thrive in the strong winds, harsh sun and salty air of the coastal environment such as Coast Banksia, Narrow Leaved Paperbark, Queensland Bottle Tree, Seaberry Saltbush, Dwarf Willow Myrtle, Emu Bush, Slender Wallaby Grass, Grass Trees, Grevilleas and Bottlebushes.

The plant selections were based on feedback from locals who asked for a combination of native trees, shrubs, flowering plants and grasses to preserve the bayside look and feel of the area.

of more than 800 trees and 85,000 shrubs, groundcovers and grasses were planted.

GNARLA BIDDI

Western Australia’s METRONET Gnarla Biddi (Our Pathways) Strategy helps to acknowledge the traditional and ongoing connection of Noongar people to Country, as well as celebrate Noongar language across the METRONET Program.

Noongar is the official language of the Aboriginal people of the south-west of WA and means ‘a person of the south-west of Western Australia’.

Each identified Noongar place name will be incorporated into new stations across METRONET projects through opportunities in public art, architecture, landscaping, structural design, materials and finishes and interpretative signage.

The Lakelands Station Project is one example where Aboriginal engagement plays a key role, with a focus on building relationships that leave a legacy for years to come.

Project contractor ADCO Constructions engaged Alliance Projects & Consulting (APC), a Noongar-owned business which specialises in Aboriginal procurement and employment solutions to help facilitate engagement with the local community.

APC Managing Directors Noel Morich and Dominic Panaia worked with ADCO

Djurwa managing director Nathan Martin (right) and some of his staff.

to implement the project’s Aboriginal Engagement and Participation Plan, building a healthy relationship with the traditional custodians of the area and engaging local Aboriginal people to provide monitoring services onsite.

Morich said he was glad that ADCO had “considered the company’s individual ability in enabling delivery”.

“To be able to work with ADCO to implement Aboriginal engagement strategies at the highest level, and then filter these initiatives down to the staff directly on the ground, has helped in making sure these projects hit their targets,” he said.

The station site is nestled beside Black Swan Lake Reserve and the team have been identifying ways to integrate this natural habitat into the station design to recognise the identity and cultural significance of the local area.

At least eight Aboriginal companies have been engaged in construction across the project and Aboriginal artwork will be incorporated into the station design.

The project is committed to the inclusion of the local Aboriginal Bindjareb community throughout the lifecycle of the project and works with Winjan Aboriginal Corporation to help facilitate open communication and relationship-building.

The station is a new addition to the Mandurah Line and will service the growing Lakelands community, taking pressure off Mandurah and Warnbro stations. It will feature an entry building, pedestrian overpass, two platforms, kiss-and-ride facilities, a bus interchange, a 400-bay car park, and cycling facilities.

Aboriginal businesses and employees

the METRONET Thornlie-Cockburn Link Project, with Arra Solutions one of the latest companies to come on board.

The company is building more than three kilkometres of retaining wall along the rail corridor in Jandakot, using mostly recycled limestone blocks.

Arra Solutions is a joint venture between majority Aboriginal-owned and operated Arra Group and Paving Solutions, which provide Aboriginal people with a pathway to work through their traineeship program offered on large infrastructure projects like METRONET.

With around $11 million worth of onsite services awarded to Aboriginal businesses and almost 30 jobs created for Aboriginal employees so far, the project is exceeding Aboriginal procurement and employment targets. Essential services being delivered include project works, traffic management, fuel supply, equipment maintenance, material supply and heritage monitoring.

Another METRONET project, the MorleyEllenbrook Line – Perth’s largest public transport project since the Mandurah Line – kicked off with a number of Aboriginal suppliers on board, including:

• Spar tan First (pre-employment medicals)

• Country Man (supplier of uniforms and PPE)

• Jatu Clothing (supplier of uniforms and PPE)

• IES (office cleaning and cleaning supply)

• Moodjar (ceremonial services)

• DK Kaartdijin (labour hire)

• Kany Bidi (traffic management)

PUBLIC ART

Many Aboriginal and Indigenous artists have been contracted to stamp their handiwork on One of the most striking has been the newly

Central Station and the colourful brickwork covering it.

The ventilation buildings contain the equipment and vents required to circulate fresh air through the station box, and in the case of a fire, remove smoke from the metro tunnels.

The two buildings on Platform 14 feature bricks with a multicoloured artwork called ‘Time Travellers’, designed by renowned Bundjalung Artist Dr Bronwyn Bancroft and chosen for its contemporary representation of Connection to Country.

The large-scale piece represents a visual connection between the past and the present. The DNA and serpentine-like imagery is symbolic of one of the many creation stories that have been handed down over time for over 60,000 years.

“My vision is to honour the fallen who have returned to the earth, and the layers of ancestors that lie under the contemporary world of Sydney,” Dr Bancroft explained in her artwork statement.

“To visualise tribes and clans of people from the Gadigal area paddling their canoes across the corridors of time is an epic image. Acknowledgement of that time in our shared history has been paramount to me in creating this work.”

After Dr Bancroft had finished painting Time Travellers as an acrylic on canvas, the next challenge was to transfer it onto the brickwork. A brick inlay system was used to create the look and feel of a traditional brick facade with all the efficiencies and durability of precast concrete. Each brick was then individually placed across 216 precast panels.

Once finished, the panels were transported from Newcastle to Central Station for

Part of the team at Wamarra, which has carried out a wide range of works across Victoria, including the Level Crossing Removal project.

Indigenous Opportunities

single 135-tonne crane, using a ‘dual lift and rotate’ methodology.

This artwork is part of Sydney Metro’s larger public art program, which will see Sydney Metro City & Southwest stations feature prominent art pieces once services start through the CBD in 2024.

INLAND RAIL

The transformative Inland Rail project, traversing three states, will be built and operated on the traditional lands of many Indigenous nations, a total of 26 traditional owner areas.

The operator of the freight backbone, the Australian Rail Track Corporation, fully recognises the inherent connection of the Indigenous people to their lands and their continuing responsibility of stewardship and caring for country and culture.

At each step of the project, Inland Rail has been consulting with First Nations leaders to ensure progress on the program is carried out in cooperation with those communities.

But equally as important, inland Rail also offers up many opportunities for Indigenous businesses and suppliers.

Indigenous workers and businesses contributed significantly during the construction of the various sections of Inland Rail as they were built, and participation in the supply chain and rail operations is expected to be strong throughout regional communities as each new phase comes online.

Inland Rail’s Indigenous Participation Plan sets out its commitment to working in partnership with Indigenous communities to create meaningful opportunities that deliver lasting benefits for individuals, families and communities.

The ARTC also holds regular networking meetings in towns along the line to show First Nations businesses how to take advantage of possible supply opportunities, many of which feature meet-and greets with shortlisted principal contractors for project design and construction work.

As well, workshops are run to help local and Indigenous businesses better understand how to compete for Inland Rail work packages, with sessions covering capability statement development and creating elevator pitches, involving mentoring and access to practical tools.

The ARTC also recently launched its Reconciliation Action Plan, which focuses around three key priorities:

• To ensure its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees always feel safe, supported, and heard, whilst fostering

Nations communities

• To engage with and listen to local communities, co-designing solutions to reconciliation pathways

• To find business opportunities that lead to sustainable economic participation and demonstrate the focus of self-determination for our First Nations businesses.

BUSINESS GROWTH

According to analyst PwC, Australia’s Indigenous business sector has grown significantly over the past five years, both in terms of size and scale, which in turn has created more jobs and generated significant wealth for individuals, families and communities.

Bu while this is a cause for celebration, it says maintaining this momentum will require a sustained effort, continued policy support and improved access to capital.

A report it compiled on Indigenous growth opportunities recommended:

• that all governments establish and implement an Indigenous business strategy which incorporates explicit Indigenous procurement targets

• that legitimate Indigenous businesses are supported to capitalise on larger opportunities with government and the private sector by instituting measures to mitigate ‘black cladding’

• that the profile of the Indigenous business sector is raised through active promotion

• that the supply of Indigenous businesses in Australia is built up by establishing incubators and accelerator programs targeting Indigenous entrepreneurs, and

relating to the Indigenous business sector is improved.

PwC said a strong, buoyant and expanding Indigenous business sector was good for all Australians.

“Unquestionably, more private capital –in the form of both debt and equity – will be required. Equally, governments need to create a policy environment (for example, tax incentives or prescribed minimum funding allocations) that encourages growth at this scale,” it said.

“The private sector – including banks, superannuation funds, venture capitalists and impact investors – also has a role to play, and in some cases will need to adopt new, culturally appropriate and safe ways of working with First Nations people to help the Indigenous business sector to continue to grow.”

Australasian Railways Association chief executive officer Caroline Wilkie said the rail industry operated at the heart of the community and must reflect the needs of everyone it serves.

“By building a diverse and inclusive industry, we are able to foster new ideas and approaches, and can better meet the needs of all people that use and interact with rail in their daily lives,” she said.

“When the industry proactively engages with Indigenous businesses, we build stronger connections with the communities we operate within, help develop long term career opportunities for Indigenous people and encourage shared understanding and support within our organisations.”

Public art on the brickwork of Sydney’s Central Station.

No such thing as a free fare?

Luxembourg was the first country to make all forms of public transport free in 2020, while Germany is one of the latest to consider cutting fares permanently after a successful trial of a €9 ($A14) monthly ticket reduced air pollution levels and increased ridership.

And closer to home, Melbourne currently designates a zone where tram journeys are free.

According to Dr Mike Harris, lecturer in urban design and landscape architecture from the School of Built Environment at UNSW Arts, Design and Architecture, doing away with the collection of fares has many benefits for cities and citizens.

“One of the ideas is it entices more drivers to leave their cars at home and switch to more economical and environmentally friendly modes of mass transit,” he said.

“And removing fares is another way to help people with the rising cost of living and improve equitable access to mobility.”

But in truth, there isn’t such a thing as a ‘free’ public transport system – it must be funded from somewhere. Instead, such systems are

often supported by means other than collecting funds from passengers.

Harris likened the idea to how Medicare operates. It’s a publicly funded service people contribute to through their taxes, but some may use it more than others.

“Public transport could arguably be considered a similar universal basic service, but for mobility,” Harris said. “When you eliminate fares, it emphasises that public transport serves the public.

“It shouldn’t be measured on whether it is profitable, but by how it improves quality of life for people.”

Most mass transit systems worldwide are already covered to some extent by public funding. In New South Wales, about a quarter of the cost of public transport is covered by fares, with taxpayers subsidising the remaining costs.

“It would be possible to reduce ticket prices further by increasing subsidisation. It’s just a matter of how much,” Harris said.

An alternative to subsidising transport costs for those who can afford it anyway would be

to charge cheaper flat rates or waive fees for those on low incomes or in areas where public transport is available but underused, he added.

“It’s probably more common than you think for people on lower incomes to limit their public transport usage because the costs add up,” he said. “So, for them, not having to pay would be one less cost.

“But more than that, it opens many more opportunities to travel where they need, when they need.”

Harris said broader economic benefits may also offset revenue shortfalls from slashing ticket prices. In NSW, the decision to waive public transport fares in April last year saw a spike in trips and consumer spending across the CBD.

“Congestion on the roads costs the economy nearly $20 billion annually from people wasting time in traffic,” he said.

“More of those people using public transport means increases the activity happening in cities, which helps bring those losses down.”

While free travel may not get everyone to

Commuters fork out hundreds of dollars monthly on trains and light rail. But they may not have to pay for those trips in the future, as more places around the world consider ditching tickets in favour of free public transport policies.

Free fares would entice more drivers to leave their cars at home and create less carbon emissions in the process.

Fare-free Public Transport

leave their vehicles in the driveway, it will still convert some of those trips into public transport journeys. But even a marginal decrease in cars on the road could still make an impact.

“There will always be those who need to drive. But even taking a small portion of those cars off the road eases congestion for those who need to drive,” Harris said.

“It also opens opportunities to turn some more road space into active transport infrastructure for those who want to cycle and walk, which reduces congestion even further.”

But eliminating fares is only one part of the equation. The quality of services, like the frequency, reliability, and scale of coverage, is crucial to enticing more people away from cars.

“To attract and accommodate more riders, fare reduction needs to be accompanied by more investment in increasing quality services to avoid issues like overcrowding and schedule disruptions,” Harris said.

Another part of improving services is catering to a broader range of needs and users. And this could include access to pets for travel. Most places in Europe, including the UK, already allow pets to travel on a lead or in carriers.

“Every member of the public should be able to use public transport regardless of their means. Nobody should be excluded because it is simply too expensive or because they have a pet,” Harris said.

“Even if it’s not entirely fare-free, making public transport fares much more affordable would still improve the liveability of our cities for people and help them run more smoothly.”

BACK TO THE CITY

A 24 per cent spending increase was recorded during the fare-free public transport period implemented in the Sydney CBD last year.

A review of the NSW Government’s fare-free public transport initiative – using the smart ticketing Opal card data – revealed a 35 per cent increase in CBD patronage during April 14-26, 2022.

Based on Mastercard credit and debit data, it also showed retail, art, entertainment, recreation and accommodation benefited the most – seeing increases of more than 30 per cent in turnover during the 12-day period.

The review was carried out by Business NSW, the peak policy and advocacy body which has been representing businesses in NSW since 1826.

The analysis revealed an 89 per cent increase in children/youth trips and a 23 per cent increase in trips on weekends.

Ferry (+179,600 or 110 per cent), light rail (+83,700 or 17 per cent) and train trips

(+133,000 or 7 per cent) all increased, while buses saw a decline of 11 per cent or -68,000 during that period.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive officer Paul Zahra said the fare-free initiative was “a key driver to getting people back into the city”, while Restaurant and Catering Australia CEO Suresh Manickam said the organisation supported this initiative as a way to encourage Sydneysiders to come back into the CBD and enjoy the city.

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said after years of lockdown misery, the increase in foot traffic in the CBD kickstarted the city over Easter last year.

“Travellers enjoyed the city’s streets and attractions, and now continue to add colour to the city,” he said.

“The important initiative played a major role in reactivating the Sydney economy post COVID. This initiative played an important role in encouraging more people onto public transport, making them more likely to use it again.

There is a need to consider whether scrapping the Opal fare system in NSW would be financially sustainable.

“Even if it’s not entirely fare-free, making public transport fares much more affordable would still improve the liveability of our cities for people and help them run more smoothly.”

Dr Mike Harris, lecturer in urban design and landscape architecture

“But we want to see this rolled out again during appropriate events, and potentially future for Easter-Anzac and Christmas-New Year periods.”

IPART OF THE PROCESS

However, there are some murky aspects of the concept to consider.

An information paper into fare-free public transport was issued by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) of NSW in 2020, investigating the potential outcomes if public transport fares were free in Sydney.

The NSW government agency, which investigates and gives advice on prices and other issues through a review process, said the following outcomes were likely from making public transport free to use:

• An immediate increase in public transport ridership of around 40 per cent, leading to substantial crowding on the public transport network

• Minimal impact on the level of road congestion (even in peak hours). Experience elsewhere suggests a reduction in avoided road congestion of around 2 to 5 per cent

• More people using public transport for short trips when they would have otherwise walked or cycled - reducing the health benefits of public transport

• An increase in public transport use by

low income earners which improves their participation in society

• A loss of $1.6 billion per year in fare revenue that would need to be funded through taxation revenue, which represents about $530 per NSW household

• Significant infrastructure investment to cater for increased demand on public transport services.

The findings posed some food for thought, the report detailed.

For example, a 40 per cent increase in ridership would be a substantial increase.

“Based on observations in other jurisdictions, the increase in public transport ridership is likely to come from people who would have otherwise walked or cycled, those who choose to ride for leisure (eg, increased ferry rides for enjoyment) and from increased social mobility, rather than reducing cars on roads,” it said.

“This is also supported by the experience in Melbourne, which introduced a fare-free zone for trams. In Melbourne, short walking trips have been substituted by tram rides resulting in increased congestion on trams.”

As well, the report said a large increase in public transport use in Sydney would place substantial pressure on the already congested public transport network, particularly the train network during peak hours.

It said free fares could exacerbate crowding

on these services and there is limited capacity to increase services on these already congested routes without making large new capital investments.

The report also considered the impact on ridership if free fares were to be only introduced during off-peak periods.

“Some passengers may switch from peak to off-peak travel which would alleviate some pressure on congested services during peak periods,” it said.

“However, the impact on all services may not be significant (there is already a 30 per cent fare discount for off-peak train travel).

“There may not be a significant number of additional people that switch their travel to off-peak times, as there are other considerations that can determine when people choose to travel (eg, when they commence and finish work).”

Interestingly, the study also said free fares could lead to improved social inclusion.

“Where free fares have been implemented overseas, increased social inclusion – greater transport accessibility for passengers who find it difficult to fully participate in society – has been discussed as a benefit,” it stated.

Improving the accessibility of public transport through free fares would particularly assist those on lower incomes who do not currently have access to concessional fares.

Crowds made full use of last year’s fare-free period to visit the Easter Show, the zoo, catch a game of footy, or visit friends and families in the Sydney CBD.

Fare-free Public Transport

“However, we consider that these benefits could be achieved at much lower cost to taxpayers through targeted discounts or free fares for people that meet certain criteria, rather than providing free travel for the whole community,” the report said.

The report addressed the question of whether scrapping of the Opal fare system would be financially sustainable.

“There would be about $1.6 billion loss in fare revenue per year – this is the current amount of Opal fare revenue annually, which represents about $530 per year for each NSW household,” it said.

“Substantial additional financial costs would be needed to cater for the increased demand arising from free fares, mainly comprising the cost for more train services in the longer term. There would also be increased operating costs to maintain the additional services.

“There would be some administrative savings such as a reduction in ticketing costs and associated staffing. However, they would be significantly less than the loss in Opal fare

revenue. If free fares were offered only to residents, then there would be substantially fewer cost savings.”

NO MORE FARE COMPROMISES

The Greens NSW has been a long supporter of fare-free public transport, even using the policy as part of its platform for the recent NSW elections.

Greens transport spokesperson Abigail Boyd said the party believed that all modes of public transport across NSW should be free, accessible, frequent and reliable, as well as publicly-owned and operated.

She said a 100 per cent free public transport system could save the average commuter $2400 each year, and revitalise the economy at the same time.

“Free public transport is not only achievable, it is essential for well-functioning communities and economies,” she said.

“The government already subsidises 80 per cent of the cost of operating our public transport network, and on top of that we have

expensive ticketing and compliance costs. Why not make it 100 per cent, and deliver a free high quality service that the public deserves, and deliver real hip-pocket relief at a time when we’re all feeling the pinch?

“Public transport is obviously important to get people to and from work, but it’s also used every day by people visiting friends, visiting parks, going to the sport or cultural activities like concerts and art galleries.

“For every single pro-social activity we try and encourage in our community, people need to leave their homes to participate – why would we be placing a financial barrier in the middle?

“It’s time we followed the lead of other cities around the world and delivered a public transport people run for people not profit.”

Boyd said there would also be no need for arbitrary temporary weekly fare caps, or considering temporary removals offered in apology every time a malfunction occurred on the rail networks.

“In the midst of this cost-of-living crisis, we need to be thinking a lot bigger than temporary adjustments on fares,” she said.

“People are fed up of governments offering up minor and temporary tweaks to weekly caps and offering fare-free days every time

There are pros and cons to ditching fares for public transport.

“Free public transport is not only achievable, it is essential for wellfunctioning communities and economies.”

Abigail Boyd, Greens transport spokesperson

Addressing challenges to rail supply chain an urgent priority

The combination of a record $154 billion rail investment pipeline over the next 15 years, a wave of replacement investment for ageing technologies, systems and rolling stock, and a fundamental rethinking and reorganisation of global supply chains in the wake of the COVID pandemic, provides an unparalleled growth opportunity for the local rail industry and the broader Australian economy.

In 2021, the Australasian Railways Association (ARA) commissioned a report from industry research, analysis and forecasting services leader BIS Oxford Economics on the importance of Australia’s rail supply chain, which found that industry and governments urgently need a better understanding of the current capabilities and capacity of the Australian rail supply chain, the challenges they face which stymie growth and jobs creation, where opportunities for reform exist, and recommended actions which will maximise benefits for all Australia.

Flowing on rom the recommendations of the report, the association launched its Rail Supply Chain Blueprint, outlining a three-year plan to drive reform to support the industry’s growth and harness the opportunities available to the rail industry as it supports Australia’s post pandemic recovery.

ARA chief executive officer Caroline Wilkie

said improving the policies and processes that shape the rail industry now would help industry make the most of this wave of investment to create a strong and sustainable industry for the long term.

“The blueprint confirms clear actions across eight key areas to lead reform and support improved outcomes for the industry and the wider community,” she said.

It identifies a series of actions to drive improvements and greater consistency in rail procurement, standards, local content and type approvals.

AUSTRALIAN RAIL SUPPLY CHAIN CHARACTERISTICS

The Australian rail supply chain comprises many hundreds of businesses which provide goods or services directly to the rail industry, including manufacturers, equipment suppliers, professional services and contractors; public and private sector organisations which operate or procure rail assets; and education facilities and registered training organisations (RTOs) that train the rail industry workforce.

Many of these organisations also provide goods and services to other sectors of the Australian economy, and so do not necessarily identify themselves, first and foremost, as part of the rail sector.

Collectively, however, together with specialist rail businesses, they form a critical supply

network of skills, materials, technologies, equipment and value adding services.

The BIS report identified more than 1200 firms which had at least some connection to the rail industry, mapping many (approximately 400) of these organisations into a database.

A survey of these firms was also undertaken, with responses helping to drive an analysis of how the supply chain is structured and located, their recent growth, as well as identifying their key challenges and constraints to growth and potential solutions.

• Where are firms located?

The rail supply chain is spread throughout Australia’s eight states and territories.

For the report, their location was captured in two separate ways: where the firms were located, and the states in which the businesses operated.

The report said this was an important distinction to make as some firms operate in several states beyond the one in which they are located, which had important implications for local content policy requirements and other state specific impacts.

Overall, it found that much of the rail supply chain is largely concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria.

Focusing more deeply on these two states at the postcode level, much of the concentration is due to the large number of head offices and offices for Sydney and manufacturing sites in Melbourne.

The Australian rail industry contributes nearly $30 billion per annum to the Australian economy and is responsible for generating more than 165,000 jobs. But the future health and long term sustainability of the Australian rail supply chain is now at a critical juncture.

Freight rail ensures the safe, reliable and efficient delivery of everyday essentials to support Australian and New Zealand families.

Supply Chains

maintenance focus is consistent with other studies of the rail industry in recent years and highlighted the importance of sustaining maintenance-related local industry and skills in the workforce.

While the large forward pipeline of rail investment is of direct interest in its own right to the Australian rail supply chain, it will also deliver a large value of capital stock that will need to be maintained locally.

Meanwhile, manufacturing and infrastructure supply firms are also a significant part of the local supply chain. These firms are heavily concentrated along the eastern seaboard.

• Which states are they operating in?

Analysis for this study reveals that Victoria and NSW remain the centre of rail supply chain activity – reflecting that these most populous states will tend to be centres for passenger and freight rail operations.

However, there is also a substantial presence of firms in Queensland and Western Australia where heavy haul rail operations for commodities such as iron ore and coal are also significant.

The Hunter Valley Coal Chain (HVCC) in NSW is also an important driver of supply chain location and operation for heavy haul-related activities in that state.

Overall, NSW and Victoria have the largest supply chains in terms of the number of rail businesses domiciled within their borders, while Tasmania and the Northern Territory have the smallest.

States and territories each possess a range of capabilities which can be leveraged nationally. Most states and territories have a degree of service offering across the supply chain which can service either their own jurisdiction or, just as likely, across Australia.

Many key suppliers have grown through setting up in one state, but subsequently expanding their service or product offerings to other jurisdictions. Some businesses, particularly in niche manufacturing, supply the national rail market.

The supply chain mapping revealed many firms operate across borders, being located in one jurisdiction and supplying from there into multiple other jurisdictions. Consequently, many of these cross-border firms are likely to deal with multiple state governments and their procurement processes.

The concentration of rail supply chain firms in NSW and Victoria, coupled with survey responses, suggests that there may be some firms that do not effectively operate across

borders, restricting their potential market to just the states of operation.

The report finds that in achieving a more sustainable and competitive rail supply chain, any artificial cross-border barriers which may be preventing effective transfer of capacity or skills between Australian jurisdictions should be reviewed.

Implicitly, restricting market access prevents the access to opportunities to achieve costs of scale and a sustainable rail supply chain.

Overall, the Australian rail supply chain is highly diverse, encompassing a high proportion of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as some very large businesses.

Roughly one third of the report’s survey respondents had less than 20 employees. This may be due to the specialised nature of the work performed by these firms or possibly, is a result of challenges in accessing the pipeline of work required to consistently employ a larger number of staff.

A number of firms reported facing issues retaining staff during troughs in the rail investment cycle.

Maintenance represents a substantial proportion of supply chain activity, followed by manufacturing and construction.

For this initial scan of the supply chain, firms were asked to identify themselves as working across the following activities: infrastructure construction, manufacturing/ supplying, operations, maintenance, or procurement, noting that some firms sit across multiple aspects of the supply chain.

Over a third of respondents considered themselves part of the maintenance aspect of supply chain activity. Infrastructure construction and manufacturing were the next largest groups, followed by operations and procurement.

The high proportion of firms reporting a

Given the upcoming pipeline of work expected over the next five years, and the connections these firms already have with local operations and maintenance suppliers, it is important that rail procurers (particularly in government) are aware of the capabilities and skills of these firms, and recognise the longer term economic benefits that can accrue from utilising locally-based manufacturing and construction businesses.

• Who owns the businesses?

The supply chain comprises a balance of Australian and foreign owned businesses.

While many of the very largest firms in the supply chain are part of multinational companies with their head offices based overseas, a large number of rail firms are Australian-owned.

THE ARA BLUEPRINT

The blueprint outlines practical steps and activities that ARA will lead over a three-year period, working in collaboration with industry, government and stakeholders to support a more productive and sustainable Australian rail industry.

It lists a total of several actions grouped under the following themes:

1. Procurement

2. Standards

3 Local Content Policy

4. Innovation and Technology

5. Type Approval

6. Sustainability

7. Skills

8 Expor t Promotion

Procurement

“With a strong rail investment pipeline, it is critical to ensure that procurement processes are as efficient as possible, facilitate maximum participation of local industry, support the development of jobs, drive innovation and produce productive outcomes

Iron ore remains the main heavy haul item in WA.

for rail users and the broader community,” Wilkie said.

Recommended actions, some of which are under way or already concluded, include:

• Progressing the adoption of best practice procurement principles across all jurisdictions

• Establishing a national procurement working group, to share models between government agencies and operators to address areas of possible harmonisation

• Developing case studies to provide good and poor examples of tenders, and alignment to the best practice procurement principles

• Suppor ting the expansion of Project i-TRACE to ensure a standardised approach for data capture, labelling, and electronic exchange to improve

• traceability of procured components to reduce costs and improve safety and reliability for asset management

• Quantifying the economic impact of the lack of harmonisation (relating to standards, requirements and procurement)

Standards

Wilkie said that achieving greater harmonisation within Australia, and the application of more consistently applied standards, enables sustained operations which can build scale and expertise and opportunities for growth.

Actions from the blueprint included:

• Surveying rail suppliers and contractors to identify standards that, if created or modified, would assist to improve procurement related to cost, time, risk, reliability and safety

• Surveying rail suppliers to identify components that, if harmonised, would provide greatest benefit/cost savings

• Conducting research to better understand what, when and why local requirements and standards are specified in contracts by jurisdictions.

The ARA recently called for a national approach to rolling stock procurement in response to a new report that found governments missed out on $1.85 billion in cost savings over the last decade due to inefficient local content policies in place across Australia.

This led to the duplication of facilities and inconsistency between states, and made it too hard for some organisations to bid for key contracts.

States and territories use different procurement policies for purchasing rail assets such as rolling stock, including state-based local content requirements.

The ARA says that while this approach supported local jobs in the short term, it undermines the long-term sustainability of the rolling stock manufacturing industry.

A national approach to rolling stock procurement would allow both governments and industry to achieve improved outcomes, helping to realise the cost savings outlined in the report.

It would also support the growth and competitiveness of the industry, supporting further jobs growth in this essential market.

Local Content Policy

The ARA sees a nationally focused local procurement policy as vital to provide

increased opportunities for jobs and growth, beyond state and territory based local content policy provisions.

Last year it released a report, Towards a National Local Content Policy, confirming a national approach to local content policies would deliver significant benefits to governments and the rail industry.

The report acknowledged that while achieving full policy harmonisation between states may be challenging, there were significant opportunities for greater consistency to be achieved by taking incremental steps towards a more national approach.

It recommended focus areas for review as part of a pathway towards harmonisation, including:

• developing a consistent definition of local content

• creating alignment of regulatory requirements across states

• identifying oppor tunities to integrate state requirements

• understanding the involvement of the Federal Government

• reviewing tender evaluation mechanisms

• reviewing auditing, and compliance requirements

• generating greater market awareness of suppliers’ capabilities and requirements.

Innovation and Technology

Wilkie said that achieving greater harmonisation within Australia, and the application of more consistently applied standards, enabled sustained operations which can build scale and expertise and opportunities for growth.

Some of the blueprint actions included:

• Mapping key elements of a proposed R&D body, prioritising responsibilities based on industry needs and assessing effectiveness of various R&D models in addressing elements

• Mapping capabilities across the different rail-related universities/research organisations to improve targeted engagement with a new national R&D body

• Supporting the establishment of a national R&D body to provide strategic and national alignment between governments, establishing national centres of excellence to drive collaboration, and providing intermediary support for project identification, co-funding, and contractual arrangements.

• Seeking jurisdictions, operators and suppliers to facilitate opportunities to trial innovation via a national R&D body.

Type Approval

“ We need a procurement process that truly rewards innovation and pushes the industry

The Hunter Valley Coal Chain is an important driver of supply chain location and operation for heavy haul-related activities in NSW.

Supply Chains

forward, with supporting type approval processes,” Wilkie said.

The blueprint recommended:

• Developing best practice principles for type approval and provide input into AS7702 reviews by the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board

• Investigating the benefit in establishing a process for mutual recognition of type approval compliance certification against any common requirements and development of a national register

• Investigating the benefits and challenges in establishing a national type approval model.

Sustainability

Wilkie said reducing carbon emissions, increasing recycling of decommissioned assets and re-directing waste are all industry growth enablers which offer opportunities for new and existing firms as well as potentially enhancing rail supply chain capacity.

The ARA recently hosted its first circular economy workshop to share best practice on circular economy initiatives, and help identify the key challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

Blueprint actions included:

• Identifying and prioritising oppor tunities for the rail supply chain in the harmonisation of sustainability and circular economy objectives and leveraging government initiatives

• Proactively advocating green credentials and the role of rail sustainability, specifically relating to supply chain construction methods, products, management, and technologies

• Seeking clarity from purchasers regarding procurement policy relating to use of recycled materials (approved for use) and recyclable materials (user accepts responsibility to recycle later).

Skills

As the industry is acutely aware, the Australian rail sector is currently facing a skills crisis, driven by a combination of surging demand, fragmental regulatory and training infrastructure, an ageing workforce, lack of national training delivery and investment in human capital, and competition from other industries.

Wilkie said the ARA blueprint’s recommendations include:

• Continued engagement with and support for the National Rail Action Plan (NRAP) Skills Committee

• Suppor ting the establishment of a National Rail Skills Hub to co-

and industry initiatives to improve access and pathways to current and future required rail skills. The Hub was launched at AusRAIL 2022, developed by the National Transport Commission to showcase the wide range of jobs available in the industry while also fostering broader skills recognition and job portability

• Developing resources to demonstrate career pathways to rail jobs and careers. Reviewing rail education providers to identify gaps in education options

• Defining and identifying rail specialisations to support a more robust and timely development process for microcredentials and/or skill sets that provide assurance to industry through establishing standards for recognition.

Export Promotion

“Raising awareness of the current capabilities and capacity across the Australian rail industry will provide more tangible opportunities for local firms to engage in global supply chains,” Wilkie said.

Actions included:

• Suppor ting suppliers in accessing international opportunities by identifying key international markets to focus international promotion and trade missions.

• Developing an information summary with Austrade on businesses seeking advice and contacts. 2022-23 Austrade

• Suppor ting InnoTrans trade missions.

THE NEED FOR SPEED

The COVID pandemic has emerged as both a key threat and opportunity for the Australian rail supply chain.

Australian rail businesses, as with their counterparts overseas, have been negatively impacted by measures designed to restrict the spread of COVID, particularly in the free movement of skills.

to a

re-evaluation

of the strength and depth of global supply chains, the need for diversified sources of supply, and is accelerating the adoption of new productivity-enhancing technologies.

“Australia’s relatively strong performance in suppressing COVID, greater competitiveness from a lower Australian dollar, and the increasing need for stronger, more diversified global supply chains represents an unprecedented opportunity for the Australian rail supply chain to grow and prosper in both local and international markets,” Wilkie said.

“On balance, the record forward pipeline of rail investment and new behaviours wrought from COVID offer an unparalleled opportunity for the local rail supply chain to break free from constraints which have held it back from achieving sustained, healthy growth in the past.

“These include ‘death valley’ boom/bust investment cycles which inhibit investment, lack of economies of scale caused by fragmented regional structures and lack of harmonisation, and disincentives to innovate due to this fragmentation and lack of scale combined with risk averse procurement approaches.

“In turn, maximising the use of the local supply chain is the key to optimising the broader economic impact of the strong pipeline of rail investment and ultimately creating thousands of new, highly skilled, Australian jobs.”

Ultimately, there is a need to move quickly and not procrastinate.

“Severe threats and challenges remain but meeting these challenges has the potential to yield tremendous business and employment growth, as well as broader social and economic benefits, in coming years,” Wilkie said.

“Action is required now if Australia is to maximise these benefits.”

While the rail supply chain is spread throughout Australia’s eight states and territories, most of it is largely concentrated in NSW and Victoria.

Local solutions for disruption

Global issues including COVID lockdowns, semiconductor shortages, workforce shortages and the war in Ukraine have caused major disruption to Australian business’ supply chains.

There have been unprecedented levels of shortage and failure across multiple sectors, resulting in what would previously have been perceived as unacceptable OTIF (on-time-in-full) performance, excessive WIP (work in progress), longer lead times for finished goods and excessive build-up of stock in the supply chain.

According to Unipart Group Australia (UGA) managing director Mark Carling, the imperative to keep passengers and freight running is as strong as ever in the Australian rail sector, where the network is a strategic asset that underpins wider economic activity.

“But with pressure on the supply chains that keep trains moving, a laser-focus on asset optimisation and productivity improvement is needed,” he said.

He referred to December’s Market Capacity report from Infrastructure Australia, which highlighted the continuing low productivity across the construction sector, specifically identifying that “.... efforts to drive systematic improvements are hampered by a lack of knowledge sharing and best practice”.

The report makes a number of points, which include:

• Digital – digital transformation will

ecosystem will drive a financially sustainable and high performing infrastructure industry.

• Innovation – innovative, digitally-enabled techniques will enable increased productivity.

“While the challenges are well-known and the solutions have been identified, the shift to the required future state in the rail sector is not an easy one to implement - and the sector needs help to make this fundamental paradigm change,” Carling said.

MAKING THE PARADIGM CHANGE

A key element of making the change is to have a full ‘end-to-end’ understanding of the whole supply chain, and focussing activities initially in the bottleneck areas. To achieve this, real time ‘end-to-end’ visibility of performance and inventory across the supply chain is required.

“Performance measurements must capture more than just OTIF, providing cost to serve and carbon reporting as standard,” Carling said.

“This holistic data capture enables the identification of risks, measurement of failure rates, observation of trends and provides advanced warning of future risks.”

This is where logistics and supply chains specialist Unipart - working in partnership with customers, suppliers and other logistics partners - builds transformative roadmaps to address high risk factors specific to customer requirements and supply chain design.

onboarding additional transport providers, setting

up localised storage facilities, or innovating to address a labour shortage, but how this applies to each customer is completely unique.

“This can appear to be a daunting task for rail companies where the supply chain stretches far beyond Australian shores; we always recommend taking an incremental approach, starting with diagnostics activities either on discrete areas of concern or looking at the broader supply chain of a business,” Carling said.

“UGA’s expert practitioners have successfully worked with many Australian and global rail customers to leverage Unipart’s 20-year-plus Lean Journey to support and guide customers embarking on a Lean implementation - sharing knowledge, driving innovation and delivering digital solutions in processes by using the Unipart Way.”

The Unipart Way is a philosophy of continuous improvement focused on driving the company to achieve world class standards of quality, delivery, and customer service.

The company has developed a range of tools and techniques to create continuous improvements within organisations. This encompasses creative problem-solving processes, standard work and visual management techniques at the grass-roots level, to policy deployment techniques which ensure that any activity within the company is directed at and aligned with strategy and objectives.

MULTI-SECTOR EXPERIENCE

The Australian rail sector faces particular challenges - and requires a strong local rail background to properly get ‘under the hood’ of the supply chain - but broader experience can also bring fresh perspectives to knowledge sharing to allow the paradigm change needed.

“Unipart has worked with leading names across many sectors including rail, automotive, technology and health, demonstrating we have the operational capabilities, the technology and the characteristics to be a leading supply chain partner,” Carling said.

“We engage positively with colleagues, customers and partners to serve our customers better, in a true partnership.”

For more information visit www.unipart.com.au or contact uga.enquiries@unipart.com

Over recent years, even the most robust global supply chains have faced multiple challenges on an existential level - but there are solutions that can deliver the competitive edge in the new, unstable landscape.

The Unipart Way is a philosophy focused on world class standards of quality, delivery, and customer service.

Supply Chains

National freight safeguard mechanism off the tracks

The safeguard mechanism commenced on July 1, 2016, and applies to facilities that emit more than 100,000 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) covered emissions in a financial year.

This extends to businesses across a broad range of industry sectors, including electricity generation, mining, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, transport, and waste.

Under the safeguard mechanism, facilities are given a baseline which is the reference point against which net-emissions levels will be assessed. A safeguard facility must keep its net emissions levels at or below its baseline.

At the end of March this year, the Australian Government’s Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament, with the new arrangements taking effect from July 1, 2023.

The reformed safeguard mechanism aims to ensure Australia’s largest emitters are

contributing towards Australia’s emissions reductions task.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is in the process of finalising amendments to the Safeguard Rule that will provide detail on how the reformed safeguard mechanism will be implemented.

But despite the name, there is concern that the mechanism doesn’t really safeguard the interests of the rail industry.

According to Pacific National chief executive officer Paul Scurrah, under the current settings, tens of thousands of trucking companies will not be required to comply with mandated emissions reduction targets, while a major rail hauler of goods and commodities will incur significant additional costs.

“The quickest and most efficient way to decarbonise the national supply chain is to support the haulage of more freight by trains –but the current safeguard mechanism does the

opposite by tilting the playing field in favour of more freight being transported by bigger and heavier trucks,” he said.

“Rail freight has a huge role to play in helping government achieve mandated emissions reduction targets, particularly in the traditionally hard to abate national supply chain.

“Compared to road freight transport, rail is significantly more fuel-efficient and is a low emissions transport solution for the Australian supply chain – a tonne of freight moved a kilometre by rail produces one tonne of CO2e, while the equivalent transport task by road produces as much as four tonnes.

“Rail freight transport also allows for reduced traffic congestion and better road safety outcomes, with fewer road trauma incidents in the nation’s transport network.” Scurrah said although rail freight represents less than four per cent of total transport emissions, it is significantly over-represented

Australia’s largest private rail freight company has warned that the Federal Government’s safeguard mechanism for the transport industry will drive more freight from trains to trucks, perversely fuelling more carbon emissions.

Compared to road freight transport, rail is significantly more fuel-efficient and is a low emissions transport solution for the Australian supply chain.

that is captured by the safeguard mechanism.

“Approximately 65 per cent of rail freight activity is captured under the mechanism against a mere 2 per cent for road freight transport,” he said.

“Meanwhile, alternative-fuelled locomotives, like hydrogen fuel cell power, capable of long-distance heavy haulage operations, are more than a decade away from being available commercially.”

Scurrah said to help comply with the directive to reduce emissions by 4.9 per cent year-on-year to 2030 and offset the need to buy a bundle of Australian carbon credit units at $75 a tonne, Pacific National has invested $330 million to purchase 50 new state-of-theart freight locomotives which will yield a lower carbon footprint during operations.

“Pacific National’s new fuel-efficient freight locomotives are being locally manufactured and assembled in Newcastle, featuring the most advanced engine technology deployed in Australia, will be delivered to starting from next year,” he said.

“We are also investing millions to procure new rollingstock, including 110 tandem well wagons which will allow for the doublestacking of shipping containers - placed endto-end, these new wagons are equivalent to 4.7 kilometres of new rolling stock.”

He said if the safeguard mechanism is not carefully crafted and set by government, then technological constraints beyond the control of Australian companies would result in rail becoming less price competitive with road freight operations not captured under the scheme.

more technologically advanced locomotives, and the need to offset any future emissions above mandated thresholds in the mechanism via the purchase of potentially millionsof-dollars of carbon credits each year, will inevitably result in road freight operations becoming more cost competitive than rail haulage,” he said.

He warned that the Australian rail freight sector was further boxed-in because electrification of the rail network nationally was cost-prohibitive, and emissions intensity is influenced by the condition and alignment of track infrastructure, which is not owned or controlled by operators like Pacific National.

“Australian rail freight companies have no control over the condition of the track infrastructure they operate on or global technological developments in locomotives and rollingstock,” he said.

Each week across Australia, 2300 Pacific National frontline workers deploy 570 dieselpowered locomotives to carry out 800 rail freight services for more than 340 customers.

These weekly services include the rail haulage of approximately 570,000 tonnes of bulk freight like grain and steel and 18,000 20-foot equivalent shipping containers filled with tinned and refrigerated food, beverages, white goods, electronics, furniture, and machinery parts.

Scurrah said the result of more freight being transported by trucks would be increased emissions, traffic congestion, and road accidents - meaning taxpayers and ratepayers would have to fork out even more money to repair and maintain roads and highways.

more volumes of freight from rail to road, it will also drive up costs in in the national rail supply chain which would ultimately be paid for by Australian families at the supermarket checkout, adding to the pain they are feeling from inflation and rising interest rates,” he said.

He said the political class needed to do its homework when to came to the unique and demanding characteristics of Australian supply chain operations.

“For instance, our vast continent is not like a small European nation – in Australia, we haul massive volumes of goods and commodities over some of the harshest, most remote landscapes on earth,” he said.

Scurrah said policy makers also failed to realise that operators can’t just nip down to a local dealership and purchase a brand new $7 million 130-tonne freight locomotive off the lot.

“Freight locomotives are highly specialised pieces of equipment, and compared to the demand for new freight locomotives in North America, Australia’s market is small,” he said.

“This means our nation faces both scaling and technological hurdles when it comes to procuring, field-testing and maintaining new freight locomotives for deployment under unique Australian infrastructure settings and operational conditions.”

Scurrah said that with mode shift critical to meet targets, the rail freight sector is on a journey to ensure policy makers understand the importance of designing schemes that will keep the nation on track to achieve emission reductions and not derail ambitions.

The safeguard mechanism takes in about 65 per cent of rail freight activity, against a mere 2 per cent for road freight transport.

Siemens Mobility leads way in local manufacturing at Port Melbourne

Meeting the challenges of the rail industry, along with providing local innovation and capability, have been critical to Siemens Mobility’s success in manufacturing rail infrastructure equipment in Melbourne for almost 140 years.

Local capability in rail manufacturing is important to understand local requirements in helping passengers and freight get from their first to last mile.

With the current record levels of investment in the rail industry, local manufacturing allows for reduced lead times and faster delivery to customers to meet the industry needs and specification.

In Australia, Siemens Mobility has two manufacturing sites: MRX Technologies in Perth (covered in the April issue), and one in Port Melbourne for rail infrastructure.

Siemens Mobility is the only trackside railway company proudly carrying the Australian-Made logo and with it, recognising its contribution to local jobs, economy and community.

The use of Australian-made technology has made it easier for rail operators to know that the equipment they are using meets Australian standards and is produced specifically with Australian conditions in mind.

PORT MELBOURNE

Siemens Mobility’s specialised rail manufacturing facility plays a critical role in bringing in latest global technologies, and adapting them to the Australian and New Zealand markets, along with the local product innovations to help move people and goods safely across the country.

As Siemens Mobility Head of Products

Eric Bougeois tells Rail Express, the company has established what it terms a Centre of

Competence for Rail infrastructure Product and Solutions for the Asia Pacific region.

The site primarily manufactures signalling products for the Australian, Asian and some of the Latin American market, continuing the tradition set in Melbourne since 1884, when McKenzie & Holland (later acquired by Siemens) manufactured its first point machine in 1930. Some of those machines are still being used today.

“We’ve built the business in Australia off being local, having local capability and local competence,” Bougeois said.

The entire manufacturing process is completed on-site in Port Melbourne, from design to prototype to manufacture to delivery, and back again for service.

Each year the site produces more than 4250 products designed and made in Australia, using a local team with long-term employees, with one employee recently celebrating 50 years with the organisation.

“Products locally manufactured include point machines, signals, and many other component parts of interlocking and automated systems for moving and positioning rail cars, which are all really safety critical products ensuring the

passengers get to the destination securely,” Bougeois said.

To support Siemens Mobility’s operations in Australia and New Zealand with established local manufacturing sites, approximately 75 per cent of the company’s spend for Port Melbourne is on local product.

The business possesses a large and diverse vendor base which procures a range of goods and services both domestically and internationally, supporting the respective supply chains.

“The team works closely with Australian customers by designing local, manufacturing local and servicing local,” Bougeois said.

“Siemens Mobility supports about 300 local families in Australia through its local supply chain and that is an important effect of us being able to work with our local suppliers.

“It’s also helping businesses to develop, helping them to evolve in our industries and to build the capability further to address the growth of the market.”

Bougeois said Siemens prided itself not just on the quality of the product, but also in being able to respond quickly to its customers’ needs.

“When people have a particular problem,

Nestled in the intermodal hub of Port Melbourne is a manufacturing facility run by rail transport leaders Siemens Mobility, focusing on Australian technology and products made by the local workforce.

The site is a centre of competence for the Asia Pacific region.

they do look to Siemens in Port Melbourne to come up with solutions,” he said. “We can provide engineering support and help our customers to develop their own solutions. That aspect is unique and we’re quite proud of it.

“We are growing our competencies, helping businesses to develop the industry, and that’s also addressing the resource shortages we have in Australia.

“We have more than 600 people in Australia working for Siemens Mobility and we have people who are passionate about understanding the local market. And it’s not all about having great products, it’s also about understanding the local needs and ensuring that our products are tailored to their local industry.

“What we do is important because we work on bringing in latest technologies and taking them and integrating them into the Australian market, so in that way we can improve the way that freight as well as people are moved around the country and around our cities.”

Bougeois said that, just like other suppliers and industries, Siemens has experienced product shortages that have led to delays.

“But we are working through the backlog and rectifying the issue. We continue to experience growth across the industry and this has supported our local suppliers,” he said.

INNOVATION REMAINS THE KEY

Innovation is a core value at Siemens Mobility. Currently the company has more than 100 patents and patent applications in Australia and New Zealand.

It also has achieved more than 650 rail equipment type approvals and exports to more than 30 countries.

Bougeois said that because the industry and market demands were constantly changing, innovation is vital to support customers and their long-term strategies, and keep up with market demand.

And the team in Port Melbourne is realising the possibilities that come with combining the real and digital worlds together through advance manufacturing.

“The focus is on rapid prototyping of new Australian-Made innovations using digitalisation technologies such as 3D printing, traceability and digital simulation, to design and develop products for local market and customers, and simulating certain environmental conditions.”

This is allowing research and development timeframes to go from years to just months.

An example of this initiative was the development of new axle counter head mounting arrangements.

While the original design was done in Europe, the Port Melbourne facility developed the components, carried out laboratory testing and then finally created a prototype using advance manufacturing.

“So in general, from the product being designed in 3D using Siemens PLM software, we can extrapolate to rapid prototyping with 3D printing to be quick on the market to address the requirement from the customer,” Bougeois said.

Another innovative action includes playing a leading role in Project i-TRACE technology, to provide standardised identification and marking of parts, components and assets in the rail industry.

The system is a joint initiative of the Australasian Railway Association and GS1 Australia, the leading provider of standards and solutions for more than 20 industry sectors.

Last year, the dataset specific to the rail industry was added to the National Product Catalogue (NPC) to enable suppliers and clients to log, manage and share information on their products to improve efficiencies.

Siemens is also a keen supporter of digitalisation as a means of driving innovation in an industry that can be slow to adopt new technology.

“We are fully embracing the technology to be more efficient and to address better the market needs,” Bougeois said.

For example, digitalisation has resulted in remote signalling programs, such as Siemens Mobility’s well-received RailFusion software, which enables the rail wayside infrastructure

section of south–north railway line between the two locations.

The corridor is used by a third-party passenger service and freight trains operated by One Rail Australia, now owned by Aurizon.

“RailFusion monitors and analyses data points across an entire railroad’s infrastructure, including wayside assets such as active road crossings, remote crossing loops and stream flow detection on six major rivers between Katherine and Darwin,” Bougeois said.

“It is designed to turn the information into intelligence by intuitively monitoring and analysing railroad wayside infrastructure to improve system operations and safety.”

THE SIEMENS SERVICE

“The most important thing that we can do for the industry is deliver great service to customers,” Bougeois said.

“Any equipment which is not working properly has to be repaired in the shortest possible window, so any tools that we can use for this can increase reliability in reducing the number of faults.

“We’re quite proud of the fact that we’re designing equipment and manufacturing here in Australia, using the latest materials, and using latest manufacturing techniques.

“It just gives us the ability to innovate as much as we want.

“We are able to bring all the exciting new technologies that are being developed around the world and apply them to the railways locally and to show the railways what they can

The Port Melbourne facility uses local people with local capability and local competence.

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A rail fleet to serve all needs

Rail Maintenance Services Pty Ltd (RMS Rail) has been servicing the rail industry since 1971 and has established a strong reputation as a provider of rail specialised personnel with an extensive fleet of plant, equipment and professional services.

RMS business manager Marten Schembri tells Rail Express about the company’s origins and why it’s so highly-regarded.

“From our humble beginnings as Axiom Plant Hire in 1971, our founder Peter Schembri began providing backhoes to assist with sleeper replacement for the Victorian railways,” he said.

“He had the foresight to see that the future of rail maintenance and construction would be reliant on the use of plant and machinery to mitigate manual handling risks, increasing safety and efficiency on-site.

“He quickly positioned the company to meet this growing need, developing our expertise in sleeper replacement and other track maintenance activities”.

The fleet and staff continued to grow and improve over the years, with the main focus on innovation in local and international markets, to offer a continuously improved service.

“We changed our name to Rail Maintenance Services (RMS) and further invested in new machines and specialised attachments,” Schembri said.

“Mindful of the needs of our clients, our technical team scoured Australia and the world for the latest innovations in plant and equipment to provide our clients more efficient, cost and time saving solutions.”

COMPLIANCE AT THE HEART

Schembri said RMS Rail places compliance at the heart of everything it does.

“Operating across rail, construction and civil as

a plant and labour hire firm, our operations are governed by legislation, regulations, Australian and ISO standards and industry best practice,” he said.

“We are proud to have a formal integrated management system which has been accredited to Quality Management ISO 9001, Occupational Health and Safety Management ISO 45001, Environmental Management ISO 14001.

“Our excellent health, safety, environmental and quality record has been sustained by the continued evolution of our management systems that are accredited to approved ISO standards.

“Our philosophy is one of continual improvement as we seek to ensure a safe working environment. Perhaps our greatest strength to deliver this is the fact that our own operators are present on-site doing the jobs safely for our clients and management team.”

RMS takes pride in its own well-trained, industry compliant and committed workforce, who understand the industries they are working in.

“Our behavioural based safety culture, in which every employee takes responsibility for their own actions, complements our investment in our people as well as our commitment to everyone’s health and safety,” Schembri said.

THE FLEET FANTASTIC

Schembri said RMS owns one of the largest road rail fleets in Australia, comprising of excavators, trucks, vehicles and specialist equipment of various sizes to suit any works.

Some of these include:

• Hi-rail wheeled excavator

Makes: Liebherr, Hitachi, Caterpillar

Features and benefits:

Hi-rail equipment certified for numerous rail networks. Built with tilt-rotators to enable use of

various specialised rail attachments. Equipped with certified limiters enabling the excavators to work under live overhead electrical wires whilst on track, with height /swing restrictors.

• Front-end wheel loader

Makes: Volvo

Features and benefits:

Built with quick hitch to enable use of bucket, forks and lifting jibs. Certified to work under live overhead electrical wires whilst on track.

• Hi-rail truck mounted EWP

Makes: Isuzu, Nifty, Genie

Features and benefits:

Hi-rail equipment certified for numerous rail networks. These vehicles can reach both sides of the rail corridor whilst on track without the need of stabilisers. All RMS Rail truck mounted EWPs are design-registered with Worksafe approval. Equipped with two-man baskets.

• Hi-rail/Non hi-rail site dump trucks

Makes: Hydrema

Features and benefits:

Hi-rail equipment certified for numerous rail networks. These vehicles are very versatile and are able to on-track and change without the need of an access pad or crossing. Also featured with rotating tipping body.

• Hi-rail track excavator

Makes: Komatsu, Hitachi, Liebherr, CAT

Features and benefits:

Hi-rail equipment certified for numerous rail networks with tri-guage. Built with tilt-rotators to enable use of various specialised rail attachments. Equipped with certified limiters enabling the excavators to work under live overhead electrical wires whilst on track, with height /swing restrictors and zero swing available.

• Hi-rail mobile EWP

Makes: Neotech, Melvelle

Features and benefits:

Hi-rail equipment certified for numerous rail networks. Full control from the basket including travelling on hi-rail, with 400kg rated capacity. Available with pantographs.

aim is to have the highest skilled team with the greatest specialised road-rail fleet in Australia,” Schembri said.

“Our

Rail Maintenance Services has become well-known for completing rail construction and maintenance projects with a high degree of professionalism and reliability.

RMS hi-rail track excavators are built with tilt-rotators to enable use of various specialised rail attachments.

Category 5 was founded in 2009 in Port Hedland, Western Australia, by chief executive officer and owner Sam Sycamore.

With more than 15 years’ experience gleaned in the mining and resources sectors, and having been involved with some of the biggest recruitment companies in the country, Sycamore saw an opportunity to provide a more tailored solution for both clients and candidates.

It was this recognition, combined with a passion for the recruitment and labour hire industry, that saw Category 5 born.

From commencing initially as a sole operator, over the past 10 years some of the best teams in the recruitment business have come on board, allowing Category 5 and its rail section, Cat 5 Rail, to expand their expertise and service offering throughout Australia as well as New Zealand.

The Cat 5 Rail family are dedicated to building a business that creates long-term, and sustainable opportunities for both their clients and their employees.

“I have been directly involved in the rail industry for close to 18 years,” Sycamore tells Rail Express

“Even prior to this, rail had always been part of my life as my father was a train driver in the Pilbara, working for BHP on their heavy haul network. He retired a couple of years ago after 32 years in the role.

Excelling everywhere all at once

THE LIEBHERR DIFFERENCE

“We started Cat 5 predominantly as a labour hire business, supplying skilled rail workers to construction and maintenance projects in the Pilbara.

“In 2017 we expanded into the cities of Perth and Melbourne.

“Today we now have depots in Port Hedland, Karratha, Perth, Bunbury, Brisbane, Orange, Moree, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland and are very fortunate to be working on some of the largest infrastructure projects in Australia and New Zealand.”

Sycamore said that in 2019, Cat 5 made the decision to add specialised rail plant to its capability, with the fleet growing to include more than 20 hi-rail excavators, 12 loaders, hirail elevated work platforms, hi-rail crane trucks and mobile flashbutt welders.

And towards this end, Liebherr has played a major role.

“We would not have been able to grow the way we did, if Liebherr hadn’t supported us with a reliable supply chain and quality aftermarket service,” Sycamore said.

“For this reason, Liebherr has become our preferred supplier of hi-rail excavators, standard excavators and loaders.

“Our relationship with the team at Liebherr has enabled us to confidently commit to work and deliver quality results for our clients across Australia.”

Sycamore said the initial reason for buying Liebherr was the fast turnaround from placing an order to delivery.

“The sales team I dealt with were knowledgeable and to be honest, called me back when others didn’t. It was a difficult time due to the pandemic and they made it a lot easier,” he said.

“The biggest point of difference I noticed was with the factory-fitted hi-rail guidance system; not only were they able to supply significantly faster than anyone else, the machines are designed and built to operate in the most efficient and reliable way possible. This has proven to be true over the past three years.

“I was fortunate to tour the factory in Germany where the machines are made and I saw the attention to detail that goes into each excavator, with some components still manufactured by hand.

“We work in demanding high paced environments and extreme weather conditions, from 50 plus degrees in the Pilbara to minus degrees in Victoria. Every piece of plant we own is put through its paces and the Liebherr machines have stood up to the challenge.”

Sycamore said the power and reliability of the machines, combined with fuel efficiency, has enabled the company to “do almost anything on track” in some of the most remote locations in Australia, day in and day out.

“They are good for the rail industry

The use of powerful Liebherr rail machines has played a big part in the growth of Cat5 Rail across Australia.

An A 922 Rail Litronic drain cleaning in the Pilbara during a planned shutdown.

because they are one of the only machines that are factory built with a rail guidance system,” he said.

“Compared to other machines where the hi-rail components are added after market, you know that they have been built and designed to the highest standard.

“We have also found the Liebherr excavators to be very efficient. The fuel and oils usage is very minimal compared to other plant on the same jobs, and this has helped us with tendering for new projects and delivering work.

“We have been really happy with the productivity and reliability, which are both key areas of focus for us due to the remote areas we are working in.”

Sycamore said the Cat 5 operators and maintenance teams enjoyed working with the Liebherrs because they combined amazing technology with a top quality build.

“We know that when we take delivery of a new machine it’s going to be very well made and will be able to go straight to work,” Sycamore said.

After-sales service was also an important factor for Cat 5.

“Where other companies have struggled to provide a decent after-sales service, Liebherr has maintained regular contact and actioned any queries quickly,” Sycamore said.

“Over the past three years we have built solid relationships with a number of people from Liebherr, which has provided a very personalised service.

“When an issue has come up it has always been dealt with quickly and we have had minimal downtime.”

The confidence in Liebherr equipment is so strong that Cat 5 plans to use the machines in every maintenance and construction scenario it can.

Sycamore said their versatility, combined with some innovative attachments, have meant that the business can reduce the amount of manual handling and “plant vs person” interaction.

“Our Liebherr machines have enabled our worksites to become safer without compromising on productivity,” he said.

“We have actually been able to do more during shorter windows of work.

“We are using Liebherr equipment daily to carry out re-rail, undercutting, re-sleepering, plug installation, constructing new track including laying new sleepers at a rate of over 3000 per shift, installing new rail with our extendable rail grabs that move 25m lengths of rail with one machine, drain cleaning, and a lot more.”

EXCAVATOR EXCELLENCE

Cat 5’s Liebherr fleet includes the outstanding excavator models, the A 922 Rail Litronic and R 914 Rail Litronic.

• The A 922 Rail Litronic

Because it is a railroad machine, the A 922 Rail is suitable for use on railway tracks and for road construction, and is fast, thanks to the mobile undercarriage.

A rail travel drive is mounted on both sides of the undercarriage. When entering the rails, the rail travel drive lifts the tyres to rail height. The inside wheels of the dual tyres ensure travel of the excavator on the tracks.

The development of the A 922 Rail is the result of decades of experience and striving to create products with the highest level of efficiency and performance.

This new generation of Liebherr railroad excavators impresses with the higher level of efficiency. The new 120kW/163 PS engine ensures that the A 922 Rail achieves even higher working speeds with the usual fluid equipment movements.

The innovative hydraulic concept of the A 922 Rail consists of a Liebherr variable displacement double pump with independent control circuits.

High-performance, hydraulic attachments can thus be operated independently of the working and travel movements of the Liebherr railroad excavator.

The delivery rate of the proven Liebherr variable displacement double pump was increased to 2 x 220l/min for even better performance, while the heavy ballast was also redesigned to yield the best bearing load values, with improved weight distribution and a more compact rear dimension of 2000mm.

The A 922 Rail offers various undercarriage versions with different track widths and rail wheels, which make it possible to use tracks worldwide.

An independent variable displacement pump for the rail undercarriage provides the best traction and safe propulsion at all times.

The spacious double cab with its modern interior design and standard roll over protective structure (ROPS) offers the best conditions for comfortable, focused and productive work.

Entry lighting eases the access to both seats. The generous use of glass combined with standard rear and side cameras provide an exceptional view of the working area.

The touchscreen colour display on the console and the operator’s seat are ideally and ergonomically coordinated with each other, forming a perfect unit.

The service-oriented machine design of the A 922 Rail guarantees short maintenance times and minimises the maintenance costs incurred thanks to the time savings.

All maintenance points are easily accessible from the ground. Air, oil and fuel filters, the main battery switch, the lubricating grease zerk for the oscillating axle and the pilot valves for emergency actuation are easy to access.

• The R 914 Rail Litronic

The smallest Liebherr crawler excavator, the R 914 Compact, is also available in a rail version. With its powerful diesel engine and extraordinary sensitivity, the R 914 Rail provides the same maximum precision and power on rails as its big brothers.

The short tail crawler excavator, with a rear slewing radius of just 1550mm, is designed to work on the tracks of constricted construction sites or where access may be difficult.

This all-round excavator is powered by a four-cylinder in-line engine, which accelerates the hydrostatic rail travel drive to speeds of up to 25km/h.

For more information, visit www.liebherr.com.au

A 922 preparing to assist with the construction of a turnout.

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An epic program for migrants

The Victorian Government’s Engineering Pathway Industry Cadetship (EPIC) is an 18-month program for engineers from a refugee and asylum seeker background planning to work on major transport infrastructure projects.

With a new cohort starting up this January, the cadets from EPIC’s 2022 group have now secured ongoing employment in transport infrastructure roles across Victoria, including the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP).

Among them were LXRP cadets Mohamad Torkman and Awfi Al-Awfi, and managers John Dyer and Hazel Balod, who were paired together respectively for the program’s 18-month duration.

Al-Awfi said that since migrating to Australia, he had moved between NSW and regional Victoria in the pursuit of a permanent job.

“For two years I was trying to land my first job in Australia, it was quite a hard journey,” he said.

“The EPIC program is a strategy to prepare someone to be fit for a professional role within the Australian industry. It provides a local qualification and local experience by getting involved in the activities, tasks and teams.”

Balod said this was the second year that she and her team had managed a cadet in the EPIC program.

“We previously had a cadet who is now a project coordinator, so continuing on that involvement and having EPIC cadets in our team was a no-brainer. We really value the contributions they have made in our team,” she said.

She said cadets often bring with them substantial previous work experience and knowledge from the engineering field, providing support to their teams and allowing others to learn from them.

For Torkman, his aim was to find job security through a permanent position within LXRP, and with this in mind he and Dyer set out a framework that would guide Mohamad in his cadetship.

Dyer said having an end goal helped Torkman stay on track throughout the program.

“The fundamental reason why he has been so successful is that right at the beginning we asked, ‘what are you aiming for at the end of the program?’,’’ Dyer said.

Both cadets’ successes were not only due to their dedication, but also the support from their managers and supervisors.

Balod said she and Al-Awfi had an open line of communication, often speaking about the professional development aspects of work.

“The biggest thing I have learnt from AlAwfi is being reminded of where people have come from and the certain circumstances that they have had to overcome,” she said.

Al-Awfi said he learnt a lot from Balod, especially in relation to soft skills and emotional intelligence.

“What I learnt is the way I communicate with people, whether it is verbal or writing. Even now, if I am sending an important email, I will send it to Balod to have a look,” he said.

Torkman also said Dyer taught him a lot, most importantly critical soft skills.

“He taught me the manners and behaviours and how to act correctly, it is not just about the work. I look at things from the big picture and how to make people feel comfortable,” Torkman said.

Balod said the program focuses on building relationships for the cadets, who are already equipped with engineering knowledge and skills thanks to their international qualification.

“The theory-based skills and principles, the communication skills, Al-Awfi has all that, we are just giving him the opportunity while developing the leadership, the management, the building relationships, that’s what we try to help them out with,” she said.

EPIC continues to remove barriers to ongoing work on Victoria’s transport infrastructure pipeline for engineers from a refugee or asylum seeker background.

Read more about the EPIC program at https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/jobs/trainingprograms/epic-program

The Engineering Pathway Industry Cadetship is an industry-first program that helps bridge the gap faced by new Australians in matching their international qualifications to Australian workforce requirements.

Hazel Balod and Awfi Al-Awfi (left), and John Dyer with Mohamad Torkman.

Workforce Profiles

Graduates aim to shape SRL future

The Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) Graduate Program recently announced its 2023 intake, which also celebrates inclusivity and diversity.

The course is a challenging and rewarding opportunity to learn from industry experts across a diverse range of fields over a period of two years.

Graduates can work in rail and infrastructure, corporate services, planning and precincts, strategic communications and more for up to six months, providing a rare chance to build skills through rotations across the organisation.

The group, which includes six men and five women, are excited at the potential to contribute to the delivery of the city-shaping project.

BERAN, ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE

“I hope to gain understanding of all the various aspects that go into delivering government infrastructure projects, to be able to find out what role I would like to pursue in the future and maximise the benefits I can deliver to Victorians through my work.”

BREE, DESIGN GRADUATE

“This project is a fantastic job opportunity to have a large-scale impact on how we move, travel and ultimately live. The chance to be part of a team with like-minded individuals – increasing quality of life for all Victorians –really appealed to me.”

BURAK, ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE

“As someone who was brought up in the suburbs, I can envision the positive changes the project will have for many people. Knowing the scale and impact of this project excites me for the future.”

CAROLINE, ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE

“I’m excited to be working on a project of this size, as part of a team that is filled with experts I can learn from. I’m also looking forward to meeting new people, and the varying experiences thanks to the rotational opportunities over the two-year program.”

EMILY, LAW GRADUATE

“I take the train almost every day and understand the necessity of having a functional rail system that is continually improving. I want to use my skills to contribute, so that various communities across Victoria can benefit from this project.” biggest benefit of joining the Graduate Program has been the massive

FIONA, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE GRADUATE

“Having a strong passion for sustainability, I was drawn to the project’s sustainable design. SRL has such an integrated approach to sustainability; one that includes human, social, and environmental considerations. To be a part of a project that aims to better so many aspects of our day-to-day lives is a great feeling.”

CHIARA, COMMUNICATIONS GRADUATE

“The biggest benefit of joining the Graduate Program has been the massive support network that you’re introduced to from the first day. Graduates have the flexibility to choose areas of their interest and really bring their ideas to the table.”

JED, ENGINEERING GRADUATE

“I hope to finally put my engineering degree towards a project I am passionate about and to learn as much as I can about being a better engineer.”

JOYCE, LAW GRADUATE

“I am looking forward to being able to continue my journey of growth, based on the Graduate

Program rotations. I really hope to grow and develop as a person from this project, so I have a greater capacity to serve the Victorian community.”

LUKE, ARTS GRADUATE

“I had the opportunity to intern with the organisation three times over my studies and was able to get a better understanding of what it would be like to work in this organisation and its positive, supportive culture. It also allows me to do the type of work I would enjoy, enabling further growth of my skills.”

GARETH, ENVIRONMENTAL GRADUATE

“Working on this project brings new challenges and opportunities every day. I’m exploring a variety of work streams - all while helping deliver sustainable transport for the future of Melbourne.”

SAM, ARTS GRADUATE

“The chance to work across four rotations whilst learning under so many experienced people is a privilege. I’m looking forward to understanding what I need to contribute best to the project and what skills I can bring to the table to match the wealth of knowledge already here.”

ANTHONY, ENGINEERING GRADUATE

“We are entering the organisation at an exciting time, as there’s bound to be lots of growth prior to the beginning of main works. I’m hoping to learn as much as I can about the technical aspects of this mega-project.”

The Suburban Rail Loop, the fully automated rapid transit system under construction in Melbourne, is pinning its future success on the bright young minds of its graduate program cohorts.

The SRL class of 2023.

The second Technology and Innovation Conference organised by the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) wrapped up in Sydney earlier this month.

Themed Rail Innovation Now or Never, the conference attracted almost 120 attendees from all over Australia to Sydney for the two-day event. This year’s gathering included close to 30 speakers, a handpicked cellar door networking event, and a robust but fruitful panel discussion on barriers to innovation.

Delegates representing government, operators, academia, research centres, and network managers and suppliers from across Australia and overseas, were inspired by speakers who highlighted current practices in their region and encouraged conference attendees to push through industry and organisational innovation barriers.

With presentations ranging from the deep future of rail, digital engineering and virtual training, to articial intelligence and condition monitoring, the range of topics and presenters reflected the diverse interests of everyone attending the conference.

Overall, the conference was a huge success with attendees walking away from it with new connections, different perspectives on how to innovate in the workplace, and clear ideas on how technology presented during the conference could be adopted to simplify routine, unsafe or time-consuming -tasks.

HORIZONS PROGRAM FORUM 1

Nearly 80 participants from a variety of member organisations attended the first Horizons Program forum of the year at Deakin Downtown in Melbourne.

The day kicked off with keynote speaker Steve Sammartino running an engaging workshop and pitching contest.

A panel discussion was delivered by industry leaders Amy Lezala Zahr (Department of Transport, Victoria), Carolyn Walsh (National Transport Commission) and Joshua Steed (Head of Maintenance, Metro Trains), who shared the highs and lows of management and leadership from their respective careers.

Technical presentations were delivered by Zahr and Jane Gillespie, while there was an interactive workshop on robotics from Deakin University.

The forum was rounded off with an in-depth look at behavioural styles and preferences and how to adapt behaviors to interact with others more effectively.

TRAINING

We have released dates for our next faceto-face Investigate Rail Safety Incidents and Derailment Investigation and Analysis workshop courses.

Derailment Investigation and Analysis Workshop

This three-day course is an engaging foundation course that provides participants with an understanding of the principles, methods and requirements for investigating rail derailments.

Over three days, among other things, delegates will learn more about:

• Investigation processes

• Theories of derailment

• Regulatory requirements

• Derailment repor t submissions

• The true cost of derailments to an organisation

• Infrastructure derailment triggers

• Operations derailment triggers

• How human factors contributes to derailments

• Track construction maintenance and measurements

• Wheel rail interface issues

• Turnout and yard derailments. Our June course in Melbourne is booked out, but we have availability in our courses to be held in Sydney on Tuesday, July 11-13 and Western Australia on November 7-9.

Investigate Rail Safety Incidents

The aim of this four-day course is to teach attendees how to conduct and document any investigation into a railway safety incident. It builds on industry best practice and promotes a just culture approach for rail safety investigations.

Course attendees will learn about:

• Regulatory requirements for rail safety investigations

• Causes of rail safety incidents

• Rail safety investigation types

• Planning the investigation

• Categories of evidence

• Collecting, recording and preserving evidence

• Gathering information through interviews

• Analysis of evidence

• Gathering information through interviews

• Analysis of evidence.

For bookings or course enquiries, send an email to training@rissb.com.au.

This month has been another productive month for RISSB, particularly in the areas of training and events.

The Technology and Innovation Conference attracted almost 120 attendees from all over Australia.

Agreement on rail interoperability

Improving the interoperability of the rail network has been a key focus for the industry for as long as most of us can remember, with the legacy of a rail system that had its beginnings before Federation enduring long after the fact.

While we have achieved many improvements to support a more cohesive national rail network over the years, different approaches between states and territories continue to add cost and complexity to the industry today.

In recent times, there have been positive steps towards fostering greater consistency across the national network.

The National Rail Action Plan has provided a focus on interoperability, and has supported further dialogue across jurisdictions to highlight the importance of common approaches.

In March, the ARA took the next step towards a more interoperable rail network, signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Federal and Victorian governments.

The landmark agreement will seek to make rail more competitive and interoperable across the country as the industry plays an increasingly important role in supporting the nation’s growth and sustainable development in the years ahead.

Ultimately, this seeks to maximise the use of the national rail network and ensure our industry is ready to support growing demand for efficient, sustainable and convenient transport options.

The agreement commits rail operators, builders, manufacturers and transport ministers to work together to make rail more interoperable, particularly for any future major rail investments.

The ARA’s own research confirms how vital this is, with a fragmented approach to rail policy and processes costing us more, constraining innovation and creating complexity for rail industry workers.

Type approval processes are just one example, where the current approach costs industry $230 million a year.

A coordinated national approach would save

both time and money, and free up more time to explore new innovations and technology to support the future of our rail network.

Rolling stock procurement is another area where the costs of a state based system are particularly stark. Research released by the ARA this year confirmed governments are missing out on $1.85 billion in cost savings through inefficient local content policies.

A national approach to rolling stock procurement would enable standardisation, help industry build economies of scale and drive better outcomes for both industry and government.

The savings realised from enacting this change could support further infrastructure investment to meet the country’s long term needs.

In addition, rail networks in different states often have different signalling systems, safe working arrangements, policies and procedures.

With signalling and other technologies evolving to meet our future needs, greater consistency would prevent a ‘digital break of gauge’ and support a more cohesive approach.

These differences can also generate a great deal of complexity for rail industry workers who operate across jurisdictions, and makes it harder to move skilled workers to where they are needed most in a tightly constrained labour market.

These factors combined make a compelling case for change and highlight why the principles outlined in the MoC are so important.

The ARA was pleased to see the infrastructure and transport ministers confirm improving national rail interoperability as a priority for collective action late last year.

Progressing the development of national standards, and a nationally consistent approach to issues such as procurement, type approvals and technology and innovation will require collaboration between industry and government to achieve results.

The ARA is committed to supporting that work, and is engaging closely with our members to inform its advocacy in support of this.

It should be noted that there has never been

a more important time for a focus on improving the interoperability of the rail network.

The significant investment underway across the country will shape our industry for decades to come and inform how we operate passenger and freight rail networks over the long term.

Adopting consistency and common standards will support the long term efficiency of the assets being developed, and deliver a productive rail network to meet our future needs.

The decisions made today will also support the growth of the rail network well into the future.

By 2060, it is expected an additional 10 million people will live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Those growing populations will need responsive public transport networks and efficient freight operations to prevent congestion in our cities over time.

Rail must play a central part of that solution. The rail industry will also have a key part to play in supporting the nation’s journey to net-zero targets.

Improving interoperability will not only support an efficient rail network that enables increased use of this sustainable mode of transport, but will help drive the innovation required to deliver new solutions to support the achievement of emissions reduction targets.

The collaboration between industry and government that the MoC seeks to achieve has the potential to realise a rare opportunity to make significant change, generating positive outcomes for governments, industry and the wider community.

While these challenges are not new, the case for change has never been clearer.

An historic agreement has been signed between Australian governments and rail industry stakeholders to bring the nation’s rail network into the 21st century.

Caroline Wilkie, chief executive, Australasian Railway Association.

Contracts, EOIs, Tenders

VICTORIA Metro Trains Melbourne

The UGL contract with Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) to operate Melbourne’s metropolitan passenger rail services has been extended for a further 18 months.

The contract extension, awarded by the Victorian government, will begin in November 2024 on similar terms to the existing contract.

UGL is part of the MTM consortium, which has been operating passenger trains in metropolitan Melbourne since 2009. It consists of MTR Corporation (60 per cent), John Holland (20 per cent) and UGL (20 per cent).

As part of MTM, UGL is responsible for operating and maintaining all assets associated with the network spanning 15 lines and over 200 stations. It operates 226 six carriage trains across 998 kilometres of track, transporting 450,000 customers each day.

MTM also works with the State Government, Public Transport Victoria and Transport for Victoria to plan and deliver major infrastructure works that increase the durability and capacity of the metropolitan rail network.

MTM, through its growing project delivery capability, is making a critical contribution to major works programs that are changing the shape and capacity of the city’s rail network, including the Level Crossing Removal Program, Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel and the line extension to Mernda.

The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Trains Australia (MTA).

NEW

SOUTH

WALES

Sydney Metro West

The Systems Frameworks package, which comprises two contracts, ensures consistency of products and systems along the Sydney Metro West alignment, which includes new stations at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock, The Bays, Pyrmont and Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD.

As part of the first contract, Schindler will design, supply, install and maintain about 60 lifts and 140 escalators for the nine new stations between the CBD and Westmead.

The second contract, awarded to Honeywell, includes the design, supply, installation and maintenance of other systems including:

• Public address systems with about 8000 speakers to keep customers informed at all times

• Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTV System) to ensure safe, fast and reliable services, with about 1300 cameras across the alignment

• Passenger information display systems providing about 120 display boards with up-to-date trip information

• Fire detection systems to ensure safety across the alignment

• Building management control systems to supervise operation of the Sydney Metro West stations

• Electronic access control systems to manage staff security access to operational areas of the stations.

Construction for Sydney Metro West stations, their precincts and rail infrastructure is planned to commence from 2025. Further planning approvals are underway for over and adjacent station development at Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, Pyrmont

Construction started on Sydney Metro West in 2020, with the project on track to be

in Crooble, a new ‘small cell’ base station will be delivered in Croppa Creek and an existing base station in Gurley will be upgraded.

A feasibility study was carried out in 2021 to confirm the site-specific technical approach for each site.

In addition, rural communities near the Inland Rail alignment will also see the benefits as the mobile infrastructure is deployed.

The work will form a part of the legacy that Inland Rail will leave with communities on this section of the alignment, enabling them to benefit from the improvements for years to come.

As the mobile telecommunications enhancements are rolled out, Telstra will manage the ongoing operations and maintenance once the infrastructure has been delivered.

NATIONAL Gamuda-Downer

Gamuda Australia has entered a binding agreement to acquire Downer’s Australian Transport Projects (DTP) Division.

The $212 million (enterprise value) transaction will transfer DTP’s business, people and capabilities to Gamuda.

This includes around 1000 staff and a forecast work in hand of about $2 billion across Australia.

The newly acquired business will operate standalone within the Gamuda group of companies, trading as DT Infrastructure Pty Ltd (DTI).

The acquisition will complement the growth and success of Gamuda Australia, which secured three major project wins in 2022 with revenue of more than $3.3 billion, including the Sydney Metro West-Western Tunnelling Package, Coffs Harbour Bypass and M1 Raymond Terrace extension. Delivery of these projects are on schedule.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and Telstra have started work on delivering new mobile telecommunications infrastructure on the Narrabri to North Star (N2NS) section of Inland Rail, enabling rail systems operations on the network and delivering improved connectivity for rural communities in northwestern New South Wales.

The $3.4 million project to enhance mobile telecommunications at four sites along the Inland Rail alignment will begin at North Star and will provide required 4G coverage for trains running on the line.

Following the commencement of construction at North Star, a new base station will be installed

The significant addition for Gamuda of people and capabilities through DTI is expected to provide a unique offering within the Australian infrastructure and construction market. The combination of global expertise with local experience will be underpinned by engineering innovation, collaborative contracting and leading sustainability practices.

DTI’s recognised rail capability will be further strengthened by Gamuda’s Asia-Pacific expertise, which has delivered turnkey metro rail projects including the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit lines (KVMRT).

Over the past 12 years Gamuda has constructed two end-to-end KVMRT lines delivering over 100km of metro rail track and 65 new stations in Kuala Lumpur.

It is a symbol of trust.

The trust can only be built with the specialised knowledge, and a deep understanding of the transport and industrial sectors.

Whether it is identifying a strategic marketing approach, or crafting a creative execution, we have the global perspective with a unique solution.

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