Products & Technology
An elevated solution Working collaboratively with a customer, Manco have been able to design and deliver a bespoke solution customised for the rail projects of today. In Australia and New Zealand, perhaps the most distinctive feature of the major rail infrastructure projects is that on the whole, they are hidden from view. Whether it be the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane, the new Sydney Metro lines, the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, or in Auckland, the City Rail Link, the major elements of the new rail lines are deep underground. Installing track, wiring, and associated systems many metres below ground level requires new thinking when it comes to the equipment and plant needed to build the new rail lines. Steven Waugh, power systems manager – transport and technology at UGL Limited is more aware than most of the intricacies involved in some of these projects. UGL is working on both the Line-wide works for the Sydney Metro as part of the Systems Connect joint venture and the rail integration and systems contract as part of the UNITY Alliance joint venture on Cross River Rail. In these projects innovative equipment is required to respond to current needs. At the time of writing, Waugh is just a week away from receiving delivery of a new Manco designed the equipment to be modular as needs evolve.
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combined scissor lift platform and wire manipulator from Manco Rail. The bespoke piece of equipment was designed in partnership between UGL and Manco specifically for the requirements of modern rail projects, the first being the need to limit exhaust fumes when working in confined tunnels. “Instead of retrofitting old plant, we went with a new truck that has the best emissions controls available,” said Waugh. More significantly, however, Waugh is just about to complete the process of working with Manco to develop a unique platform that will be put to use on projects such as Sydney Metro and Cross River Rail. “The combined scissor platform and wire manipulator is going to be ideal for wire runs or traction wiring runs. We will be able to do wire retrievals and install new catenary and contact wire.” Bringing together what would normally be two separate pieces of equipment will enable Waugh to tackle the complexities of current projects. “The wire manipulator is for when you’re
The product is designed to be able to work in a variety of environments.
running wires so you can get your staggers right as you run the wire out, but then a scissor platform can do things like install sections, insulator switches, and doing bigger jobs all at once with a number of people on a platform.” The platform mounted onto the back of a hi-rail truck is extendable, to allow for more people to work on the platform at one time. “The platform is designed to be quite large so that we have a number of people on it at once and safely do all the things we need to do,” said Waugh. To meet UGL’s specifications, Manco designed a platform which, when raised can expand horizontally. “This enables us to work safely in tunnels and to install equipment on the side of the tunnels. This is quite a bespoke unit that Manco did for us, to our specifications, so that we can have it as a multipurpose unit.” Unlike standard catenary wires, electric trains running through tunnels draw their power from beams mounted into the ceiling of the tunnel and it’s here that the large platform comes in handy. “In the tunnel it’s a rigid bar conductor so the length of that platform allows us to have two people on each end of the bar, installing it into the roof. That would be very impractical with a normal elevated work platform (EWP),” said Waugh. Being a “multipurpose unit” has other efficiencies, particularly when getting equipment in and out of tunnels is easier said than done. “it takes time to bring machines in and out, because these things on rail only move at 15km/h. Doing one thing with one machine then bringing another machine in takes a significant amount of time.” For example, even in surface-level wire
