REX Nov 2019

ISSUE 8 | 2019

Moorebank milestone A CONVERSATION WITH QUBE'S MAURICE JAMES - SEE PAGE 32

Better collaboration through modern project management PAGE 37

SUPPORTED BY:

4Tel trials new HORUS solution PAGE 42

Public transport: Good for your health PAGE 50

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ISSUE 08 | 2019

4

From the Editor

6

News Up Front

CONTENTS

FREIGHT RAIL 32

23 50

Qube’s Moorebank open for business

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING

32

37 InEight enables better collaboration on mega-projects 40 Acmena specialising in rail project management

PASSENGER RAIL 42

Experts promote health benefits of commuting

44 Construction sector excited over transport boom

37

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 46

4Tel forges on with HORUS solution

48 SKF Insight Rail using advanced condition monitoring 49 tm stagetec systems to show off PID Screen System

SAFETY, INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS & EVENTS

44

15

50

Thousands to flock to AusRAIL PLUS 2019

55

Message from RISSB

56

Message from the ARA

58

Message from the ALC

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ISSUE 8 | 2019

Moorebank open for business A CONVERSATION WITH QUBE BOSS MAURICE JAMES - SEE PAGE 32

COVER STORY Rail Express speaks with Qube Managing Director Maurice James about the Moorebank Logistics Park.

See page 32.

Better collaboration through modern project management PAGE 37

4Tel trials new HORUS solution PAGE 42

Public transport: Good for your health PAGE 50

SUPPORTED BY:

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

3

FROM THE EDITOR

Published by:

Oliver Probert Editor - Rail Express

Rail must leverage green credentials

N

OW MORE THAN EVER THE public’s attention is drawn to the threat of climate change and global warming to our health and prosperity on a local, national and global scale. The recent United Nations Climate Change Summit refreshed debate over the severity of, and response to, record highs in recorded CO2 levels and average temperatures around the planet.

This debate should be seen as a welcome opportunity for rail on a number of different levels.

Starting with freight rail, the Australasian Railway Association and the Freight on Rail Group of Australia have done some great work aimed at motivating a shift of freight from road to rail, with environmental benefits as one of its core arguments.

Rail is the best performing land transport mode when it comes to moving large volumes of freight. It is more fuel efficient and more environmentally friendly.

One freight train running between Melbourne and Sydney can replace 110 semitrailers travelling on the road. Unfortunately, the fact remains that almost all of the freight moved between Melbourne and Sydney is still moved by road.

There is already a lot of work being done behind the scenes in an effort to address this imbalance, but perhaps the renewed debate surrounding climate change could be a way to generate more public pressure for a better modal balance.

11-15 Buckhurst St South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au

The potential to leverage rail’s environmental benefits could have even more scope when advocating for more spending in the passenger rail space. Passenger railways not only reduce the volume of fuel-burning cars on our roads, they also promote a healthier society overall.

In this issue we speak with Monash University’s Liton Kamruzzaman, who tells us about the many health benefits frequently associated with public transport use (see page 42). Experts like Kamruzzaman are urging for more public transport to more areas, and heightened awareness of environmental and public health should continue to be used by advocacy groups to push for more passenger rail spending.

Beyond just building more passenger rail lines, the environment could be a motivator for policies and reform to get more people onto existing railways. More public awareness campaigns promoting the environmental benefits of rail would drive passenger growth.

Spending on new rollingstock and signalling technology can provide extra capacity for this. Then there’s also room for policies to limit the cost – both time and monetary – of public transport to the user.

With AusRAIL just a month away there is an opportunity for the sector to embrace what has become the primary challenge of our generation. I encourage all involved to do so. oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au

Publisher Christine Clancy E: christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au Chief Operating Officer Zelda Tupicoff E: zelda.tupicoff@primecreative.com.au Editor Oliver Probert E: oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au Business Development Manager Ben 0’Brien T: 0427 270 774 E: ben.obrien@primecreative.com.au Client Success Manager Janine Clements E: janine.clements@primecreative.com.au Design Production Manager Michelle Weston E: michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au Art Director Blake Storey E: blake.storey@primecreative.com.au Design Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty Subscriptions subscriptions@primecreative.com.au

www.RailExpress.com.au The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

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ISSUE 8 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

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NEWS

NATIONAL

The government spent $195 million less on infrastructure that it promised in the 2018 Budget.

King targets Tudge over Urban Congestion Fund POPULATION, CITIES AND URBAN Infrastructure Minister, Alan Tudge, says construction will begin on the first of the government’s urban congestion projects before Christmas, but Shadow Infrastructure Minister, Catherine King, says that’s not good enough.

The Coalition announced its Urban Congestion Fund in 2018, but after almost a year and a half, construction is yet to begin on any of the 166 projects, including rail crossing removals and commuter car parks, aimed at reducing urban congestion.

“Urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge embarrassingly admitted to Parliament this week that construction has not started on any projects funded under the Urban Congestion Fund,” shadow transport and infrastructure minister Catherine King said on September 19.

“The minister also claimed construction would commence on some smaller projects before Christmas, but failed to name a single site.”

Tudge, speaking on ABC Radio, said

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ISSUE 8 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

the shadow minister was engaging in “a bit of politics”.

“We announced just before the election … 166 smaller scale projects around the country, really addressing those localised congestion hotspots, and we’ve got work underway on every single one of them and construction will begin on the first before Christmas,” Tudge said.

“We’re getting on with the job.

We’ve got good relationships with the state governments. They want to work with us to get these projects done and we certainly want to see them done as quickly as possible.”

King also pointed to the Final Budget Outcome released by treasurer Josh Frydenberg, which showed the government spent $195 million less on infrastructure than it promised in the 2018 Budget.

“Over their first five budgets this government underspent on infrastructure every single year – short changing the Australian people by over $5 billion,” King said.

“Infrastructure Australia predicts road congestion costs on our major cities will more than double by 2031. With congestion rapidly rising, Australians cannot afford more of the same inaction from this third-term government.”

King also criticised the $11.6 million spent by the government prior to the election earlier this year, on a three-month infrastructure advertising campaign.

“The Coalition Government used the Urban Congestion Fund as a key campaigning opportunity fully aware no work was underway, and nothing would start for months or years,” she said.

“The ‘Building our Future’ campaign ran $11,626,128.83 worth of advertising across TV, radio, print, cinema and digital in all metropolitan, regional and rural markets for every state and territory between 13 January 2019 and 11 April 2019. The Urban Congestion Fund did not fund a road, bridge, tunnel, car park, roundabout, footpath or bike lane in any city or region of any state or territory in all of 2018-19.”

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NEWS

NATIONAL

Siemens Mobility ANZ names new CEO TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS provider Siemens Mobility has named Raphaelle Guerineau as its new chief executive officer in Australia and New Zealand.

Guerineau, previously head of products and operations for Siemens Mobility in ASEAN Pacific, has been tasked with driving strategic growth and managing roughly 650 employees in Australia and New Zealand.

She is the first CEO for Siemens Mobility in Australia, following its recent establishment as a separately managed company of Siemens AG. Michel Obadia, Siemens Mobility’s Asia Pacific CEO, said Guerineau was bringing a wealth of experience to a growing business.

“There’s growing demand for the products manufactured at our facility in Port Melbourne and for the services provided by our rail specialists. In addition to this, the team at MRX in Perth, a company we recently welcomed to our family, are doing some great work here in Australia and on global projects such as Thameslink in London,” Obadia noted.

Guerineau has been with Siemens since 2011, working as head of projects in Singapore, and as head of tendering for

Siemens Mobility’s new CEO for Australia and New Zealand, Raphaelle Guerineau.

ASEAN Pacific. Before joining Siemens she worked with Alstom in Singapore, including as project manager for the signalling portion of the Circle Line.

Siemens Mobility’s portfolio includes rollingstock, rail automation and electrification, turnkey systems, intelligent traffic systems and related services.

Guerineau said she was pleased to be appointed to the new role during an “exciting phase” for the business.

“From our role in significant projects such as the level crossings removal in Victoria, North West Rail Link in Sydney, Gold Coast Light Rail in Queensland, KiwiRail work in New Zealand and to a new world-class data centre in Perth, our people are doing some fantastic work across the region,” she said.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to lead this team of experts and I look forward to it.”

Siemens Mobility is involved in a range of projects in Australia and New Zealand.

Siemens Mobility is a provider of rollingstock, rail automation and electrification, turnkey systems, intelligent traffic systems and more.

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ISSUE 8 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

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NEWS

NATIONAL

Inquiry opened into management of Inland Rail A PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE WILL conduct a formal inquiry into the financial arrangements, route planning, connections and other key elements of the Inland Rail project, after Labor won the support it needed in the Senate in September.

Submissions to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee have been opened and will close on November 8, 2019.

Submissions will inform the committee’s report into the management of Inland Rail by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Commonwealth Government.

Particular reference is to be made to the financial arrangements of the project, which the Coalition has opted to fund with an $8.4 billion equity injection into the ARTC – a move heavily criticised by the opposition.

Additionally, the committee will consider the planned route, which has come under fire from several groups – including farmers in northern New South Wales and South-East Queensland, concerned over how the route would impact them and

the surrounding landscape.

Attention will also be paid to the lack of a dedicated connection for Inland Rail to the Port of Brisbane, an issue raised by many in the freight and intermodal sector, including recently the CEO of the port itself.

Labor planned to order an independent inquiry by an eminent expert into Inland Rail as a top priority if it won the election in May, which it did not. It has since pressured for an inquiry to go ahead anyway, and on September 17 secured the parliamentary inquiry – a slightly scaled down version of what it had planned.

Shadow Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Catherine King, said that Labor supported Inland Rail, but an inquiry was needed to ensure the project was being delivered properly.

“Labor supports the Inland Rail but we hold deep concerns that this government has failed to address fundamental questions on planning and financing,” she said.

“The Deputy Prime Minister is failing to adequately consult on the Inland Rail route,

turning farmer against farmer, community against community. There are widespread concerns the government won’t see an adequate return to justify its ‘off-budget’ $8.4 billion equity injection.”

With absent senators balancing each other out, the Senate voted 32-28 in favour of the inquiry, which was motioned by Queensland senator Murray Watt.

Labor secured its majority in the vote with the help of seven Greens senators, along with One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, the Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick, and the Jacqui Lambie Network’s Jacqui Lambie.

Just before Labor won its motion for an inquiry, Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam said the government is “confident that we have the right route, informed by multiple studies, including in 2006, 2010 and 2015”.

“The Australian Government and the ARTC have undertaken extensive consultation with the community, including with impacted landowners,” Duniam said. “The project will generate an economic and broader return to

Left to right: Inland Rail’s Richard Wankmuller, Warren Truss, and John Fullerton.

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ISSUE 8 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

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NATIONAL

NEWS

Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack.

the Australian people. It is a transformative project, connecting regional Australia to new markets and transforming the way freight is moved around the country.”

Before the election, then Shadow Infrastructure Minister, Anthony Albanese, stood alongside NSW Farmers representatives to formally announce Labor’s plans for an Inland Rail inquiry.

“Communities across Central and North West NSW, as well as those on the southern Darling Downs of Queensland, have become increasingly concerned about the lack of transparency associated with the route selection process endorsed by the government,” Albanese said at the April press conference.

“This encompasses the Greenfield sections of Narromine to Narrabri and Yelarbon to Gowrie, as well as around the possible future port connections at each end of the rail line.”

The announcement came after NSW Farmers flagged concerns over the impacts on roughly 300 farmers of new rail construction along the chosen route.

Before the election, the representative body accused the Coalition of ‘shutting the door’ on its members, going so far as to encourage farmers not to cooperate with the Australian Rail Track Corporation – which is delivering Inland Rail – until their concerns are addressed.

“NSW Farmers has been calling for the Australian Government to commission an independent, open and transparent inquiry

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into Inland Rail for more than a year,” NSW Farmers president James Jackson said. “At every turn, the Coalition Government has refused to conduct an inquiry, preferring to press ahead in the face of deepening community opposition to the project.”

Trio of business cases for Inland Rail connectivity Meanwhile, the federal government will fasttrack business cases for three projects to take advantage of the Inland Rail project through improved connectivity along the route.

One investigation will assess the cost/ benefits of upgrading the GilgandraCoonamble line. Another will look into improving the road/rail interface at Narrabri.

And a third will investigate enhancing the connection of Baradine’s grain silos.

The business cases are part of the $44 million Inland Rail Interface Improvement Programme.

Regional services, Decentralisation and Local Government Minister Mark Coulton said the three projects, all in his electorate of Parkes, would potentially support more productive rail-based supply chains at regional centres, and help build capacity on key country rail lines.

“Inland Rail is a project offering a real opportunity to change the way rural economies operate, by better facilitating the flow of produce out and stimulating the flow of investment back in to these regions,”

Coulton said on September 25.

“It is clear that in order for communities like Baradine, Coonamble, Narrabri and Gilgandra to make the most of this major project, we need to make sure the local connections and interfaces are in place to facilitate the best future for these communities.”

Coulton said farmers and graziers in his electorate are desperate for rain as they battle the enduring impacts of drought.

“We can’t make it rain, however by investing in nation-building projects like Inland Rail, we are forging a future of stronger and more resilient regional and rural communities, capable of bouncing back when the season does turn around,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the fast-tracked investigation for the Gilgandra-Coonamble line would develop pre-feasibility and feasibility studies to understand how potential network improvements could unlock further productivity with a more accessible Inland Rail.

“Freight connectivity and efficiency supports economic growth and will maximise the returns for national productivity that we know are possible with Inland Rail,” McCormack said.

“We want to help regions make the most of their natural assets, and to turn those assets into real and tangible benefits that will grow regional towns and build resilient local economies.”

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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NEWS

NSW

Businesses call for review of ‘archaic’ Sydney Trains systems THE SYDNEY BUSINESS CHAMBER has called for an independent audit of the Sydney Trains network after the operator’s CEO blamed an “archaic” system for delays.

After a damaged train at Town Hall caused significant delays across the Sydney Trains network on August 23, CEO Howard Collins said delays could be avoided when such incidents occur if not for the network’s “archaic” systems.

“It is a failure of the way our system is built that one train can stop the entire network,” said Collins.

“We took the right decision not to try to move this train forward but to isolate and get people up on ladders literally to try to remove the [damaged] hatch. That caused a two-and-a-half hour delay to a critical point in the network.”

He continued: “Being an ex-London

Underground guy, we developed a system that could be remotely switched off for each train.

Seven minutes, bang the power is off. Back on, off we go. Here we have to send men and women down tunnels to pull big switches and open them and close them, which takes hours. They have to come with forms, they have to work through things. It is archaic.”

Responding to Collins’ comments the Sydney Business Chamber has now called on the government to review the network so such incidents can be eliminated in the future.

“Over recent years billions have been spent on new light rail with more to come, but our existing heavy rail network is struggling to support the increase in rail commuters,” the chamber’s executive director Katherine O’Regan said.

“We need to establish if the heavy rail

A damaged train at Town Hall caused delays across the Sydney Trains network.

network is being maintained and updated to keep pace with the 28 per cent increase in passenger numbers over the past five years.

“This rise in usage demands a commensurate increase in maintenance expenditure.”

ACT

NEWS

ACT approves Stage 2A of light rail THE ACT GOVERNMENT WILL proceed with Stage 2A of its Light Rail program despite an estimated direct public benefit of between 40 and 60 cents per dollar invested.

The 1.7-kilometre extension to the existing light rail line in Canberra will bring it further south, through the west of the CBD and a add a new terminus near Lake Burley Griffin, at Commonwealth Park.

The proposed Stage 2A was approved by the ACT Government on September 10.

“The first stage of light rail has been an overwhelming success and we’re now getting on with the job of building a North-South light rail line, to extend the benefits to other parts of our city,” said Minister for Transport, Chris Steel.

“By beginning work on Stage 2A, we are keeping the knowledge and skills from the successful delivery of Stage 1 in Canberra while we continue to work on the approvals through the Parliamentary Triangle to Woden.”

Limiting the next phase of light rail to ‘Stage 2A’ rather than the full proposal for ‘Stage 2’ all the way to Woden, south of the city, is a compromise made by the ACT Government as a result of resistance from the Commonwealth over the alignment of the route through the federally-controlled land around Parliament House.

The new 2A extension will add three more stops and will command four new light rail vehicles. The planned City West stop, near the Australian National University, is expected to become one of the network’s most popular the day it is opened.

“The Stage 2A route through London Circuit West and Commonwealth Avenue provides access to residential areas, business precincts, the ANU, the Canberra Visitors Centre, entertainment and retail areas, through to the designated transport corridor to Woden,” Steel said.

The Stage 2A project will commence as soon as possible once necessary approvals from the Commonwealth are received, according to Steel.

Meanwhile, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr reported that Prime Minister

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Scott Morrison had given him a positive indication for the range of approvals that will have to be endured by Stage 2B of the project, which will eventually extend the line over the Lake and south to Woden.

Barr, according to Fairfax, said this week he had received “firm assurances” from Morrison for the project.

“I welcomed the prime minister’s positive comments reaffirming his support for the timely approvals of stage two of light rail in Canberra,” Barr said.

“This endorsement is encouraging, and it will certainly help the ACT meet the project delivery timeframes and create more jobs in the Territory.”

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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VIC

NEWS

Victoria’s next fleet of trains will prioritise accessibility and energy efficiency.

consists of the C-Class fleet delivered by Alstom from 2001, the D-Class fleet delivered

by Siemens from 2002, and the E-Class fleet being delivered by Bombardier on a contract which began in 2013. Together that makes

CREDIT: RAIL GALLERY

ROLLINGSTOCK MANUFACTURERS have been invited to submit proposals for Victoria’s next generation of trams and regional trains.

Public transport minister Melissa Horne said on September 22 a pair of new rollingstock programs would prioritise accessibility, local content and energy efficiency to move the state’s regional and urban commuters.

“We’re doing the vital design work needed to deliver new trains and trams that are reliable, accessible and meet the changing needs of Victorian passengers,” Horne said.

Victoria wants its next fleet of regional trains to be fully accessible, energy efficient and capable of carrying more passengers. The new trains will enable V/Line to phase out its classic fleet over time.

The state said it wants the next batch of trams to include onboard energy storage, reducing the need for power upgrades across Melbourne’s already stretched overhead network.

Like the regional train plan, the tram program also comes with the goal of eliminating older trams so more of Melbourne’s fleet features low-floor accessibility.

The existing low-floor fleet in Melbourne

CREDIT: RAIL GALLERY

Interactive design process kicked off for Victoria’s next trams, regional trains

More of Melbourne’s trams will feature low-floor accessibility.

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up about 180 trams, with more E-Class being added under a current contract.

The roughly 320 other trams on the network – the W-Class, the Z-Class, the A-Class and the B-Class – are high-floor, making them not fully accessible under modern standards.

The government hasn’t specified which classes will be targeted for retirement but, aside from the 12 heritage W-Class trams, the Z-Class trams are the oldest, being built from 1975.

Horne said both the regional train and the tram program would be developed with the view of limiting the infrastructure upgrades needed to cater for new rollingstock.

She said the development process with a range of manufacturers is hoped to provide the state government with well-informed proposals to choose the best new trains and trams to meet Victoria’s needs.

The state’s Department of Transport said this “interactive” design process would allow manufacturers to adapt their train and tram models for the Victorian network.

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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NEWS

VIC

Steel rails predating the First World War were repurposed as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project.

Concerns over old rails, funding shortage for Murray Basin Rail Project PACIFIC NATIONAL CEO DEAN Dalla Valle said more government funding should be provided to properly complete the Murray Basin Rail Project, after photos emerged of 100-year-old steel rails repurposed on sections of the upgraded track.

The project, which received $440 million in joint government funding in 2018, was designed to standardise tracks in Victoria’s northwest. But reports in July that there would be insufficient funds to convert the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines as part of the project were followed in September with photos suggesting steel rails from the 1910s have been laid on new concrete sleepers and ballast, between Maryborough and Ararat.

Dalla Valle, who is chair of the Freight on Rail Group of Australia, as well as the boss of Australia’s largest rail freight operator, said the reports of old steel rails pre-dating the First World War were “concerning”.

“This defeats one of the key objectives of the project to increase rail freight productivity via increased axle weights,” he said.

Part of the Murray Basin Rail Project is to create a network, that can consistently handle up to 21-tonne wheel axle weights, up from 19-tonne wheel axle weights.

“Old steel tracks can also create speed restrictions which result in slower travel times

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ISSUE 8 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

“

What matters is how these obstacles and setbacks are overcome and contained.

”

to port,” Dalla Valle added. “Time is money for freight forwarders and exporters.”

If measures like this are indeed being made due to a lack of funding, Dalla Valle said the solution is simple – governments should provide more.

“Every major infrastructure project has

its ups and downs. It’s to be expected. What matters is how these obstacles and setbacks are overcome and contained,” he said.

“Unfortunately, to date, execution of the Murray Basin Rail Project has been poor – government runs the risk of taking its eyes off the prize.”

Dalla Valle also said that more staging areas should be established for freight trains at Maryborough under the project.

“Being able to stage (essentially stagger or sequence) the run of freight trains into port provides enhanced flexibility of services – staging areas help to unclog the network; they act as a pressure valve,” he said.

“With a renewed focus and precision of execution by government, I’m confident many of these problems can be resolved.

Industry stands ready to assist.”

Old steel tracks can result in slower travel times.

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VIC

NEWS

Design, contractor for Pakenham crossing removal THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT has appointed Fulton Hogan to work in an alliance with Metro Trains Melbourne to remove the level crossing at Cardinia Road in Pakenham by building a road bridge over the railway.

Cardinia Road is one of the 17 level crossings being removed along the Pakenham line under the Andrews Government’s Level Crossing Removal Project.

On October 1 the project authority said the Fulton Hogan would work with Metro Trains Melbourne to build the road bridge over the railway under an $80 million contract. The crossing is set to be removed by 2021.

Boom gates at Cardinia Road are closed for up to a third of the morning peak at the crossing which, by 2026, is estimated to be traversed by more than 24,000 passing cars each day.

With a site compound already being set up, the construction team hopes to stat major works later this year.

The Pakenham line is one of the busiest for both Metro Trains Melbourne and V/Line passenger services, as well as freight trains.

In May it was announced the Cardinia Road crossing had been fast-tracked for removal so it could complement upgrades to the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines aimed at boosting road and rail capacity and making travel in the area easier.

Boom gates at the crossing are closed for up to a third of the morning peak.

By building an elevated roadway, the state government says most of the work for the project can take place within the road reserve – not the rail corridor – thus reducing impacts to the Pakenham line and nearby wetlands. The state has refined its design after community feedback. There are now to be stairs built on the road bridge’s eastern side, helping to provide better connections to the ground level paths.

The intersection in question is just west of Cardinia Road Station, the final

stop before Pakenham station.

The project itself was not in the original 50 level crossings targeted for removal by the Andrews Government when it was first elected in Victoria in 2014, but was added to the program along with 24 others in November 2018.

The government says it has used a site prioritisation framework to select the 75 crossings deemed the “worst” in the state. The framework weighs a range of different factors, including the extent to which a crossing delays road users, the lack of local access around the crossing for the community, frequency of collisions and near misses, and how efficiently the removal project can actually be delivered.

A road-over-rail option was chosen to remove the crossing.

The crossing was one of 25 added to the state’s crossing removal program in 2018.

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RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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VIC

NEWS

New chair for V/Line THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT has named the next chair of V/Line, after Jeroen Weimar was promoted to a senior role in the Department of Transport.

Gabrielle Bell will replace Weimar as chair of V/Line, the state-owned, regional rail operator.

Bell, a V/Line board member since 2015, will work with CEO James Pinder to continue improving the operator’s performance, public transport minister Melissa Horne said in September.

“Gabrielle Bell’s appointment as chair will allow V/Line to continue improving its performance and delivering better services for passengers,” Horne said. “The V/Line network is growing faster than ever before – which is why we’re delivering a more punctual, reliable and accessible regional rail system for all Victorians.”

Weimar has moved to a new role as the deputy secretary for transport operations, under the updated Department of Transport structure. Weimar was the CEO of Public Transport Victoria for almost five years

and had been the chair of V/Line’s board since July 2018.

“I want to thank Jeroen Weimar for his contribution as V/Line board chair and the significant improvements made to V/Line’s strategic direction during his tenure,” Horne said.

Bell has worked as a corporate lawyer in Australia and South-East Asia and is currently on the boards of South East Water, VicSuper and InLife Independent Living.

She has specialised in general corporate advisory, including governance.

Bell’s term runs until late 2022.

V/Line has appointed a new chair to oversee its growing network.

Toorak Road crossing removal project underway MAJOR WORK WILL SOON BEGIN to remove the Toorak Road level crossing, with underground services to be relocated ahead of the construction of an elevated rail line over the road in the near future.

Crews began work over the first weekend of October, working around the clock to relocate underground services and utilities and begin work on the foundations for the future rail bridge.

Removal of the Toorak level crossing will eliminate a major bottleneck for road users.

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The crossing was closed from Friday night to Monday morning, October 4 to 7, to allow for the work.

This work enabled construction to begin on a new rail bridge to be built next to the existing railway to minimise overall impacts on both road and rail users during the transition toward the eventual closure of the level crossing.

The Toorak Road level crossing creates a major bottleneck for road users traveling to the Monash Freeway and CityLink via Toorak Road, Glenferrie Road and Tooronga Road. Boom gates are down at the crossing for 35 per cent of the morning peak.

Some 37,000 road vehicles travel through the crossing each day.

The rail elevation project is expected to be complete by 2021. It is one of the 75 level crossing removals completed, underway, planned or proposed by the Victorian government under its Level Crossing Removal Program.

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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NEWS

QLD

Cross River Rail transferred after Trad investment property revelation KATE JONES HAS BEEN APPOINTED as Queensland’s Minister for Cross River Rail, after Deputy Premier Jackie Trad was relieved of responsibilities for the project amid revelations she and her partner had purchased an investment property that stands to grow in value as a result of the project’s delivery.

Jones, already the Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development and Minister for the Commonwealth Games, was formally appointed Minister for Cross River Rail on September 20.

Trad, Queensland’s Treasurer and Deputy Premier, will have no further involvement with Cross River Rail following revelations of the investment property that is near the future site of one of the planned new stations.

Despite serious accusations from the state opposition, Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) on September 6 said it would not conduct a formal investigation into allegations Trad had engaged in corrupt conduct in relation to her decision-making power over the Cross River Rail project, as well as the development of the Inner City South State Secondary College.

On July 17 Trad disclosed the March purchase of an investment property in Woolloongabba. The property is likely to increase in value due to both the rail and school developments.

But the CCC says it has concluded there is “no evidence or information” which “supported a reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct” by Trad. As a result, the CCC will not conduct a formal corruption investigation.

However, the CCC did make five recommendations to Parliament as a result of the incident, pertaining to Cabinet processes and transparency. “Properly dealing with conflicts of interest is integral to the effective and efficient functioning of the public sector,” the CCC said. “The Queensland community expects all people involved in public sector administration to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in dealing with conflicts of interest.”

Trad, quoted by Fairfax, said she was relieved to be cleared of formal wrongdoing,

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but recognised she had made an error.

“It doesn’t change I made a mistake,” Trad said. “The Premier is right to expect the highest standards. Having made that mistake, having put the Premier and my colleagues in that position, and having given rise to concerns from Queenslanders, I am deeply disappointed and I’m disappointed in myself and very sorry for that.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Jones was well qualified to take the project forward in a cabinet role.

“Kate Jones helped oversee the delivery of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games,

which were labelled the best-ever. Like the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games delivered benefits that will last for decades, Cross River Rail will deliver benefits well into the future,” Palaszczuk said.

Jones said she was pleased to be taking on a project that would transform the entire South-East Queensland rail network.

“It will mean more trains and more train stations for South-East Queensland.

Queensland is a growing state and we need to ensure we plan and prepare for the future. Part of that is building the public transport we need,” Jones said.

Queensland’s new minister for Cross River Rail, Kate Jones.

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QLD

NEWS

Gold Coast Light Rail State calls for more funding after IA listing QUEENSLAND TRANSPORT AND Main Roads Minister, Mark Bailey, said the listing of the next stage of light rail for the Gold Coast as a “priority project” by Infrastructure Australia shows it deserves more funding from the federal government.

Infrastructure Australia in September approved the new stage as a priority project, green-lighting it for substantial federal funding.

The Morrison Government has committed just $112 million to Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3A, just 16 per cent of the overall estimated cost of the project.

Queensland thinks the Commonwealth should provide almost double that, $269.5 million, to match the 38 per cent funding share it provided for the first stage of light rail on the Gold Coast.

“Infrastructure Australia says we need to provide more transport options for the 26,000 people who will live in this part of the Gold Coast by 2041,” Bailey said on September 10. “Stage 3a will help us do that, and the Palaszczuk Government has committed $351 million to it. The City of Gold Coast is ready with its share too, but so far all we’ve seen from the Morrison Government is a lacklustre $112 million.”

Queensland’s State Government has opted to fund the Cross River Rail project without Commonwealth help, after Infrastructure Australia refused to provide priority project status and the Coalition used that fact to justify not providing any funding.

“Knowing they won’t contribute funding for [Cross River Rail] should make it easier for them to properly fund other projects like light rail on the Gold Coast,” Bailey said.

“Federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has said next month he will announce the list of projects the Morrison Government will bring forward funding for from its national infrastructure program.

“Why does the Gold Coast, or indeed any other part of Queensland, have to wait until then to find out if the Morrison Government has deemed them worthy of receiving funding now, instead of 2021 or beyond?”

Stage 3A will extend light rail 6.7 kilometres south from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads, with eight

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new light rail stops.

Infrastructure Australia chief executive, Romilly Madew, said the project would address the dual challenges of population growth and high levels of car dependency on the Gold Coast.

“With 88 per cent of trips currently by private vehicle and less than 5 per cent by public transport, urban congestion is a major challenge and this is expected to worsen as the Gold Coast’s population grows by an estimated 55 per cent to 928,000 people by 2041,” Madew said.

While it supports the project, Infrastructure Australia did urge the state government and the City of Gold Coast to address concerns the planned route for Stage 3A is not likely to have as much natural demand as earlier sections.

“Proactive steps … are needed to encourage people to use Stage 3A of

the Gold Coast Light Rail, which runs through a less densely populated [area] and has fewer activity centres than Stage 1 and Stage 2,” Madew said. “Examples of such steps include mode shift and traffic management strategies which highlight the fact that light rail will be more reliable and comfortable for passengers than the existing bus services.”

Infrastructure Australia found the overall benefits of Stage 3A to be close to the costs, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.1 using a 7 per cent real discount rate – meaning $1.10 of return for every $1 invested.

To ensure value for money, Infrastructure Australia highlighted two key factors: land use changes to increase density and promote urban renewal, and encouraging more residents to leave the car at home and use light rail instead.

Infrastructure Australia lists Queensland Light Rail a priority.

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NEWS

QLD The two-for-one offer is part of Queensland’s Year of Outback Tourism initiative.

Queensland subsidising rail travel to drive outback tourism QUEENSLAND’S GOVERNMENT is encouraging coastal residents to visit the state’s drought-stricken west with a two-for-one offer on train tickets for regional services.

As part of the Year of Outback Tourism initiative, Queensland Rail is offering the sale on all of its western train services.

From December 1 until the end of February, the offer will be available for economy seats on The Inlander and The Westlander, as well as economy seats and first-class sleepers on the Spirit of the Outback.

“It’s been a tough year for Queensland’s red heart, with natural disasters devastating many rural communities,” premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

“Outback tourism is already worth more than $350 million and supports 3700 jobs, and we’re continuing to work closely with local governments and businesses, community organisations and festival promoters to ensure these numbers continue to grow.”

Transport minister Mark Bailey said

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previous two-for-one sales drove a 30 per cent increase in off-peak travel in western Queensland.

“I want to encourage mums, dads, couples and carers thinking of a summer holiday to consider

this great deal and to visit western Queensland,” Bailey said.

“By visiting our outback towns, people are helping keep local business doors open much longer than they normally would be during summer months.”

The offer runs from December 1 until the end of February.

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SA

NEWS

Rail facilitating customer shift for Viterra

Viterra are increasing rail operations to meet demand.

GRAIN HANDLER VITERRA SAYS it has now sent its 100th grain train since August last year to the east coast of Australia, responding to ongoing domestic demand.

The train left Viterra’s Bowmans site in September bound for New South Wales, to supply feedlots.

Viterra operations manager Michael Hill said the 100 trains sent since August last year had seen the business make significant adjustments to its supply chain.

“Buyers and end use customers in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, who traditionally purchase grain in the eastern states, have become buyers in the Viterra system, and many have sourced South Australian grain for the first time,” Hill explained.

“It has opened up new markets for South Australian growers as well as add to the already multiple buyers for growers to choose from in the Viterra system.

“We have adapted to meet the needs of the domestic market with dry conditions, particularly on the east coast, increasing the amount of grain being moved to meet stockfeed and food demand,” Hill said.

“It has added a level of complexity compared to South Australia’s typically export- focused market. We had previously only done a handful of domestic trains and we are very pleased with how our business has shown its flexibility.”

Hill said Viterra has been working closely with a number of buyers and end use customers to ensure grain was getting to the right places – important during a period of oppressive drought conditions.

It has utilised rail sites at Gladstone, Snowtown, Bowmans, Tailem Bend and Keith to facilitate domestic trains.

“We are working closely with our grower customers in the lead up to harvest to provide a valuable and efficient service, while also working with our buyers and end use customers to ensure domestic and export requirements are met,” Hill said.

NEWS

WA

Tenders released for Armadale line crossing removals THE WA GOVERNMENT’S METRONET urban rail program has rolled on, with more level crossing removals proposed and major contracts put to market.

The government expanded its level crossing removal program to as many as six crossings on the Armadale line, in addition to the Denny Avenue crossing slated for removal later this year.

The state government, on September 11, released tenders for bids to investigate the removal of up to six crossings, after preliminary planning identified the potential for the crossing removal program to be widened in scope.

Under the government’s initial Metronet urban rail renewal initiative, the first phase called for just three level crossings to be removed: Denny Avenue (where work will begin later this year), Wharf Street and Oats Street.

However, the state says its planning process indicated there was real potential for a larger program.

Subsequently, the work will be split into two packages: the first dealing with level crossings at Mint Street, Oats Street and Welshpool Road; the second dealing with Hamilton Street, Wharf

Street and William Street.

The tenders released this week call for an economic analysis and business cases for the additional crossings.

“This call for tenders represents a major milestone for improving safety and traffic flow along the Armadale line,” Transport Minister, Rita Saffioti said.

“We are now investigating the removal of even more crossings as part of this project – with motorists, pedestrians and public transport users all set to benefit from this major overhaul.”

The 2019/20 state budget committed $415 million towards the removal of three level crossings.

“With works set to start on the Denny Avenue Level Crossing Removal this year, it is an exciting time for improving safety and connectivity along the Armadale Line,” Saffioti said.

Three asked to tender for Denny Avenue removal Three companies have been invited to take part in a six-week request for tender process for the $69 million removal of the Denny Avenue level crossing.

Saffioti said on September 17 that

the three companies – Downer EDI, Decmil and John Holland – have been approached to provide tender submissions for one of the two design and construction contracts under the Denny Avenue crossing removal project.

Under the contract, more than 800 metres of track and associated infrastructure 170 metres south of the Denny Avenue site will be removed to make way for a new road underpass at Davis Road.

The road package tender is expected to open in November.

“The removal of the Denny Avenue crossing is a major Metronet project and the release of this tender is a significant step forward,” Saffioti said.

“Once completed, this project will not only reduce road congestion, it will also improve the safety of all road users and promote a lively Kelmscott Town Centre.

“With construction set to start later this year, this project marks the first part of Metronet’s level crossing removal program and commitment to improving safety for our communities.”

Armadale’s local member Tony Buti said the crossing removal was something he’d

The government is expanding its level crossings removal program.

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WA advocated for since 2010.

“The removal of the Denny Avenue level crossing will greatly improve the daily lives of drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, improving safety and decreasing road congestion in the area,” he said. “I am pleased to see the tender for the rail component has been released and work is expected to begin later this year.”

NEWS

The tender process for the $69 million removal of the Denny Avenue level crossing has begun.

Morley-Ellenbrook proposed to Parliament An amendment bill was launched in WA Parliament to authorise the construction of the Morley-Ellenbrook line, the third planned under the state’s Metronet legislation.

Labor’s newest Amendment Bill for the Railway (Metronet) Act targets the proposed 21-kilometre spur off the Midland Line and was introduced to Parliament by Saffioti on September 26.

This follows the original passage of the Metronet legislation in 2018, which approved the Yanchep Rail Extension and Thornlie-Cockburn Link. The ForrestfieldAirport Link, while now included under the Metronet banner, was approved prior to the Metronet legislation.

The Morley-Ellenbrook line would spur off the Midland Line at Bayswater, run down the middle of the Tonkin Highway, through land north of Marshall Road, along the New Lord Street alignment, and finish in Ellenbrook.

Saffioti said the legislation was being launched with the view of kicking off procurement for the main construction works for the project in early 2020.

“I have always said the McGowan Labor Government would build the MorleyEllenbrook Line – even if I had to lay the track myself,” she said. “This Bill will enshrine this promise in legislation, making sure Perth’s fast-growing north-eastern suburbs get the train they so badly need.”

By 2031, the government estimates the train line will take more than 10,000 car trips off the road every day. Under the current alignment, it’s believed passengers will be able to travel from Ellenbrook to the Perth CBD in 30 minutes, with the train stopping at new stations at Whiteman Park, Malaga, Noranda and Morley, with another station at Bennett Springs East to be added in the future.

Depot contract details released The tender to build a new railcar manufacturing facility in Bellevue for the Western Australian government’s Metronet program has been released to market.

The $50 million assembly and maintenance facility will be 180 metres

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long, and will include offices, workshops and storage areas to support the 246 new C-series railcars which will be built and maintained there.

The state said the facility will be fitted out when the contract to deliver the trains is finalised with Alstom later this year.

The facility will require two overhead cranes capable of lifting 25 tonnes apiece, and one heavy maintenance railroad with a crane which can lift 10 tonnes, all of which is currently out to tender.

The winning construction contractor will also be required to build a secondary high-voltage testing building.

A tender is expected to be awarded in late 2019.

WA premier Mark McGowan said the construction of a Bellevue facility would bring rail manufacturing back to the Midland area for the first time since the Midland Railway Workshops were closed in 1994.

“The release of today’s tender to construct the Bellevue depot is another step towards bringing railcar manufacturing back to Western Australia,” he said. “It means hundreds of quality, local jobs, more training and apprenticeship opportunities for our kids, and WA-made trains on our new WAbuilt Metronet lines.”

Saffioti said railcar manufacturing was a key election commitment by WA Labor.

“This is the largest railcar order in WA history,” she said. “We’ve done that deliberately to maximise competition for this large contract, thus maximising the

amount of local content companies are willing to commit to.

“We’re committed to bringing back local manufacturing, and ensuring these new trains are built by local people. They’re our trains, and they should be our jobs as well.”

Satisfaction up Saffioti has credited record high satisfaction with Transperth services as further justification for the government’s Metronet marketing campaign for public transport.

Transperth’s 30th annual Passenger Satisfaction Monitor reported all-time high satisfaction ratings among train passengers and bus passengers.

This follows news of a 1.15 per cent rise in patronage across Perth’s buses, trains and ferries in 2018/19 – the first rise in patronage in four years.

Saffioiti said rises in both patronage and satisfaction are validation for the government’s decision to spend $1.25 million promoting public transport use.

“Our network is considered the best in the nation by passengers, and I look forward to seeing our excellent system continue to get better as Metronet projects come online,” she said.

The government’s research shows 26 per cent of infrequent or non-users of public transport are more likely to use it after seeing the campaign.

The overall positive impression of Transperth increased from 71 per cent to 83 per cent among infrequent users, and from 56 to 65 per cent among non-users.

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NEWS

WA

New law targeting rail trespassing in WA A PROPOSED 25-FOLD INCREASE to the maximum penalty for rail trespassing in Western Australia is hoped to curb an increase in dangerous behaviour, according to the state government.

Draft legislation introduced to WA Parliament on September 26 by state Transport Minister, Rita Saffioti, would see the maximum fine for trespassing on Public Transport Authority property lifted

from just $200 to $5000.

Under the Criminal Code the maximum trespass penalty is a $12,000 fine and 12 months imprisonment, but this legislation is rarely applied to incidents of rail trespass.

Saffioti said a significant increase in the prescribed fine specifically for rail trespass would help address a concerning rise in such incidents.

There were 885 incidents reported in

Instances of rail trespassing increased by 70 percent in WA.

2018/19 around WA’s rail corridors which qualified – under the Rail Safety National Law Act – as “incidents that may have the potential to cause a serious incident”.

That represented a 70 per cent increase on the 2017/18 figure of 510 reported offences.

“Despite awareness campaigns by the PTA, incidents of trespass in WA have increased,” Saffioti said.

She specifically noted the highly dangerous practice of train surfing, which received significant public attention last year when footage went viral of a man leaping from a moving Perth train, from the Fremantle Bridge, into the water below.

“The sporadic incidents of train-surfing, and last year’s bridge-jumping incident on the Fremantle Line are examples of the stupid and unsafe behaviour we want to stop,” Saffioti said.

“When something goes wrong, it drastically impacts a lot of people – commuters, first responders and PTA staff just to name a few – and that’s why we need to prevent it happening.”

CBH to keep fees flat in 2020 GRAIN HANDLER CBH GROUP has decided to maintain reduced supply chain fees in 2019/20, after lowering them $4 a tonne ahead of the 2018/19 season.

CBH general manager for operations, Ben Macnamara, said the grain cooperative’s commitment to reducing paddock to port costs would be maintained despite a $240 million capital and maintenance investment in the storage and handling network this year.

“Improved organisational efficiency and productivity over the past year, while ensuring we consider the overall picture of the cost environment that grower businesses face, has allowed us to achieve substantial cost benefits,” Macnamara said.

“We’re really pleased to continue to pass this value on to growers up-front by holding our fees at the reduced rate implemented last season.”

CBH, which is owned and controlled by more than 4,000 WA grain growing businesses, has placed a priority on international competitiveness.

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Macnamara said the cooperative’s work to build a world-class supply chain, and its work to keep fees under control, were made with that aim in mind.

“CBH continues its commitment to

offer Western Australian growers the most efficient and cost-effective network possible, to keep growers competitive against lower cost grain from international markets such as the Black Sea,” he said.

CBH says it’s committed to reducing paddock to port costs.

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NEW ZEALAND

NEWS

Tiny journey, big deal: Delicate move underway in Auckland AUCKLAND’S 14,000-TONNE, heritage-listed Chief Post Office (CPO) will not be allowed to move more than three millimetres while it is transferred from temporary support onto new permanent foundations as part of the City Rail Link project.

The historic CPO was transferred last year from its 15 original concrete foundations onto temporary supports, so work crews could destroy those original foundations and build two CRL train tunnels through the CPO’s old basement.

With that work now progressed, it’s time for crews to move the building onto the new permanent supports built during the tunnelling process.

But CRL’s head of delivery Scott Elwarth says the 107-year-old building will only be allowed to move three millimetres during that weight transfer.

“Underpinning a building the size and weight of the CPO is an extremely challenging task,” he said, “something only done when other methods are not available and then done, very slowly.”

The weight transfer will take place over several weeks, during which time 350 tonnes of steel underpinning the structures providing temporary support will gradually be removed, allowing the building to rest on its new foundations.

“It’s a delicate, careful and well-planned operation,” Elwarth said “The CPO is one of the most historically important buildings in the country, a building with a top heritage rating. All our planning, design and construction of the tunnels has been dominated by the need to protect the CPO from any damage. Add in the tight working conditions for our teams under all that masonry and concrete and the ‘live’ Britomart station on the other side of the wall, then you’re dealing with a challenging engineering operation.”

The CPO will be finished by the end of October.

Once complete, the building will be supported securely on new foundations that include diaphragm walls sunk 20 metres below ground, new foundation columns, cross beams and the tunnel boxes themselves.

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The 107-year old Chief Post Office will be transferred onto its new foundations.

After all that, work will begin to restore the CPO’s interior, with targeted completion in late 2020.

The CRL project will deliver twin 3.45-kilometre rail tunnels between existing stations at Britomart and Mt Eden. The link will complete a “loop” in Auckland’s centre, while adding another two stations, at Aotea and Karangahape, and rebuilding the station at Mt Eden.

Biggest contract begins Meanwhile, the first work has begun under the CRL’s stations and tunnels contract, with utilities relocation kicking off in Auckland on September 17.

Teams have begun work to shift utilities like water and power lines along Albert Street between Wyndham and Wellesley Streets, and on some surrounding streets, to make way for the Aotea underground station – one of two new stations being delivered by the Link Alliance under the CRL project’s biggest contract.

“Getting the utilities out of the way clears the ground for the substantial construction programme that will follow – completing the rail tunnels, building the Aotea and

Karangahape underground stations and revamping the one at Mt Eden,” Link Alliance deputy project director, Dale Burtenshaw said.

Once the work team has located exactly where underground utilities are, relocation crews will dig trenches 50-60 metres long as utilities are shifted.

CRL said each trench will take roughly four to six weeks, with digging on the road and footpath up to property boundaries.

Once utilities are moved, trenches will be back-filled and footpaths reinstated.

Burtenshaw said the CRL team would be carefully monitoring traffic changes and pedestrian access along the work route to minimise impacts on surrounding residents and businesses.

“Our key consideration is to keep the project area safe, easily accessible, well lit, and clean,” he said.

“For noisy works, we’ll use acoustic shielding to reduce their impact on people who live and work nearby. For this stage of work we’re keeping site fencing to a minimum, moving it along the street as the utilities relocation progress. Outside the immediate works area, we’ll use waist-high barriers for safety.”

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NEWS

NEW ZEALAND

Five added to NZTA board

New additions to KiwiRail’s board brought in to deliver the government’s transformative transport agenda.

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The rail line recovery project became the first entry from outside the US and Canada to win the WW Hay Award for Excelence.

And Carter, he said, would bring a knowledge of innovate transport modes and approaches, including experience with car sharing.

“We’re getting the Agency back on track after it was failing to regulate under the last government,” Twyford said.

“I anticipate releasing the review of the Transport Agency’s regulatory functions in the coming weeks. I expect the board to implement the direction signalled from that review and to make sure vehicles are safe on the road.”

Two spots remain vacant on the NZTA board.

CREDIT: KIWIRAIL

FIVE NEW MEMBERS HAVE BEEN appointed to the board of New Zealand’s transport agency, NZTA. Transport minister Phil Twyford named five new appointments to the board, who commenced on September 23 – Catherine Taylor, Ken Rintoul, Cassandra Crowley, Patrick Reynolds and Victoria Carter.

Twyford said the new board members brought the right mix of skills to deliver the government’s “transformative” transport agenda.

“Our government has rebalanced transport spending to tackle the long term issues of boosting regional economic growth, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, easing traffic congestion and preventing deaths and injuries on our roads,” he said.

Twyford said Taylor would bring a deep regulatory experience to the board, including knowledge of these roles and experience being a regulator.

He said Rintoul’s background in engineering and construction would bring good operational knowledge and practical procurement experience.

Crowley, he said, would bring great strength in financial performance and understanding regulation, as well as risk assurance.

Twyford said Reynolds would bring a strong knowledge of the integration of transport into urban development and a welldeveloped understanding of transport systems.

Main North Line restoration recognised KiwiRail meanwhile had a big win at an international event for the restoration of the Main North Line on New Zealand’s South Island following the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016.

Project partners who formed the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance after the major earthquake were recognised in September at the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association’s annual awards.

The rail line recovery project became the first entry from outside the US and Canada to win the WW Hay Award for Excellence.

KiwiRail chief operating officer for capital projects David Gordon said the award was recognition of the work done by the NCTIR team following the earthquake event.

“The restoration project was one of the largest ever undertaken here in New Zealand,” Gordon said. “This is further recognition of the remarkable efforts by all our teams in NCTIR to have the Main North Line reopened to restricted freight services within 10 months of the earthquake and a return to 24/7 operations for both freight and tourism services the following year.”

Previous winners of the WW Hay Award include the project to rebuild stations and rail links damaged in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, and reconstruction efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2006.

More than 1.1 million tonnes of freight has been moved on the Main North Line since it was reopened in September 2017.

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NEW ZEALAND

NEWS

New Zealand to invest $88.8m in Northland railway NZ$94.8 MILLION ($88.8M) WILL be spent to maintain and improve the North Auckland Line between Swanson and Whangarei.

The New Zealand government on September 6 announced the money, from the Provincial Growth Fund, will be used to bring the Northland rail track out of managed decline, preserving future investment opportunities.

NZ Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, said without the investment, the line would become unsafe and would have to be closed within five years, cutting Northland off from rail services. “That’s unacceptable and unfair to the people of Northland,” Peters said. “That’s why the government is addressing decades of underinvestment and neglect in the rail line, to support the future growth of rail in Northland.”

The money will mean replacements or upgrades along 54km of the 181km track.

Tens of thousands of sleepers will be replaced, and tens of thousands of cubic metres of ballast will be added. Five ageing bridges will be replaced, overdue maintenance will take place in 13 tunnels, ditches will be cleared and embankments will be stabilised.

“The maintenance work will make the line more resilient to weather events and freight services more timely and reliable,” NZ Infrastructure Minister, Shane Jones, said.

“Not only does it set the right conditions for KiwiRail to grow its freight business, wherever possible KiwiRail will be using Northland-based contractors to carry out work. It will look to Northland first if they recruit more track staff, as well as sourcing materials in Northland.”

KiwiRail boss, Greg Miller, said the planned improvements would cut down train travel times and make the line more resilient to weather events.

“It gives more certainty for our customers

KiwiRail will be using Northland-based contractors to carry out the work.

and will make rail an option for Northland businesses and exporters to get their goods to market,” Miller said. “Right now, 95 per cent of the freight in Northland is moved by road.

The improvements to the North Auckland Line are the foundation for addressing that imbalance.”

Auckland track wearing faster with increased services, newer trains TRACK OWNER KIWIRAIL HAS conducted a 200km walking inspection of Auckland’s metro network to assess the accelerated wear and tear caused by increased passenger rail traffic.

The inspection period began on September 21.

“The on-foot inspection is expected to cover up to 78km per shift,” KiwiRail Chief Operating Officer, Todd Moyle, said ahead

of the work. “We have brought in teams from around the country to ensure the work is done as quickly as possible with up to 14 walking inspectors per shift.”

Moyle noted with record growth in public transport demand, Auckland’s railways now see more than 3,800 passenger services and 246 freight trains each week.

“This level of traffic, and a newer rollingstock, have created accelerated wear

KiwiRail has stepped up its rail inspections to assess wear and tear.

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and tear to Auckland’s metro network, in the same way that tar-seal on busy roads becomes worn over time.”

Increased inspections are an important part of KiwiRail’s commitment to upgrade Auckland’s rail network, Moyle said.

“In the last three months, we have re-railed 12km of track, compared to our usual rate re-railing around 25km per year nationally.”

KiwiRail, a state-owned enterprise, owns and manages New Zealand’s rail networks, including the Auckland metropolitan network, to agreed levels of service to enable delivery of the specified commuter services.

Those services are specified and procured

by Auckland Transport, which also owns and maintains the trains and the stations on the network. CAF maintains the rollingstock on Auckland Transport’s behalf.

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Road to rail becoming reality at Moorebank Logistics Park Qube Managing Director Maurice James tells Rail Express about the flagship project at Moorebank Logistics Park, what’s next for the site, and his thoughts on the road to rail freight shift.

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N A LITTLE OVER A DECADE, QUBE Holdings has hit some impressive milestones.

Starting as a small infrastructure fund in 2007, the company was listed as QUB on Australia’s stock exchange in 2011. Growing from there, it acquired a 50 per cent stake in Patrick Container Terminals in 2016, realigning a year later into Ports and Bulk, Logistics and the Infrastructure and Property divisions.

Now, in 2019, the company has completed the IMEX Rail Terminal at Moorebank Logistics Park, a 243-hectare logistics and warehousing facility which will be capable of handling up to 1.05 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of import/export container traffic each year. Over the next couple of years, work will continue towards the opening of an interstate terminal at the site, capable of handling another 500,000 TEU annually.

Qube Managing Director Maurice James, who has been with the company since its first year and was among the collection of former Patrick staffers who helped grow the company from the ground up, recognises the significance of the Moorebank milestone.

“It’s an organisation that only started in 2007, so in 12 years we’ve built a strong business that we’re very proud of,” James told Rail Express. “And we’re very proud of all the employees that contribute to that.”

Moorebank Logistics Park becomes the latest addition to Qube’s network of around 140 sites, employing more than 6,000 people.

“The project at Moorebank has been a vision of ours for a decade or more. For Port Botany to maximise its throughput and increase volumes as a port, Sydney needs efficient intermodal terminals to assist that. The community at large will reject growth if all the freight through Port Botany was on the road,” James says.

The vision of Moorebank was years ago developed into a concept for an intermodal terminal for import/ export supply chains. Then Qube entered into an

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Qube’s Managing Director, Maurice James.

The project will help move more containers through Port Botany via rail.

agreement with the Moorebank Intermodal Company – a government entity – to develop the whole of the precinct.

While he expects the terminal to improve efficiency for Port Botany’s stevedores – including the Qubeowned Patrick terminal – James makes the key distinction that Moorebank is not just a logistics play for the company.

“Some look at it as a logistics investment, but it’s really an infrastructure development around the property, and that should drive investment in logistics services,” he explains. “What’s key to the success of the intermodal terminal, in our view, is the development of warehousing and associated warehousing at Moorebank.”

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The development James refers to is the next step for the project. Under a 10-year implementation plan Qube aims to add a range of clients to the site who will have future demand for interstate services. This should provide an immediate customer base once the interstate intermodal terminal opens, around two years from now. Retailer Target Australia became the first major customer to develop a warehouse at Moorebank, and Qube is building three more for a range of tenants and its own logistics operations. James says the time is now for other companies to come onboard at the site.

“Ideally the benefit for us will be attracting tenants to Moorebank. Target was not a customer of Qube Logistics and now is, so we’re keen to replicate that and deliver efficiencies for new tenants at the park,” James explains.

“What’s important to Qube is that we develop the site with tenants who have import/export supply chain demand, but also in the future have potentially interstate rail demand, to move freight by rail – Moorebank to Melbourne, Moorebank to Brisbane and so on, along the east coast of Australia,” he says.

“For Qube itself it’s a different part of our earnings.

Lease and rental incomes are quite different to our existing logistics activities, which are our core underlying businesses. Obviously we will also aim to provide a benefit those underlying businesses through rail to Moorebank, the handling of the rail terminals, and the movement of boxes to warehouses.”

Maximising efficiency Part of the ongoing implementation plan at Moorebank is moving towards automated operations and promoting as many advanced logistics techniques as possible for the site and its users.

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“We’ve started the IMEX Rail Terminal in manual mode, but within three years we’ll have automated gantries,” James says. “Following that we propose to move the containers from the rail terminal to the warehouses via an automated transfer system to the warehouse.”

What happens inside the warehouse is up to the tenant, but James says modern warehousing techniques, including automation, can create a tremendous improvement in overall supply chain efficiency. Couple that with the natural improvement offered by an inland port such as Moorebank, and James says companies can realistically save 20 to 25 per cent on their existing supply chain costs – and they can be more efficient.

“Clearly, the ability to move containers by rail quickly out of Port Botany into a bonded facility at Moorebank can – and we’re already doing it today – facilitate earlier delivery of the cargo than otherwise could be achieved by road,” he says.

“A road truck moving into Port Botany still means picking up box A from the stack and box B from the stack. Rail is coordinated with the stevedore that all boxes for Moorebank be discharged straight to the train, so they can be delivered to Moorebank where we can sort out box A and box B for customers at Moorebank. There’s clearly a time efficiency.

“Then you move from the traditional import model of trucking a container to a warehouse, emptying it of its contents, having its contents wait there for the customer to have orders from their retail outlets or from online distributors, picking it, placing it, and moving it to delivery. That can be much more efficient with automation today.”

Aerial view of the Moorebank IMEX Terminal.

“

Government and the private sector have worked together to put in place the infrastructure to enable [a modal shift] to happen

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Moorebank LocoShifter

The Moorebank master plan.

Driving the rail shift A few years ago, James was asked during a public forum what the potential impediments were to the Moorebank’s success – and the success of the rail sector, in general, around Port Botany. At the time he called on the government to prioritise duplication of the rail line into Port Botany, and to encourage investment to enhance rail access at the container terminals at the port.

Happily, he says, both of those issues are being addressed. The Commonwealth Government has committed to fund the duplication of the rail line through the Australian Rail Track Corporation, and NSW Ports announced last year an initiative

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to invest in rail interfaces for the port’s three stevedores, starting with Patrick.

“Duplication is required to improve reliability,” James explains. “Rail operators can’t afford to have the track closed for maintenance on the weekend going in and out of a port that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 362 days a year.

“The deal NSW Ports has done with Patrick will fully automate the rail interface there and increase their capacity up to a million TEU on rail at Patrick Port Botany, and they’ve indicated a willingness to support the other two stevedores to do the same.”

James says these types of projects can actually

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drive a real shift towards more containers travelling to and from the port by train, rather than on the back of a truck.

“Government and the private sector have worked together to put in place the infrastructure to enable the shift to happen,” he says. “In the future, while there continues to be more efficiency in road, road pricing in our view continue to increase as tolls continue to increase on road networks, and we probably move to a kilometre-based model, in time, and move away from the fuel tax system.

“Having said that, Moorebank Logistics Park isn’t the only intermodal terminal in Sydney. Others need that investment in the stevedoring facilities to ensure intermodal rail in its entirety succeeds.”

While Qube is not actually an interstate intermodal rail operator, James agrees with the work being done by the Freight on Rail Group of Australia (FORG), which includes Qube as a member. FORG’s chairman – Pacific National boss Dean Dalla Valle – has been especially vocal on a range of road/rail competitiveness issues.

“Unfortunately, rail has often been neglected by governments, state and Commonwealth,” James says.

“There has been a lot of focus on the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and improving the efficiency of road, but there’s not the same degree of influence on productivity and efficiency of rail. The national rail regulator is really a safety regulator, not a productivity regulator.

“There’s lots of areas where governments need to act towards change for rail. The community constantly says, ‘Why aren’t we using rail more in this country?’ There are lots of things the government should be doing to support more rail, and I think the community expects that.”

option to buy 1,100 hectares of privately-owned land at Beveridge. The site is one of two being considered by the Victorian government for an inland intermodal terminal to ease congestion around the Port of Melbourne.

“The government has been talking about two future intermodal terminals – one potentially at Beveridge, one potentially in the west – so we have secured land at Beveridge,” James says. “That’s not a short-term project, it’s a medium- to long-term project, but we see the potential efforts of interstate freight moving by rail to the north of Melbourne, and then being distributed around Melbourne through the outer ring road system.

That’s distinct from today, where all of that freight has to be taken closer to the centre of Melbourne, and then criss-cross the city to get delivered north, east or west.”

James says the Inland Rail project could be a catalyst for not just one of these developments, but both the Beveridge and the western option.

“I think it’s a game-changer for freight in Melbourne and freight in Brisbane,” he says of Inland Rail. “We are keen on the Melbourne end to have Beveridge potentially as an intermodal terminal in the future and therefore participate that way. Ultimately I think Acacia Ridge will be the location for the shortto medium-term in Brisbane.

“I think Inland Rail will facilitate decisions in Melbourne around intermodal terminals. It’s still yet to be seen as to where the Victorian Government prefers, and I don’t think it’s either/or, I think both a terminal at Beveridge and a western terminal [are valid]. It makes sense to move freight out of the centre of Melbourne. I think Inland Rail can be a catalyst for those changes, that might not have happened otherwise.”

Moorebank has the potential to take tens of thousands of trucks off the road.

The site is strategically located, with connections to the rail and road networks.

Qube’s next milestone While Moorebank’s implementation is ongoing, it’s just one major focus for the company moving forward.

James says during the development of the terminal, Qube’s underlying businesses have also developed, and the company has continued to look at opportunities on “a much smaller, but still considerable” scale around the country.

One potential project lies just 60 kilometres north of Melbourne, where Qube recently acquired a call

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING

Enhancing delivery in the age of the mega-project Australia’s $100 billion infrastructure spending spree is seeing more companies tackling rail projects collaboratively. Rail Express spoke with project management software developer InEight about the benefits of effective collaboration.

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HE RISE OF BILLION-DOLLAR RAIL infrastructure projects means that companies need to form joint ventures to undertake the wider scope of work in this space.

However, multiple companies and scores of team members can form tangled webs of people across several locations, often resulting in communication failures, schedule delays and increased costs.

To address these challenges, forward-thinking companies are accelerating their uptake of technology.

Rob Bryant is executive vice president – Asia Pacific of capital project management software developer InEight. He says InEight, which offers solutions across a range of industries, sees a particular opportunity for rail projects, which are often among the most complicated, and involve the most stakeholders.

“From our experience, rail projects and rail infrastructure projects are fairly complex,” Bryant says.

“There are a lot of different factors that come into play from a regulatory and safety point of view, as well as just the general engineering challenges you face when you’re laying down rail

and integrating it with roads. Adding further complication, with the shift to move away from level crossings, you’ve got more sophisticated

Rail projects are getting more complex, often interacting with surrounding infrastructure.

A mega-project can bring in many different contractors and sub-contractors, generating millions of documents.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING interchanges and points of integration with other infrastructure to contend with.

“The other thing is that these projects are bigger than we’ve ever seen before – those underway right now are anywhere between 5- and 12-billion-dollar undertakings.

“Over the course of time, they might take 3 to even 10 years to reach full completion.”

Bryant says storing millions of documents and then sharing them between collaborating parties can bet quite challenging. “And making sure they’re all referencing the same, correct, most up-todate version of every document is of the utmost importance.”

So too is providing a common ground for that information.

Even though companies embark on joint ventures, and form teams with agreements in place as to the terms of their collaboration, it’s important to remember they are all different organisations at the end of the day, he says.

“Having that information shared in a neutral and secure environment that can remain confidential where it needs to is crucial.”

Accountability is another benefit of InEight’s document management and control solution: once entered into the system and sent, correspondence cannot be deleted or altered.

“This means you have a very good audit trail, which, in a multi-billion-dollar project, is very important because there’s a lot at stake, both financially and in terms of execution,” Bryant explains.

He says the solution has saved project teams a lot of time in putting together progress reports, enabling significant productivity gains. One project team on a level crossing project saved weeks of time

each month, he recalls.

“They used to compile a 40-page end-of-month report, that would take up to two weeks to prepare.

Now they use our analytical tools to capture that information live, and can present it at any given time through the month, creating enormous savings in productivity, both in reporting as well as in the actual gathering of information.”

When it comes to managing on-site challenges, the ability to capture an engineering problem in the field, by taking a photo of it, uploading it through an app, and sharing it with the engineers and consultants back in the office, allows for issue resolution within a matter of hours rather than over the course of days.

End to end, InEight’s solutions streamline the project management process throughout the project life cycle. The company boasts a modular, interoperable platform that begins with estimating and scheduling tools, takes in document management and field execution, and follows through to operations and maintenance, with solutions to help in handover and long-term asset management.

How early in the project you realise gains in efficiency and cost controls depends on when you implement the technology, Bryant says. When it comes to scheduling, for example, where project teams previously needed to cobble together vast sums of information to create a plan from scratch, InEight’s planning, scheduling and risk tool allows them to benchmark current plans against previous work, for greater accuracy and efficiency than through traditional planning methods.

Addressing potential challenges proactively rather than reacting later on results in better outcomes and fewer missteps throughout a given project.

“

Storing millions of documents and then sharing them between collaborating parties can be quite challenging

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InEight’s solutions can help manage on-site challenges.

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Rail project work often takes place in complex, highlyregulated environments.

Proper checks and balances are a critical part of a major infrastructure project.

“All large engineering projects require significant investment from a bidding team,” Bryant explains, “and we’re often talking about millions of dollars being spent on a bid before they even win the work. So, being able to realise some efficiency and productivity gains in that stage, as they’re estimating for work, putting together proposed schedules and reviewing plans, is of enormous value to construction firms as they evaluate their role in these large rail projects.”

InEight’s planning, scheduling and risk tool is bolstered by artificial intelligence, enabling the benchmark of past project data and helping generate more accurate plans and forecasts faster.

“Basically our planning, scheduling and risk tool draws from a knowledge library of all past projects, which includes how long it took to build them, how long various stages took, and what resources and materials were used.

“From that data, the tool generates suggestions regarding the schedule for the current project you’re planning.”

“Our scheduling and estimating tools help projects start off on the right foot by generating more accurate schedules you can actually stand by, rather than ones resulting in missed deadlines,” Bryant says.

“It can actually effectively pull in a template of past schedules from other projects and see what is most appropriate as planners put together the new schedule. There’s a real intelligence being applied to it, so it’s no longer just a series of processes bolted together and guesses being made about the duration. Now people are able to make more informed decisions.”

Even at the end of the construction phase, which may itself take up to 10 years to complete, InEight’s solutions deliver benefits.

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“The billion-dollar projects that are currently underway are complex structures, woven together with multi-use stations that include residential and commercial space,” Bryant says.

“As such, these assets are going to be managed and utilised within communities in different ways for decades which has a lot of implications for gathering and managing data through the life cycle.

“InEight solutions enable long-term asset management.”

Contact: InEight.com

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING

Ensuring ‘line of sight’ on complex projects

On a complex mega-project, all stakeholders must be kept fully across the project’s requirements and safety assurance measures, as well as how that project is being integrated into the existing infrastructure. Rail Express speaks with Acmena about finding the most simple solution to this robust challenge.

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O ITS CREDIT, AUSTRALIA IS A jurisdiction where safety is the top priority during the delivery of any major infrastructure project. For operators, owners and contractors working on such projects in the rail sector, safety is overseen by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).

But with major projects getting bigger and more complex, and with the list of stakeholders for any given project growing longer every time a new complexity is added, keeping everyone on the same page in terms of requirements can be a serious challenge.

In 2012, the same year ONRSR was established, a trio of systems engineering and safety management experts – Sue Milner, Katherine Eastaughffe and Graeme Cutler – formed Acmena, with the goal to combine a unique mix of systems engineering, human factors, systems assurance and engineering management experience to help clients deliver critical, complex projects in less time and with greater certainty.

“At the time the company was founded there were increasing expectations around what accredited rail operators had to demonstrate when they were making significant changes to their network, or when there were major rail projects,” Eastaughffe tells Rail Express.

“There is now a requirement for quite rigorous safety cases to be put together that also demonstrate human factors are being considered throughout design.”

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Acmena works across a number of highly regulated, safety critical industries, including infrastructure, healthcare, aviation and rail. It is currently involved in several major projects including Cross River Rail in Queensland, and the Digital Systems project and Sydney Metro in New South Wales.

Eastaughffe says the company’s primary aim is to help clients develop what she calls a “line of sight”, from beginning to end, of a project’s requirements, integration and assurance data. Key to this is developing a central repository, accessible and updateable by the project proponent and its contractors.

“These projects are generally quite complex, and the successful integration of all the different elements requires specialist systems engineering skills,” Eastaughffe says. “What’s most important is bringing all the elements together in a way that allows you to meet expectations.”

In one example, Acmena was engaged by Rail Projects Victoria’s technical advisor on the Metro Tunnel Project in Melbourne, the Aurecon/Jacobs/ Mott Macdonald joint venture, to help set up the central repository of requirements for the massive project.

“Having one single repository for all the various organisations involved meant Rail Projects Victoria could get a clear line of sight on what the

Mega-projects often bring together a huge number of companies and workers.

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objectives of the project were, right through to what people were actually delivering on the ground,” Eastaughffe explains.

“That project is still in progress of course, but we were involved in designing and setting up that repository, and providing ongoing advice to all the organisations in working in that repository.”

As an IBM Business Partner, Acmena guided the project team in the appropriate use and execution of the IBM Requirements Management DOORS Next cloud-based platform as the project’s requirements management tool.

The cloud-based platform means a centralised solution and framework can be created to support concurrent multiple party use, from stakeholders to contractors. The solution is designed to let all parties work within their own separate areas, while also being able to trace and connect to project-wide data for integration and assurance purposes.

“This is the first time a centralised approach has been used on a rail project like this,” RPV’s Manager of Systems Architecture, Integration and Assurance Marc Chadwick said. “It’s usually a very dislocated environment. It can be difficult to move information around and have proper synchronisation and timing.

Putting it into the cloud allows it to stay in sync, so you’ve got the right information on your desktop.”

The central repository allowed Public Transport Victoria, Metro Trains Melbourne, and the project’s independent safety assessor to set the project’s requirements, assurance and integration goals, and meant all tenderers across the major delivery contracts were able to directly address those goals through their bids. The successful tenderers therefore already had that information to hand, and were able to get on with the job. From there those goals and their outcomes are able to be tracked through delivery and commissioning.

Some more work done by Acmena in Victoria was on the Caulfield to Dandenong (CTD) package of level crossing removals. The company was selected in early 2016 to join the CTD Alliance, comprised of Metro Trains Melbourne and four major construction and engineering contractors, to provide systems engineering and assurance across the project.

With more than 450 designers, planners and engineers involved across the project, CTD was one of the most complex rail projects ever attempted in Victoria.

“One of the biggest challenges was the sheer scale of the project, having so many people involved across the project in design, construction and everything in between,” Level Crossing Removal Project Systems Engineering Manager, Kyla Brown, said. “Managing that was quite difficult, as was maintaining the flow of communication between people to make sure everyone was informed.”

Eastaughffe says a data repository – once again facilitated through the IBM solution – was a crucial component to this execution.

“We had the database of potential safety hazards related to the design for the project, and we were able to link those directly to what elements in the design mitigated, or removed those risks,”

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Eastaughffe explains.

“When risks are identified during a project’s development, people need to understand how those risks are being reduced as much as reasonably practicable through the design. Whether that’s the design of the station, the viaduct, the signalling system – all of those have associated risks and we need to understand how they can best be addressed, making the project inherently safer through its design process.

“In the data repository we captured those risks, and we linked them to specific design requirements that were then shown to be correctly addressed in design.

We could then link those again to tests that were undertaken to prove they were correctly implemented.

“So we had that clear line of sight from what the critical safety issues were on the project, to what had been done about them, and proving it had been correctly implemented.”

From the founding of the company in 2012, areas of improvement in the systems engineering processes have been identified. Acmena has developed a standardised approach to improve such processes and remove pain points. Supported by new technologies (DOORS Next SaaS), the innovative approach has been used

by Acmena on major projects like the Metro Tunnel, CTD, Digital Systems and Cross River Rail, and is now becoming an industry best practice/standard.

Government organisations like the Level Crossing Removal Authority in Victoria, the Public Transport Authority in WA, and the City Rail Link in Auckland are using it as their preferred approach for major rail projects.

“We’ve been disruptors in this way,” Eastaughffe says. “A lot of projects are made up of similar elements, so we’ve created a more standardised approach which makes it more efficient for our clients.

“We’ve got that combination of very good knowledge of how the tools work, but also the industry knowledge of what’s going to be important to the accredited rail operator, and ultimately the rail safety regulator. Being able to match the use of the tools to the regulatory expectations is where we really stand out.”

The Metro Tunnel Project involves a vast array of stakeholders who must all be aware of the project’s requirements.

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PASSENGER RAIL

Public transport key to public health, experts say With more Australians getting to work by public transport every year, new research has analysed the benefits of transport access to overall health, Salomae Haselgrove writes.

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RECENT INVESTIGATION presented at Monash University and the University of Sydney’s joint event, the Festival of Urbanism, explored the connection between equal access to housing and transport and passenger health.

Liton Kamruzzaman, one of its expert presenters, is an associate professor with Monash University’s Department of Architecture. He tells Rail Express there are strong links between having access to public transport and your health.

“Access to public transport is certainly linked to being healthier,” Kamruzzaman says. “For example, if I take the train to work, I need to walk 10-15 minutes to a station, so I am getting my body moving at least twice a day every day, I am getting healthy.

“If you are driving to work because you don’t have access to a train station nearby, you are missing

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out on this exercise and you may not have the time to go to the gym or take part in other exercise activities after work.”

As well as the physical benefits, there is also the added benefit of a healthier work/life balance that comes with a shorter commute time.

While people living in Melbourne’s inner suburbs are experiencing some of the best commute times in the world, Kamruzzaman believes there is an opportunity to better connect the city’s fringe suburbs, so people living in these areas can reap the benefits associated with using public transport to get to and from work.

“Roughly, the worldwide standard time people spend travelling to get into work per day is one to one and a half hours,” he says. “The inner suburbs of Melbourne are within this average, with most workers spending 30-35 minutes per day to get into work and another 30 minutes coming home.

Researchers have found strong links between access to public transport and health.

Melbourne’s rail infrastructure offers some of the best commute times in the world.

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“The middle to outer suburbs however can be double this at two, sometimes two and a half hours travel time by car every day.”

As well as spending less time stuck in traffic, Kamruzzaman says those who can commute to work by train, tram or bus are less likely to be socially isolated than people who are reliant on using their car to travel to and from work.

“By using public transport, people are becoming connected with others and have time to socialise, network and build trust, so it has a positive impact socially as well,” he says.

“People in outer suburb areas are often dependent on having two cars per household, while those living in inner-city suburbs usually have just the one car. They need to spend more on maintaining their cars, meaning they have less money for health, housing and other activities.

“As a result, these people can become socially excluded and don’t have the opportunity to mix and connect with other people or to participate in social activities as people living closer to public transport networks do.

“People who are socially isolated may not have access to social infrastructure, for example shopping centres or community centres, so based on this inaccessibility and lack of physical exercise that comes with spending more time in the car, these people are at more risk of becoming depressed or obese.”

As well as creating a happier and healthier community, faster and more frequent public

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transport options makes for safer fringe suburb communities.

“We know that a lot of females don’t feel safe on public transport, which shows how important it is to integrate transport into the planning and designing of cities,” Kamruzzaman continues.

Some of the Melbourne suburbs Kamruzzaman specifically found to have a high demand but low supply for public transport include Cardinia, Albion, Hastings, Frankston, Deer Park, Keilor Plains, Meadows Heights, Cranbourne South, Clayton South and parts of the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Ranges.

Projects such as the Andrews Government’s planned Suburban Rail Loop, which will connect Cheltenham in the south-east to Werribee in the north-west, will help to improve travel times and accessibility options for commuters living in areas such as Clayon, Broadmeadows and Sunshine.

Kamruzzaman doesn’t want to see the solutions stop here and continue working towards better connecting fringe areas to public transport networks, including offering frequent bus services from suburbs that don’t have access to the train line, so using public transport is still an option for fringe suburb residents.

“The Suburban Rail Loop will save significant time for those people who previously had to go into the city centre to access transport links,” Kamruzzaman says. “However, it will only build a few new

stations, which still leaves a gap for those who don’t already have access.

“The ideal short-term resolution is offering more frequent bus services to connect those with limited access to existing train infrastructure. If there is only one bus every hour, this may not fit with people’s schedules, so the ideal option at this point of time without having to make a major investment is to increase the frequency in connecting services.”

Longer term, Kamruzzaman would like to see an increase in train stations and lines, making the city more connected, faster and more frequent and a continued investment in planning and transport.

“From a planning point of view, Melbourne is 7-8 times bigger than cities like London or New York City but has 4-5 times less the population, which gives you an idea of how widely distributed the city is,” he explains.

“This means we need to continue to invest in public transport and the city planning system needs to be in accordance with transport planning and vice versa.

“We need to control our planning system to make it so public transport is viable, we cannot move houses that are already built so we need to provide services to those people living out in those areas.”

While taking the train, tram or bus to work may not feel like much, Kamruzzaman believes every time you tap on your Myki card, you are becoming part of the solution to create a safer, healthier community.

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MAJOR PROJECTS

Construction sector salivates over rail boom

As jurisdictions across Australia commit to expanding rail and transport infrastructure, the construction industry expects this expansion to contribute to its strongest performance since the mining boom. Tajna Biscevic reports.

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AILWAY CONSTRUCTION IS SET to grow 47.2 per cent by 2023/24, according to the chief economist at Master Builders Australia Shane Garret, who spoke to Rail Express.

The amount of rail construction work done in the 2018/19 fiscal year amounted to $8.75 billion (AUD), and is expected to amount to $14.2 billion at its peak in 2021/22, according to Garret.

Government led infrastructure projects are what is driving the expected boost. Transport projects in the major cities dominate, with both Sydney and Melbourne in the process of overhauling their rail networks with projects such as the Sydney Metro City and Southwest Project, set to cost $12 billion, and Melbourne Metro Rail Project costing $10.9 billion. A range of fast rail corridors are also intended to tackle congestion and population growth.

According to Garrett, these projects will “unlock new parts of the country to economic development and ease some of the strain on the large population centres”.

A major advantage to this program of infrastructure projects is the low rate of interest

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which is making it easier for large entities, whether governments or corporations, to be able to source money at low cost for lengthy periods of time.

In fact, at the moment the Commonwealth government is able to borrow for ten years at an interest rate of 0.9 per cent per year.

“All of these major infrastructure projects are helped by the fact that money is just so cheap to borrow at the moment,” Garrett said, allowing them to be rolled out quite cheaply when it comes to financing the work.

However, it’s not just about the money: “You need people with the right skills to unroll the work,” Garrett explained. Skills provision within the industry needs to be improved with some urgency if delivery on the projects is to be met.

“We need to have enough people to do the work at a low cost.”

Outside of labour, the construction market has been made robust and experienced enough to deliver on these proposed projects thanks to Australia’s mining boon. Rail infrastructure suppliers have spent the last decade enabling the transport of coal to Australian ports from where it could then be shipped to China. The construction

By 2024, the city of Sydney will 31 metro railway stations and a 66km standalone metro railway system.

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industry reached its peak during this time, with $142.8 billion at 2012-13.

However, an industry source pointed out that there are challenges ahead due to the sheer amount of work that is being proposed. According to Infrastructure Pipeline, a total of 93 projects across the sectors are proposed just in NSW, with 60 concentrated in Sydney.

With $200 billion slated towards infrastructure development across the jurisdictions, governments across Australia need to ensure sequencing across the pipeline is carefully considered so as not to overload the already stretched market. If you have too many projects on at the same time it can slow down the overall pipeline which can then lead to cost escalation, according to the industry source.

Some of these proposed projects are in fact high risk and extremely complex, said the industry source, such as the metro projects that are proposed in Sydney and Melbourne, where the required tunnelling work commands a pooling of resources and expertise. Set to be the new normal for the next decade at least, governments are expected to work together to balance out the pipeline and the market is sure to adapt to this new normal.

However, while we are seeing these huge investments across the jurisdictions and lots of announcements about commitment to transforming rail infrastructure, according to Garrett not a lot of action has been taken on the ground.

“At the moment, the actual volume of construction work underway is smaller than it was this time last year. While our forecasts do envisage growth returning, government can help by getting things moving on the ground with more urgency,” Garrett said.

The pace needs to quicken, claims Garrett, and there is a strong possibility of this occurring when it comes to small and medium-sized infrastructure projects. This can provide an opportunity for Australia’s smaller businesses to enter the market.

Small businesses can be more adept at hitting the ground running when it comes to construction, than some of the big players. However, small businesses often run into hurdles when it comes to contracting with government. According to Garrett small business can sometimes lack the resources to spend large amounts of time figuring out how to ‘check the boxes,’ whereas larger corporations can devote whole departments to figuring out how to contract with government.

Government can help industry with a “speedier roll out of infrastructure projects” by cutting red tape and making the tendering process easier.

This “would give the wider public real and visible evidence that our economy continues to move forward,” Garrett reasoned.

He emphasised the construction industry welcomes the work provided by the government’s increasing investment in rail infrastructure. “The economy is growing at a slow rate and this work

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contributes a significant boost to the economy in the immediate and short term,” he said.

Investment in rail infrastructure will significantly increase the capacity of the Australian economy by increasing the speed and efficiency with which people and goods are moved around the country.

Garrett claims the economy will grow at a larger rate with the proposed investments than if these rail projects were not to go ahead.

A spokesperson from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development told Rail Express that the federal government recognises the importance of progressing projects as quickly as possible. “[However], in most case project proponents such as state and territory governments are responsible for delivery against agreed construction milestones,” the spokesperson said. “A number of Australian Government-funded rail projects are currently underway.

“The Government has also established the National Faster Rail Agency to deliver fast rail connections between major capital cities and their regional centres. This includes leading the development and implementation of the Australian Government’s 20-year plan for a Faster Rail Network.

“The Government is also funding a range of business cases investigating options for faster rail connections between capital cities and regional centres.

“In addition, the Government has developed the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy and Action Plan to position Australia to meet its emerging freight and supply chain challenges.”

“

The economy is growing at a slow rate and this work contributes a significant boost to the economy in the immediate and short term.

”

$200 billion is slated towards infrastructure developments across Australia.

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Enhancing train performance with Artificial Intelligence 4Tel CEO, Joanne Wust, tells Rail Express about how the company is employing AI to develop its advanced driver advisory system, to help train drivers be safer and more efficient.

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NSURING SAFETY WITHIN THE rail corridor is essential to the effective delivery of train services. Various hazards, such as animals and people wandering into the rail corridor, or vehicles standing stationary across level crossings, can cause serious injury and death and lead to serious service disruptions on a network.

Safe and efficient operations require a train’s primary and secondary drivers to be aware of the precise location of the locomotive and the presence of potentially hazardous situations and objects along the route. In a high-consequence environment, train operators must keep an eye out for potential safety risks at all times, all while watching for safety-critical signals, and operating the train in as efficient a manner as possible.

This is no easy feat, and while train drivers in Australia and New Zealand consistently demonstrate a high level of competency, they are not infallible to human error. Fatigue, distraction and loss of concentration can affect anyone during a long journey.

Complacency is a human trait that can set in for drivers operating the same route on a repeated basis, and a newer driver may not be as familiar with the route and its complexities.

Newcastle-based digital rail specialist 4Tel is working towards a solution which helps drivers perform their jobs in a safer and more efficient way.

In late September this year, 4Tel carried out a test run of its latest solution, HORUS. HORUS is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning system for an Advanced Driver Advisory System (ADAS) – ultimately a machine-human interface that assists train drivers in the safe operation of locomotives.

The company has been working on the AI system since 2016.

With progress speeding up, the project is now moving into the final stages of development of an initial version for operational use.

“HORUS is the next technological enhancement for improving the safety and efficiency of train operations,” 4Tel CEO Joanne Wust tells Rail Express.

“With this system, the onboard computers are able to sense a train’s surroundings and detect abnormal objects within the corridor and even beyond the corridor.

“Digital technology can do things that humans cannot do. For instance, we can use cameras that have superb visibility at night or in fog – humans often struggle to see much in these conditions. Also, different kinds of advanced sensors can be used to

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feed information into the train’s computers. Just as we humans use our different senses to detect whether or not we are in danger, sensor technology enables the same thing for AI computers, but more effectively.”

The HORUS system integrates the sensor data gathered from cameras, sensors and GPS in real-time.

Using neural network processing in an on-board computer, the system carries out an ongoing and continuous comparison with previous data records of a given section of track. Advanced algorithms within the software then carry out processes for detection, localisation, awareness, dynamics and route monitoring.

“HORUS can detect the approaching signal and classify the illuminated signal aspect. It can also incorporate signalling telemetry data from the control system, where available, utilise AI and GPS for locational assurance (currently set to 50cm accuracy), and identify temporary and permanent speed boards to ensure the train going at the right speed,” Wust explains.

“The system can also carry out real-time calculations of the braking profile of the train. So if the train is approaching a signal at stop, HORUS can warn the driver and provide a braking profile to assist the driver in stoppint the train before the signal.”

HORUS features a central data centre that collects as-run video that is used to update the system’s track reference record, or the route “master sequence”.

This process involves machine learning techniques, which assesses changes to the route on the basis of data collection, assimilating alterations and updating the master sequence. HORUS can therefore use AI to detect both normal and abnormal train operations at a given location.

“A route master sequence is the sum knowledge of

4Tel’s HORUS Visual Detection System in action.

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what the AI system has learnt based on all the trains that have operated on that route.

The more trains that operate a route, the more things are seen and processed, the more weather conditions are experienced, and the more intelligent the AI system will become in assessing hazards from normal route operations, it has been, the more things it has seen, the more situations it has been in, the more intelligent the AI will become,” Wust explains.

The process of developing the algorithms enabling the machine learning techniques took 4Tel three years with the research assistance of the University of Newcastle Robotics Laboratory.

The technology is now at a stage where the data gathered from a sensor array on a moving train can be integrated and analysed onboard to provide real-time information to a driver.

“It took us some time to develop the mathematics and optimise them because the AI industry has specific requirements,” Wust says.

“The AI has to be able to interpret the different datasets coming from the various sensors and provide an integrated analysis of this information in real time. It is not to be understated how complex it is to do something like this.”

HORUS is designed to support a variety of sensors, which would be selected in consultation with the train operator to achieve their stated operational outcomes.

HORUS collects as-run data that is subsequently processed by the data centre to update the system’s track reference record, or the route ‘master sequence’.

This process involves machine learning techniques, which assess changes to the route on the basis of data collection, assimilating alterations and updating the

master sequence. HORUS can therefore use AI to detect both normal and abnormal train operations at a given location.

The updated master sequence is then shared with all other HORUS equipped locomotives to enable continuous learning of all HORUS equipped locomotives.

Following the recent successful test run on a route through the Hunter Valley, 4Tel is planning to carry out additional train tests in the coming months. “We’re really happy with the data output that has been achieved. It is now just a case of ensuring the algorithms are not presenting false positives, and that we are processing the information in an efficient way,” Wust says.

According to Wust, early adopters of AI technology will reap the most rewards: they will get to shape the outcome of the DAS system and use the safety and efficiency benefits of HORUS to grow their market share of rail haul contracts.

HORUS also offers the opportunity to improve the competitiveness of

intermodal rail freight against road freight.

“Long distance trucks are continuing to increase their capacity and efficiency with B-Triple combinations now appearing on main interstate roads, and vehicle manufacturers are competing to develop the first autonomous and driverless trucks. A truck driver also has few limitations on where they can drive their truck in Australia.

“By comparison, a train has two drivers and they are limited to operating in the territory of their route qualification,” Wust says.

“We see this as an opportunity to assist train drivers with better informed technology, to allow the drivers to focus on the tasks a computer can’t perform.

“Our HORUS technology is designed to work seamlessly across the various rail networks and contain the route master sequence data for all networks in one onboard database, which is continuously improved each time a HORUS equipped train runs on the network,” Wust explains.

“Australia has some unique challenges – we have vast distances and the overall complexity of operating trains is quite high. So we have many reasons to adopt innovative technology to improve the safety and efficiency of rail transport,” she says.

“We’re excited about the technology we’ve been developing. It offers a lot of potential to the industry.”

Contact: 4Tel.com.au HORUS uses machine learning to enhance safety in the rail corridor.

4Tel recently conducted a successful test run of the HORUS technology.

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RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 8 2019

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Digitisation of trains leads to longer service times What if you could anticipate rotating part issues on your train fleet without a major system installation? Or if you could schedule maintenance based on real conditions in the field? What if we told you it is actually possible?

SKF Insight Rail uses state-of-the-art condition monitoring technology to help operators maximise uptime.

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RAINS ARE USUALLY SERVICED on the basis of specific time intervals or mileages, resulting in high operating and capital costs. However, SKF has shown that providers can use the SKF Insight Rail wireless condition monitoring system to reduce maintenance costs to a safe minimum.

Railway services can operate with greater economic efficiency and benefit customers more if there are fewer unplanned breakdowns, trains are left at depots less frequently and for reduced periods of time. With this in mind, SKF has developed SKF Insight Rail.

Using state-of-the-art condition monitoring technology, the wireless SKF Insight Rail system continuously analyses the condition of axle bearings and detects wear at a very early stage.

Maintenance is scheduled to take place when an axle bearing actually needs to be replaced and unexpected breakdowns are avoided. Due to this condition monitoring technology, train availability is increased and maintenance costs are reduced, positively impacting the railway operator’s balance sheet.

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SKF Insight Rail is comprised of small sensor units that are easy to mount on the train’s axle bearing units. They can be retrofitted and the sensors can detect the tiniest vibration changes in the bearings. Sophisticated signal processing and complex algorithms then provide a reliable basis for analysis of this sensor data.

Measuring the vibration and temperature status of the bearing along the entire train, the sensors are all fitted with GPS modules. Triaxial accelerometers, motion detectors, temperature sensors, high-frequency vibration sensors and realtime clocks are also used.

The sensor data can be transmitted easily to a remote diagnostic centre and SKF offers qualified online monitoring and consulting via the cloud, so that volumes of data can be evaluated quickly and competently. SKF experts in the company’s global network of Remote Diagnostic Centres are highly experienced at looking for individually conspicuous values, so that they can recommend optimum (and if needed counter-) measures.

SKF expertise and digitization products allow many other applications to be monitored and their operation to be optimised.

SKF Insight Rail uses small sensor units.

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

PID Screen Systems on show at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 Sydney-headquartered technology company tm stagetec systems will show off its range of Passenger Information Display Screens at AusRAIL PLUS 2019.

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N AN ERA WHEN PASSENGER operators are focused on maximising the capacity of their networks, more and more commuters are moving through already busy stations, to find their way onto already busy platforms.

Key to ensuring the safe and efficient movement of passengers is proper communication.

Australian technology company tm stagetec systems specialises in public address, professional audio, network and equipment management and information systems on a large scale, and provides fully integrated audio and visual passenger information systems with a focus on the transport industry. tm stagetec systems will show off its new Passenger Information Display Screens (PID Screen) System at AusRAIL PLUS 2019, the threeday conference and exhibition in Sydney from December 3-5.

The PID Screen System is designed with flexible topology, allowing for the system to be installed in smaller environments where necessary, and expanded as needed to support more displays or to be integrated into other services.

Multiple types of displays can be managed through the use of templates, which configure to suit size and purpose. This allows content management system (CMS) administrators to select the display type which can then automatically render the information for the PID Client in the correct format.

There are three core components of the PID Screen System.

At the heart of the design are the CMS servers, the location of all global administration controls.

The solution’s CMS is designed to be fully redundant via load balancing. It is recommended that any APIs are built to connect into both the primary and secondary systems.

The second component of the solution is its use of node servers. This means for a smaller system, CMS and node functionality can be shared by a single server, or a pair of servers, but then the system can be expanded for larger situations.

The nodes use the centralised Galara database cluster to store and access all information and host webpages for each display template.

The third component is the PID Client, a webbased system used by the operator to dictate the content of displays around the installation.

The PID Screen System is designed to support

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GTFS/SIRI and custom protocols, and to be fully integrated into NMS/DVA and Help/Information Points. Embedded hardware means a PC is not required for each screen to operate. tm stagetec systems experts will also be on hand at the exhibition to discuss the company’s experience with digital PA systems, tailored to the transport and infrastructure industries. The systems are designed to offer the latest digital audio for operators – particularly in public address, hearing loops and help points.

Find tm stagetec systems at Stand No. 46.

Operators around the region are preparing for even more growth in passenger volumes.

Contact: www.tm-systems.com.au The system is designed to render information in the correct format for the screen in use.

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AUSRAIL PLUS 2019

AusRAIL PLUS 2019: Delivering Growth; Creating Opportunity; Embracing Technology More than 1,000 conference delegates, over 400 exhibiting companies, and thousands of excited visitors are gearing up for the largest rail event in the southern hemisphere, AusRAIL PLUS 2019.

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HE AUSTRALASIAN RAILWAY Association’s annual AusRAIL event returns to Sydney for the first time since 2013. AusRAIL PLUS – the megaevent held every second year – will take place at the new ICC Sydney on the doorstep of Darling Harbour, from December 3-5.

Rail Express, which is continuing its longstanding media partnership with the event in 2019, caught up with ARA Chief Executive Officer Danny Broad as he and the event team finalise preparations for the massive three-day conference and exhibition.

“The exhibition hall is almost fully occupied, and the conference and technical streams include a fantastic range of excellent speakers,” Broad told Rail Express.

“AusRAIL PLUS 2019 provides the opportunity for all sectors of the rail industry to come together and network in an environment conducive to engagement, discussion, learning and debate over three full days of informative speeches and panel sessions, technical presentations, networking

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dinners and exciting exhibits.”

Speakers during the three-day conference include: • Graeme Newton, CEO, Cross River Rail Delivery Authority • Eleni Petinos MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Roads, NSW • Howard Collins OBE, Chief Executive, Sydney Trains • Richard Wankmuller, CEO, Inland Rail • Masafuni Shukuri, Chairman, International High-Speed Rail Association • Linda Cantan, Package Director, Tunnel and Stations, Rail Projects Victoria • Dr Sean Sweeney, CEO, City Rail Link Ltd • Bernard Tabary, CEO International, Keolis • David Jackson, Project Director, CPB Contractors • Ron Azzi, General Manager, Engineering and Integration, John Holland • Deva Mylvaganam, Executive General Manager – Special Projects, UGL • Anna Squire, Australasia Rail Business Leader, Arup

• Jodie Winnett, Head of Commercial and Regulatory, Arc Infrastructure • Caryn Anderson, Executive General Manager, Port Growth and Planning, Port of Melbourne • Steve Butcher, Executive General Manager, Rail Business Group, John Holland • Peter Hynd, Acting Project Director, Northwest, Sydney Metro • Steve Herman, CEO, Northwest Rapid Transit • Adam Williams, General Manager Rolling Stock Asset Services, KiwiRail • Prof Doug Creighton, Deputy Director, Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI) • Bonnie Ryan, Senior Manager – Freight, Logistics and Industrial Sectors, GS1 Australia • Brendan Bourke, CEO, Port of Melbourne AusRAIL PLUS 2019 will be held at the ICC Sydney.

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• Raquel Rubalcaba, Operations Manager – Rail, NSW and ACT, CPB Contractors and Chair, Women in Rail Advisory Committee (WiRAC) • Emma Thomas, Partner, Infrastructure and Urban Renewal, PwC • Marion Terrill, Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute • Claire Parry, Managing Director, Infrastructure Skills Advisory

Youth focus As part of its ongoing push to help develop a wealth of young, skilled rail professionals, the ARA has a number of initiatives at AusRAIL PLUS. “Incorporating the Young Rail Professionals Pitching Competition, the Bombardier Conference scholarships, our Future Leaders’ Program and offering mentor rates for attendees under 35, AusRAIL PLUS 2019 is the ideal event to engage, encourage and support the next generation of rail professionals,” Broad said.

The Pitching Competition received a record number of submissions in 2019, which have been whittled down to five finalists: • Jonathan Chan, Permanent Way Engineer, WSP: #MakeARailDifference

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• Chuchao Liu, PhD Candidate, Rail Manufacturing CRC and Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering: A Sound-Based AI Track-Inspection System • Charlotte Moss, Project Engineer, Rio Tinto: Innovation has no Barriers…Or Does it?

• Nick Sargeant, Production Analyst, Rail Logistics and Optimisation, Rio Tinto: Reducing Rail Communication Errors using Artificial Intelligence • Kate Selvaratnam, Strategic Consultant, Jacobs: Personalised Disruption Communications via a Mobile Application The five finalists will present their ideas to industry leaders at AusRAIL PLUS, and a

Over 900 delegates are expected to attend the plenary sessions.

winner will be announced at the Gala Dinner, to receive a trip to InnoTrans 2020 in Berlin.

Being a “PLUS” year for AusRAIL, AusRAIL PLUS 2019 features two dinners: the annual AusRAIL Gala Dinner on the final night, and the biennial RTAA Yellow Tie Dinner, on the second night of the event.

Networking drinks will be held on the first evening of the event, on the exhibition floor.

Tickets and more information are available at ausrail.com

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Inland Rail has left the station OUR SIX-PAGE REPORT ON INLAND RAIL 2019 STARTS PAGE 42

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SAFETY & ASSURANCE

Getting the most of the ARRM In its monthly column, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) explores the benefits of its Australian Rail Risk Model (ARRM).

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HE AUSTRALIAN RAIL RISK MODEL (ARRM) is an objective, quantitative tool that provides the rail industry with a deep, robust and comprehensive picture of safety risk. It was developed handin-hand with industry, and launched in November 2017.

ARRM is used to inform: • Investment decisions by both government/s and rail companies • S afety cases • R ISSB’s work program of Australian Standards, Codes of Practice, Guidelines and Rules • R esearch • Cross-industry collaboration For participating rail companies, ARRM provides organisationally specific risk information that users can interrogate in multiple ways (through a simple and user-friendly interface) to produce a wide range of reports.

It provides the ability to benchmark your organisation’s level of risk against anonymised aggregated risk information from other similar rail organisations.

Since its launch two years ago, the Australian Rail Risk Model has continued to go from strength to strength with over 265 registered users within the system across 34 companies.

There have been 3 fundamental guiding principles in the establishment and management of ARRM, namely: 1. That the system must be a value-add for rail companies, as such it must be able to provide participating organisations with their own specific risk profile rather than just an overall industry risk profile.

2. That it must allow organisations to benchmark their risk against the rest of Australia’s railways on a like-for-like basis.

3 . That it must account for uncertainty in risk calculations.

The ARRM system is a complex collection of interrelated sub-systems, and in the last 12 months we’ve added one more – ARRM now benefits from a machine learning (artificial

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intelligence) module which is now being used to help in processing industry information to underpin the risk calculations.

2019 also saw RISSB establish a cross-industry ARRM User Group who are there to help guide the model, advise on enhancements and share ideas about using the model.

We’ve also completed our 3rd update to the model including processing 154,596 pieces of occurrence data from RTOs! The model is becoming mature and the risk calculations very robust.

If you want to know more about the model, or register to use it, or indeed if you would like to express an interest in joining the ARRM User Group, don’t hesitate to contact Jesse Baker – RISSB GM Safety and Innovation – jbaker@rissb. com.au.

ARRM is a terrific resource for the industry, it is a rich source of valuable information that RISSB is proud to provide to the railway free of charge.

We commend it to the industry to take advantage of.

RISSB says ARRM is a rich source of valuable information.

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Passing on the baton ARA CEO, Danny Broad, discusses ARA activities over the last month, including the announcement of his successor.

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S PREVIOUSLY REPORTED BY Rail Express, Caroline Wilkie has been appointed as my replacement in the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Australasian Railway Association (ARA). Wilkie will join the ARA after over nine years as CEO of the Australian Airports Association (AAA).

Wilkie has proven experience leading a member association with a transport and infrastructure focus and will bring extensive policy experience to the role, with a strong understanding of the nationbuilding impact of infrastructure investment and how critical transport networks are to connecting urban and regional communities.

Under Wilkie’s leadership, the size and scope of the AAA was significantly increased, expanding its industry engagement and stakeholder management as well as its events and education programs and I look forward to her bringing her approach and new ideas to the ARA. “The ARA is a strong advocate for its members and is the leading voice for the rail industry in Australia and New Zealand as a result of both the Chairman, Bob Herbert AM and Danny’s extensive work over the last four years. I’m looking forward to working closely with the ARA team, the ARA Board and Mr Broad,” Wilkie said.

I am remaining with the ARA, taking up the position of Chairman when Bob steps down from the Board at the end of this year, and I look forward to working with Wilkie and the ARA Board over the coming years.

Victoria Appoints Rail Advocate While in Melbourne for the second of our 2019 Future Leaders Program Workshops in September, I met with Jill Walsh, the newly appointed rail advocate for the Victorian State Government.

On behalf of the rail industry and the ARA, congratulations to Walsh.

Victoria already has a number of significant

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ARA CEO, Danny Broad.

infrastructure projects in motion; the Metro Tunnel, the Regional Rail Revival project, Melbourne Airport Rail, the Sunbury Line upgrade, fast rail to Geelong, significant works being undertaken by ARTC to progress Inland Rail and the continuing work of the Level Crossing Removal Project amongst others.

The ARA team looks forward to working closely with Walsh to further progress the growth of the rail industry in Victoria.

AusRAIL PLUS 2019 Young Rail Professionals Pitching Competition Finalists Our Young Rail Professionals Pitching Competition to be held at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 saw a record number of applications this year, no doubt spurred on both by the chance of winning a ticket to InnoTrans 2020 to be held in Berlin, but

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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS Caroline Wilkie will take over as the ARA CEO.

“

also the opportunity to present a revolutionary idea to a captive audience of rail executives at the largest rail conference in the Southern Hemisphere.

This enthusiasm reflects the growing skills, passion and creativity of this inspiring new generation of talent across all sectors of the rail industry in Australia and New Zealand.

After much deliberation, the judging committee and I completed the challenging task of selecting five finalists from the 48 submissions, and we would like to thank all applicants for taking the time to enter the competition.

The 2019 Young Rail Professional finalists and their innovative ideas are: • Charlotte Moss, Project Engineer. Innovation has no Barriers...Or Does it?

• Chuchao Liu, PhD Candidate, Rail Manufacturing CRC & Centre for Geomechanics and Railway Engineering.

A Sound-Based AI Track-Inspection System • Jonathan Chan, Permanent Way Engineer, WSP. #MakeARailDifference • Kate Selvaratnam, Strategic Consultant, Jacobs.

Personalised Disruption Communications via a Mobile Application • Nick Sargeant, Production Analyst, Rail Logistics & Optimisation, Rio Tinto. Reducing Rail Communication Errors using Artificial Intelligence Having read the pitch overviews from these five finalists, I am eagerly awaiting their presentations, which will take place on the first day of the AusRAIL PLUS Conference, before the winner is announced at the Conference Gala Dinner. I trust they are currently brushing up their five-minute pitches, ready to wow the audience in Sydney.

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ARA Future Leaders Program Participants receive Dare to Lead training Our 2019 Future Leaders participants came together at Port of Melbourne in September for their second workshop of the six-month program. Aiming to create and retain great leaders throughout rail, the Future Leaders Program brings together emerging leaders nominated by our member organisations from throughout the Australasian rail industry.

At this workshop, participants completed a twoday Dare to Lead training course developed through the research of Dr Brené Brown. This course is a courage-building program giving participants the tools to engage in tough conversations, lead from their values and build courageous cultures.

Our Future Leaders program facilitator; Dr Polly McGee and her business partner; Zoe Coyle were selected from over seventeen thousand applicants worldwide to be trained by Brown as some of the first in Australia to be certified to offer this course.

Our emerging leaders gained a deep understanding of their core values and what it takes to lead with courage, learning from the four skill-sets of courage identified in Brown’s research. Participants can now look forward to utilising the expertise they have developed to lean into vulnerability, live into their values, rumble with difficult conversations and implement trust-building strategies with their colleagues for better whole-of-business outcomes.

The ARA was extremely fortunate to be able to offer this brand new training to the 2019 Future Leaders, demonstrating just one of the ways our continually evolving program is changing the way we lead and attract talent to the rail industry, and I can’t wait to see the transformations in people, organisations and culture from the seeds we are planting.

Wilkie has significantly increased the size and scope of the AAA, expanding its industry engagement and stakeholder management as well as its events and education programs.

”

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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Inland Rail connections central to success Australian Logistics Council CEO, Kirk Coningham, details the value of work around the Inland Rail project to the national supply chain.

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HE AUSTRALIAN LOGISTICS Council / Australasian Railway Association Inland Rail Conference conducted in Toowoomba on 21-22 August 2019 saw over 460 delegates exploring multiple facets of this nationally significant freight infrastructure project.

The two days of conversation helped to identify the next steps needed to ensure local communities, consumers, producers, freight operators and the Australian economy derive the full benefits of Inland Rail, both during the construction phase and once it is operational.

Participants placed a particular emphasis on the importance of full interconnectivity between road networks and Inland Rail though the establishment of intermodal terminals at strategic locations.

Over several years now, ALC has said that given the substantial public investment being made in the construction of Inland Rail, it is essential that all relevant jurisdictions (the Commonwealth, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland) work collaboratively to ensure the project links efficiently to other key freight infrastructure.

With state jurisdictions along the Inland Rail alignment now working to finalise their implementation plans for the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy, it is critical that these plans include details of how new freight infrastructure will connect with Inland Rail - and establish deadlines for the competition of such infrastructure.

This is especially relevant in the case of Queensland, where the urgency of ensuring there will be direct access to the Port of Brisbane via a dedicated freight rail link has again come into sharp focus.

Infrastructure Australia has identified a dedicated rail freight line servicing the Port of Brisbane as a high priority initiative. In 2018, the Commonwealth and Queensland governments jointly funded a $1.5 million study to examine options for improved freight rail connections to the port.

It was anticipated that the study would be completed by mid-2019. However, to date its

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Australian Logistics Council CEO, Kirk Coningham.

findings have not been made public.

Separately, in September 2019, a Deloitte Access Economics Report commissioned by the Port of Brisbane found that a 30 per cent modal rail share to the Port of Brisbane by 2035 could deliver around $820 million in economic, social and environmental benefits each year.

Specific benefits identified include $195 million in reduced congestion costs, $155 million in reduced road maintenance costs and $210 million in increased international export value.

All participants in the freight logistics industry understand that growing rail’s share of the freight task is central to efforts to enhance efficiency, improve environmental outcomes and address road congestion in our cities. The construction of Inland Rail represents a major opportunity to achieve those objectives.

In the case of Queensland, the best way to derive maximum benefit from this project in the long term is to begin working now to preserve the corridor for a dedicated freight rail connection from Inland Rail to the Port of Brisbane.

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QUBE’S VISION IS TO BE AUSTRALIA’S LEADING PROVIDER OF INTEGRATED LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS FOCUSED ON IMPORT AND EXPORT SUPPLY CHAINS.

We are transforming logistics at Australia’s largest freight infrastructure project, MOOREBANK LOGISTICS PARK. The completed IMEX Terminal has the capacity to transport up to 1.05 million TEU a year of import-export freight with direct access to the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL).

For more information on rail access at Moorebank Logistics Park, visit www.qubemlp.com.au/rail