REX Dec 2019

ISSUE 9 | 2019

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Get on board!

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AusRAIL PLUS 2019 Special coverage inside!

Maximising the boom

INFASTECH GIVES ONE SUPPLIER’S VIEW - SEE PAGE 20

Q&A with John Holland’s Steve Butcher PAGE 25

SUPPORTED BY:

Pacific National opens Parkes hub PAGE 35

Thales investing in local skills PAGE 39

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FROM THE EDITOR

Published by:

Oliver Probert Editor - Rail Express

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

Publisher Christine Clancy E: christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au Chief Operating Officer Zelda Tupicoff E: zelda.tupicoff@primecreative.com.au Editor Oliver Probert E: oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au Journalist Tajna Biscevic E: tajna.biscevic@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.

Social licence spending a step in the right direction

D

URING A SENATE ESTIMATES hearing in October, Labor senator Murray Watt questioned a $190,000 contract to develop a social licence strategy for Inland Rail.

The target of his questioning was Dr Garth Taylor from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development’s Inland Rail division. During the session, Watt suggested the tender itself was evidence “the Inland Rail project has a social licence problem”. He pounced on Taylor’s use of the word “empathy,” when describing what might be involved in developing a social licence.

“So we need to spend $190,000 to give the government empathy in dealing with landowners?” the senator asked. Then later followed up with: “Is it the department’s view, four months after this contract has been completed, that the Inland Rail project still has a social licence problem?”

The explanation the “development of a social licence” is simply a more contemporary version of a community engagement strategy – as Taylor suggested – was ignored by Labor.

The following day, shadow infrastructure minister Catherine King asked during Question Time why the government is “spending taxpayer money on funded empathy while drought-stricken farm families are being thrown off the Farm Household Allowance”.

Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack replied to King, saying it was “important to have empathy for rural communities”. “When it comes to government advertising, we can get out there and inform people who are going to be impacted by the Inland Rail about their choices, about their options,” he said.

Richard Wankmuller, Inland Rail’s CEO, has made the development of a proper social licence for the project a key goal for his team since his appointment in April last year.

Speaking at the Inland Rail conference in Toowoomba this past August, he explained the need for such a development. He conceded there had been missteps in the earlier stages of

Inland Rail’s development, which helped the team realise the need for a more rigorous social licence strategy in the first place.

But Labor’s framing of the issue as a bid for “funded empathy” is misleading. The assertion that empathy is something the government should just ‘have’ is false. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person or group of people. Where projects like Inland Rail go wrong is when a department or delivery authority assumes it can have empathy without doing the proper groundwork, something Labor is essentially suggesting the Inland Rail team should have been able to do.

Separately, there is to be a government inquiry into the development of Inland Rail. While the government, the rail sector, and the myriad contractors who are looking to take part in the project are no doubt hoping for minimal disruption, there will likely be important lessons learned during that process around route selection and funding methods. But the suggestion money spent to better understand the impact of the project on rural communities is wasted, is a flawed one.

As the rail sector continues to properly grow its share of government spending at the state and federal levels, public buy-in for major rail projects will be more important than ever. Social licence is a critical component of that buy-in.

Money will have to be spent to achieve that. But, provided delivery teams properly engage during that process, it will be money well spent.

We’ll be hearing about many major projects and initiatives at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 in Sydney. The three-day conference and exhibition is an essential part of the rail calendar, with new technologies on show, new connections to be made, and empathy to be developed.

Rail Express is proud to again take part in this year’s event. The support of the Australasian Railway Association and the other associations taking part in the event is valued by the team, and we look forward to meeting with many representatives from the sector during the event.

Please don’t hesitate to come and visit us at Stand 435. oliver.probert@primecreative.com.au

www.railexpress.com.au

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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AUSRAIL PLUS 2019

AusRAIL PLUS 2019 – looking ahead ARA CEO, Danny Broad, outline’s the Association’s agenda at AusRAIL PLUS 2019.

W

ELCOME TO SYDNEY FOR AusRAIL PLUS 2019, the largest rail conference and exhibition in the southern hemisphere including more exhibitors, speakers, visitors and delegates than any AusRAIL in the past.

This year’s conference theme of “Delivering Growth; Creating Opportunity; Embracing Technology”, focusses on some of the key strategic priorities of the rail sectors in Australia and New Zealand, and of the ARA itself.

We have designed a programme that explores many of the most salient challenges, developments and topics that we now face: • The Making Cities Liveable session focuses on some of the key urban rail projects underway, intended to dramatically enhance passenger transport options in three large cities, as governments re-discover the benefits of urban rail renewal, • The Connecting Our Regions session explores the economic and social benefits of large intercity rail projects. We look at Inland Rail, as well as current thinking on advancing the emerging pipeline of faster rail projects and looking ahead at the possibilities for East Coast High Speed Rail, • We examine emerging key issues facing the rail workforce - the need to address critical skills shortages as well as examine the workforce implications of technological change and other far reaching change-initiatives., • We look more closely at how we can better harness the technological changes now sweeping through industry to ensure we can work cohesively as an industry, and • We will have sessions examining project financing, working with customers, and we will again feature

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

our initiatives to grow and encourage the next generation in our industry, reflecting the growing skills, passion and creativity of our younger cohorts.

During our Young Rail Professionals Pitching Competition, five finalists will present their ground breaking ideas to the conference audience and the judging panel. The judges feedback coupled with the audience scores collected via the event app will determine the winner who will receive a trip to InnoTrans 2020 in Berlin including return airfares, accommodation and entry fees. Becoming a finalist this year was an achievement in itself, with a record 48 entries.

The Future Leaders Program, aiming to create and retain great leaders is a six-month program that brings together emerging leaders to both network and work in groups to develop projects that would benefit the rail industry. Two groups will gain the opportunity to pitch their project to delegates to determine the winning project.

For the first time, the ARA’s Young Leaders Advisory Board (Y-LAB) will also participate in the AusRAIL program after their establishment earlier this year. Y-LAB brings together eight individuals from across the industry to harness the ideas of young talent and consider issues, projects and priorities on the ARA Board agenda by reporting to the ARA Board to provide the younger generations position, proposals and/or advice.

Our Women in Rail Pilot Mentoring Program will also conclude with a ceremony at the conference.

This program has mentored a pilot group over the past six months intending to support, guide and retain women within the rail industry. Feedback received from participants has been overwhelmingly

Around 1,000 delegates are expected to take part in the three day conference.

AusRAIL 2019 will be Danny Broad’s last as the CEO of the Australasian Railway Association. He will stay on as the ARA’s next chairman.

More than 400 exhibitors have stands at the AusRAIL PLUS 2019 exhibition.

www.railexpress.com.au

positive and has now been publicised by the ARA to further promote the program, participants and supporters.

Through a partnership with Bombardier, we are extending ten Next Generation Scholarships to young employees in the rail industry, allowing them to attend the entire AusRAIL PLUS conference and all associated networking events completely free. These scholarships were determined by the submitted abstracts of participants’ ideas to disrupt or improve the rail industry in Australia or New Zealand and again was very well contested.

Finally, for attendees under 35 wishing to attend AusRAIL PLUS, we are delighted to offer a Mentor Rate. Designed to encourage the transfer of industry knowledge, a significantly reduced fee is offered for young rail professionals to attend with a full-priced colleague.

The enthusiasm for each of these programs is a fantastic, illustrating the interest and enthusiasm the new generation are injecting into the rail industry. By continuing to encourage and incorporate the passion these programs promote and foster, the rail industry has a genuine opportunity to benefit from this emerging group.

Coupled with a myriad of other conference sessions and activities, our technical streams, Yellow Tie Dinner, Gala Dinner, and over 400 exhibitors, this year’s conference is not to be missed.

Bob Herbert AM This AusRAIL PLUS will also coincide with some very significant changes at the ARA. Most notable of these will be Bob Herbert AM concluding his term as chairman

after almost five years in the role.

Bob’s tenure at the ARA has overseen a significant transformation of the organisation to be the broad, growing association we are today. Additionally, Bob has lent his considerable industry knowledge and experience to drive key initiatives such as the 2017 National Rail Plan, the Value of Rail Report and the BIS Oxford Skills Capability study released 12 months ago.

Bob has had a long and illustrious career in a number of executive roles in a large number of organisations, ranging from the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), one of Australia’s significant national industry representative organisations which Bob was instrumental in forming, to the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust.

He played leadership roles in a diverse number of organisations and industries,

including the Industry Capability Network, Skilled Group, MainCo Melbourne, and the Superannuation Trust of Australia, amongst others.

In 2004 Bob was admitted to the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame, and in 2005 was made a Member of the Order of Australia “for services to industry, particularly in the area of industrial relations reform, industry training and skills development”.

Bob will retain his positions as the chairman of the TrackSAFE Foundation, and as a trustee of TrackSAFE New Zealand.

The ARA team looks forward to continuing to work closely with Bob and the TrackSAFE team to achieve beneficial outcomes for those involved in the rail industry.

On behalf of the ARA Board and the ARA team, I congratulate and thank Bob for his time, passion, leadership and dedication to the ARA and the rail industry.

New CEO meet and greet As announced in early October, Ms Caroline Wilkie has been appointed as my replacement in the role of chief executive officer at the ARA. Caroline has generously committed to attending AusRAIL PLUS before she officially begins in the role in mid-February 2020, affording her an interesting insight into our major annual event, and you an opportunity to meet her.

Caroline has proven experience leading a member association with a transport and infrastructure focus, having led the Australian Airports Association (AAA) for the past nine years.

I look forward to introducing her to you and discussing future plans. Be sure to visit us and the ARA team at Stand 287 in the exhibition.

www.railexpress.com.au

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 09 | 2019

3

From the Editor

85

4

ARA welcomes all to AusRAIL PLUS 2019

8

News up front

87 Ross Equipment on the value of quality components

20

Maximising rail’s spending boom

89

Lantech resolves long-held comms challenges

92

Lankhorst expands sleeper success to ANZ

94

Phoenix Contact develops IoT for surge protection

96

Melvelle takes TrackPack electric

MAJOR PROJECTS, OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

Plasser leverages simulation to improve service

INDUSTRY COLUMNS

25

Q&A with John Holland’s Steve Butcher

29

Thales focussed on skills for survival

32

Systra Scott Lister adding value of confidence

97

Women in Industry awards return in 2020

35

Pacific National opens new Parkes freight hub

99

Message from RISSB

39

Keolis Downer talks metro transformations

100

Message from RTAA

43

Digitalisation the name of the game for Siemens

102

Message from ALC

45 Wabtec’s GE Transportation boosts Roy Hill efficiency 48

Downer staying agile in changing rail industry

51 Andrew Engineering embracing digital with depot fit outs

ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING 55

Rail Manufacturing CRC’s legacy

58

GS1 helping digitalise supply chain management

10 51

94

WORKFORCE & TRAINING 61

CERT adapts to changing times and needs

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 64

Hitachi committed to sustainability

67

MRD enhancing condition monitoring range

70

Innovative wheel sensors from Frauscher

73

SKF boosting service intervals for traction motors

75

tm stagetec focusses on versatility, scalability

77

Sekisui sleepers approach 40 years of action

79

Australian Rail Technology improving OHW safety

81

Omada helps tackle infrastructure pipeline

83

Frequentis ICM deployed at Sydney Trains

ISSUE 9 | 2019

INFASTECH GIVES ONE SUPPLIER’S VIEW - SEE PAGE 20

Iov FngTegy!

Get on board!

See us at AusRAIL PLUS – Stand 278

Exclusive Australian and New Zealand distributor for Stanley Engineered Fastening

Special AusRAIL PLUS 2019 coverage inside!

Q&A with John Holland’s Steve Butcher PAGE 25

SUPPORTED BY:

6

ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

COVER STORY

Maximising the boom

Pacific National opens Parkes hub PAGE 35

Thales investing in local skills PAGE 39

Rail Express speaks with Infastech Engineered Fastening managing director Glenn Heffernan about how governments can improve conditions for local rail suppliers.

See page 20.

NEWS

NATIONAL

Labor targets Coalition over skills crisis LABOR HAS CRITICISED THE Coalition over almost a billion dollars of unspent funding committed for vocational education and training programs, and its contribution to the skills shortage already felt by several industries, including rail.

The education department in October released its 2018/19 annual report revealing it had spent less than was budgeted for key programs including trade support loans ($68 million under), Australian Apprenticeships Centres ($51 million under) and apprenticeship incentives ($35 million under). The government underspent $214m in vocational education and training programs in the last financial year, contributing to a total $919m underspend since 2014.

The result, the Opposition says, is 150,000 fewer Australians in apprenticeships now than in 2013. With a significant skills shortage already affecting the rail industry, an underspend on TAFE training is likely an unwelcome result when the pipeline for new work has never been bigger.

Shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, accused the government of “[shortchanging] TAFE and training by $1bn despite the fact Australia is suffering a national shortage of tradies”.

“We’ve got the lowest number of apprentices and trainees in 10 years,” she said on October 23. “This is in the face of skills shortages right across Australia … three quarters of employers tell us that they can’t find the skilled staff they need.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese visiting apprentices in WA.

Skills and employment minister, Michaelia Cash, rejected the attack, arguing the figures “represent underspends which come from demand-driven programs in vocational education and training”.

But according to Labor’s analysis of annual reports, the underspend has been persistent. Labor’s figures suggest the government spent $138m less than promised in 2014/15, $247 million less in 2015/16, $118 million less in 2016/17 and $202 million less in 2017/18.

“This is money that, year after year, is being underspent by the government. Money that is there, that is waiting, that’s in the bank ready to go and this government doesn’t have the wit to spend it,” Plibersek said.

Shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, says the government is not doing enough to address a shortage in new apprenticeships.

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The same week Labor targeted the Coalition over the skills crisis, Victoria and NSW’s state governments both announced programs aimed at boosting TAFE figures.

The NSW government announced a new program to incentivise study at TAFE, by allowing students to receive recognition for what they have already learnt in high school.

“We are incentivising high-achieving HSC students into our vocational education sector by giving them a head-start at TAFE NSW,” said Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Geoff Lee. “We will do this by mapping HSC units to vocational competencies and allowing eligible students to proceed straight to assessments.”

HSC subjects that could qualify for these new TAFE pathways include mathematics, engineering studies, industrial technology and, software design and development.

Victoria, in turn, announced it would inject $500,000 for its Free TAFE courses to develop educational products and resources for Free TAFE students to have access to. The funding will also go towards additional modules for Free TAFE students to build their literacy, numeracy, digital and employability skills.

In the 2019 budget, the federal government announced a $525m skills package – including towards the creation of 80,000 new apprenticeships – but it contained just $55m of new money and $463m in reallocations from the Skilling Australians Fund.

www.railexpress.com.au

NATIONAL

NEWS

Inland Rail: EoIs open for Narrabri-North Star, sleepers deal

Work underway on the Parkes to Narromine project.

THE AUSTRALIAN RAIL TRACK Corporation in October invited Expressions of Interest for a construction contract on the Narrabri to North Star section of Inland Rail, and another EoI to supply and deliver sleepers for the project as a whole.

The ARTC on October 11 invited suitable applicants to bid for the Narrabri to North Star project, which includes upgrading around 171 kilometres of existing rail track through the reconstruction of existing track, replacement of bridges and culverts, level crossings and crossing loops.

The other contract is to supply up to 1.44million sleepers to the Inland Rail project as a whole.

“Inland Rail is already securing jobs for regional Australians. The benefits of Inland Rail will be felt far beyond the route as businesses come on board to build this essential link in our national supply chain,” ARTC Inland Rail chief executive, Richard Wankmuller, said.

Wankmuller noted the estimated $41.2 million spent so far into local businesses and the regional economy during the Parkes to Narromine construction work. Businesses engaged include services for concrete supply, transportation, fencing, earthmoving, drainage, electrical works, security and water bore drilling providers.

“Inland Rail is creating opportunities

for regions to connect to cities and businesses to markets. With a project of this size comes numerous prospects for people, businesses and communities to profit and prosper.”

Inland Rail is expected to create 16,000 jobs at the peak of its construction.

“This once-in-a generation project will complete the backbone of the national freight network by providing a transit time of 24 hours or less for freight trains between Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland,” Wankmuller said.

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NEWS

NSW

Construction programme released for Parra Light Rail CONSTRUCTION PLANS TO accommodate the Parramatta Light Rail in Parramatta’s CBD have been released.

Major construction will begin in June 2020, but from February 2020, Church Street between Macquarie to Market Streets will become a pedestrian-only zone.

Mobile work sites and temporary hoardings will be established along Church Street during thistime.

A micro-tunnelling machine will construct drainage beneath the street from Centenary Square to the Parramatta River, to reduce noise and impact compared to street-level works.

According to a government statement, “innovative technology and inventive engineering, has been developed to minimise impact on local businesses as much as possible.”

The first stage of Parramatta Light Rail will connect Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia over a 12-kilometre route.

Augmented reality and digital 3D technology is being used to map underground utility services, which will provide real-time updates to inform construction planning.

Transport for NSW says it will commence a construction “grace period” from November to February each year to ensure that local

business owners, diners and shoppers do not experience constant construction works during the busy warmer months.

TfNSW also says it will work with local businesses to deliver activities and events to attract more people to the Parramatta CBD.

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NEWS

NSW

Seven stations chosen, procurement begins for Sydney Metro West

NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and transport minister, Andrew Constance, announcing the project route.

PROCUREMENT HAS FORMALLY begun for major contracts to deliver Sydney Metro West, after seven station locations were confirmed by the state government.

Work will commence at the Bays Precinct where the major tunnelling will originate. Starting next year, two years behind schedule, early work will include site surveys, investigations and road relocation.

Tunnel boring machines are not expected to start digging until 2022.

The NSW government announced this week that it was initiating the procurement process, searching for suppliers capable of building more than 50 kilometres of new metro railway tunnels connecting the Parramatta CBD with the Sydney central CBD. This is likely to be the biggest tunnelling contract awarded in Australian history, for the longest railway tunnels ever built in Australia.

The metro is expected to reduce the travel time between Parramatta and the Sydney CBD to around 20 minutes. The seven confirmed metro station locations are Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park (a second station), North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and the Bays Precinct.

A map published this month by the state government is still investigating the

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

feasibility of a metro station in Pyrmont, a potential detour to an additional station at Rydalmere, and the location of another Sydney CBD metro station. The map shows Clyde as a site for stabling and maintenance of the line’s rollingstock, and a service facility at Silverwater.

“The Western Sydney Metro will fundamentally change how we get around our city for generations to come, connecting Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD with fast, safe and reliable metro rail,” said NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian.

“We’ve successfully delivered the North

West Metro Line early and $1 billion under budget, the next line from Chatswood to Sydenham and Bankstown is on track to open in 2024, and now the next Metro project is underway.”

With the T1 Western Line and the T9 Northern Line expected to reach capacity within the next decade, the government says it needs to fast-track the necessary infrastructure projects.

“Western Sydney Metro will more than double the existing rail capacity between Greater Parramatta and the Sydney CBD,” state transport minister, Andrew Constance said.

A week after the initial announcement Contstance called on the federal government to “cough up” funding for the project, which has an estimated cost of “upwards of $20 billion”. His justification for this was the need for the line to eventually connect to Sydney Metro Greater West, which will provide a link to the future airport at Western Sydney.

“While we can build it alone – we have proven this already – there comes a time when we will need our friends in Canberra to make a contribution to metro trains in Sydney,” he was quoted by Fairfax.

“We’re putting in billions of dollars worth of infrastructure around the new Western Sydney Airport. The feds want the infrastructure open before the airport. So on that basis, I believe they need to cough up, and cough up a lot.”

Sydney Metro West’s alignment as of October 2019.

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NEWS

VIC

Victoria awards $542m crossing removal and station build A $542.4 MILLION CONTRACT HAS been awarded for the removal of four level crossings and the build of two new stations in Melbourne’s inner north, the Victorian government announced in October.

Under the contract, John Holland and Kellogg Brown & Root will form an alliance with Metro Trains Melbourne to remove level crossings at Bell Street, Munro Street, Reynard Street and Moreland Road, and build two modern stations at Coburg and Moreland. The JH/KBR combination has so far removed six crossings and built Frankston Station under the Victorian government’s level crossing removal program.

The team is currently removing the level crossing at High Street, Reservoir, and building the new Reservoir Station.

“The contracts are now signed and our hardworking team will get on with the job of

removing these four dangerous and congested level crossings in Melbourne’s north,” transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, said.

According to a government statement, Bell Street is the busiest east-west arterial road in Melbourne’s north, frustrating more than 40,000 drivers held up at the level crossing each weekday.

Removing the four crossings will enable trains to run more frequently on the Upfield line once the Metro Tunnel is complete. As part of the North East Link Project, the government is working to free up traffic and take vehicles off local roads in Melbourne’s north by 2027.

“It is not just locals who want this level crossing gone. People from right across Melbourne get frustrated every time they travel through the northern suburbs and get stuck here,” said Allan.

The two new stations will be connected to

Geotechnical works underway at Bell Street ahead of the crossing’s removal.

other transport offerings, will be more readily accessible, with a landscaped civic plaza and 132 new bike parking spaces.

“Investigative works and service relocations will now ramp up in preparation for major construction next year. The level crossings will be gone in late 2020 and the open space ready for locals to enjoy in 2021,” the government said.

QLD

NEWS

Locations announced for three new Gold Coast stations QUEENSLAND’S NEW CROSS RIVER Rail minister, Kate Jones, announced three new station locations on the Gold Coast line on October 9.

The state government announced Pimpama station will be located off the Old Pacific Highway, Helensvale North station will be next to Mangrove Jack Park off Hope Island Road, and Merrimac station will be situated on Gooding Drive, roughly 750 metres east of the Pacific Motorway and Gooding Drive Interchange.

Jones said the additional capacity provided by projects like Cross River Rail was helping facilitate the addition of stations like those named.

“The Gold Coast is growing fast and the Palaszczuk Government is building the infrastructure needed to support this growth,” Jones said.

“More than 120 jobs will be created during construction of these train stations – infrastructure that will help Gold Coasters get from A to B faster and more efficiently.”

Assistant tourism industry development minister, Meaghan Scanlon, said the new stations would help connect communities with greater access to a convenient rail service.

“We’re building these stations because we know public transport makes a real impact on people’s lives,” Scanlon said. “This is a down payment on the future of the Gold Coast.

“Announcing the station locations is an important milestone and marks the beginning of the next phase of work needed to complete these stations.”

Construction is targeted to begin in 2020/21, but prior to that the government will need to acquire the land for each station, finalise the station designs,

The indicative location of Merrimac station, one of the three to be added to the Gold Coast line.

and then go to tender for procurement of construction partners.

According to the Queensland government, public consultation will begin immediately.

It expects all three stations to be completed in three years and operational ahead of the commissioning of Cross River Rail.

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NEWS

WA

WA launches Metronet Trade Training Centre where Metronet’s railcars will be built and maintained, according to state transport minister, Rita Saffioti.

“The Metronet Trade Training Centre is part of a new hub of railcar manufacturing in Midland, which will allow us to deliver on our commitment to build at least 50 per cent of all METRONET railcars locally in WA,” Saffioti said.

“Midland TAFE will provide worldclass training to meet the demand of our Metronet program in courses including engineering, metal fabrication, instrumentation and electrotechnology,” education and training minister, Sue Ellery added.

Local students will also receive a 50 per cent reduction in fees for certain Metronet TAFE courses, including in civil construction and plant operations, as part

The Metronet Trade Training Centre will train workers to build the state’s next fleet of railcars.

of a “lower fees, local skills” policy that will reduce TAFE fees for 34 high priority courses.

“We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure the training needs of our Metronet rail projects are met,” Ellery said.

photo: Daniel Saarbourg

WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS INVESTING $1.25 million towards a Metronet Trade Training Centre to equip locals with the skills needed to build Metronet railcars.

Midland TAFE will become a specialist Metronet Trade Training Centre next year.

The $1.25 million will go towards new fabrication training equipment, and the redevelopment of workshops to provide the specific technical and support skills required for railcar manufacturing and Metronet maintenance.

The TAFE is three kilometres from the site of the new Metronet Bellevue Assembly Facility where the new C-Series railcars will be commissioned under a contract for which Alstom Transport Australia was announced as preferred bidder earlier this year.

Tenders recently opened for the contract to build the Metronet Bellevue railcar depot

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NEW ZEALAND

Contractors sought to rejuvenate North Auckland Line NEW ZEALAND STATE-OWNED operator KiwiRail has begun surveying the rail corridor for upgrades to the North Auckland line, and says it is seeking local contractors to conduct the work.

Survey teams began gathering detailed ground and asset information towards designing bridge replacements and planning essential tunnel maintenance in mid-October, with an expected completion date before the end of November.

“Northland’s railway lines are underused at the moment because of their condition.

The NAL is around 100 years old, is currently mothballed north of Kauri (above Whangarei) and the whole line has been in a state of ‘managed decline’ until its future was determined. The survey work is a major step in turning that around,” KiwiRail chief operating officer for capital projects, David Gordon, said.

KiwiRail can conduct the work thanks to almost $95 million in funding from the Provincial Growth Fund.

KiwiRail intends to hire consultant for the bridge replacement and tunnel works in early December.

“Where possible, we want to use local firms for the work. There will be a mix of larger and smaller jobs making up the overall programme of works, so we wanted to ensure the local industry was aware of the opportunities not just for large companies, but also for smaller scale contractors,” Gordon said.

“We have ensured that where possible the work is broken into bite-sized pieces suitable for smaller contractors.”

The much-needed maintenance can commence thanks to a $94.8 million investment toward the North Auckland Line by the government from the Provincial Growth Fund.

KiwiRail provided an industry briefing for Northland contracting and construction companies about future work opportunities in October. The briefing session in Whangarei was attended by more than 40 people.

“Working in the rail corridor brings with it special safety requirements that are different from working on roads and other civil construction activity. At yesterday’s session we provided information about those requirements and the support we can provide to ensure contractors qualify,” Gordon said.

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COVER STORY

Maximising the benefits of rail’s spending boom A dependable pipeline demanding true local manufacturing would ensure local businesses are able to capitalise fully on substantial rail spending across Australia and New Zealand.

I

NFASTECH ENGINEERED FASTENING managing director, Glenn Heffernan, has seen his fair share of market shifts. From the mining boom, just beginning when he joined as the company’s financial controller in 2003, to the shrinking and reshaping of manufacturing which influenced his acquisition of the business through a management buyout in 2017, Heffernan has substantial experience navigating peaks and troughs in his company’s target markets.

Heffernan, now managing director of the business, sees the growth already underway in the rail sector and believes his business is poised to take advantage.

But he says the unpredictable nature of spending from federal, state and territory governments in Australia and New Zealand can create challenges for businesses like Infastech and its customers.

“The trend over the last few years has been growth, but it’s been spasmodic,” Heffernan told Rail Express.

“Governments have made a lot of announcements over the last five years with varying levels of certainty, but it doesn’t seem there’s a long forecast of projects in the pipeline, and when they do happen, they come across very quickly.”

Heffernan is not the first to raise this issue.

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has repeatedly called on governments to commit to a unified pipeline for major rail projects, to allow the private sector to better prepare itself with adequate skills and equipment to ensure contracts are executed as efficiently as possible. The ARA recommended the federal government resource the Australia & New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline in

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

its 2019-20 Budget Submission as part of this.

Despite this push from industry, the politicised nature of spending on major infrastructure projects means companies are operating with a significant level of uncertainty across the region. Even the largest, most financially stable international rollingstock manufacturers have identified the sporadic nature of spending as a limiting factor in their commitment to the local market.

Heffernan is seeing this trend not from the perspective of a tier one manufacturer or engineering firm, but from deep within the rail supply chain.

The companies Infastech serves with fastening tools, equipment, parts and maintenance are often contractors or suppliers of the tier one companies delivering rollingstock or rail infrastructure projects under major government contracts. And he says the lack of proper commitment to long-term planning makes it difficult for everyone to deliver.

“The ideal would be to have a long pipeline of specific projects, and detailed requirements of those projects. But at the moment it seems to be a short pipeline, and very little notice between when a project is identified or announced, and when it goes ahead,” he said.

“This means we’re holding stock to support these programs when they are announced, without any security of demand. That insecurity flows down the whole line, because it makes it difficult for our customers to speak to their customers, and their customers are some of the biggest companies in Australia – or in the world – and it’s very difficult to communicate some of these things. What might seem

With hundreds of millions of dollars committed to rail in Australia and New Zealand, how can this be maximised to benefit local businesses and their employees?

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“At times a supplier or customer buying parts from overseas may need to pay break in charges or expediting charges to get them on time. That means they could be buying the part at an exorbitant cost if they’re going to meet the requirements of their project. And even if you pay break in charges, it varies from supplier to supplier; you might be able to bring an order forward but it still might not be enough to satisfy the customer’s requirements, which becomes very messy.”

Matt Thomas, Infastech’s business development manager responsible for Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand, says the company has been impacted several times by sudden surges in project spending.

“Because of the lumpy nature of these projects, we may be holding what we think is 12 months’ stock, but that can all be consumed in one order with rail customers,” Thomas said. “We’ve had several examples where that’s happened. We’ve been sitting pretty and then we’ve had two or three orders in quick succession which have cleared us out in a matter of weeks, and then we’re left with a six-month lead time. It’s very difficult to manage.”

“Murphy’s law,” Heffernan added. “You go from a slow-moving stock scenario, to being out of stock in as little as one order. Then you have to reach out to overseas suppliers, but Australia is still small in terms of the world economy, and our suppliers are delivering stock for big projects overseas, all around the world.” to be a minor issue to them could turn into a major issue if you can’t get the stock in time.”

Infastech works hard to accurately estimate the needs of the market for each of its products, anticipating a 12 to 24 month outlook, and keep stock on hand accordingly. “We try to work with our customers the best we can to judge their future needs,” Heffernan said, “but more often than not their reply to us is, ‘We can’t give you a forecast because we’re at the mercy of our customers.’”

Given most of the parts come from the US or other overseas markets, filling empty stock in a short window can be a complex and costly process.

Local content – the smaller the better Despite their desire for a more reliable pipeline for infrastructure, both Heffernan and Thomas are immensely positive about new and ongoing government commitments to rail infrastructure spending. The commitment in states like Victoria and Western Australia for local manufacturing of rollingstock is of particular note – but both agree governments should prescribe as fine a level as possible when it comes to local content guidelines.

“Once these projects are announced you see more confidence in the market; confidence in Australian manufacturing and capabilities, and that really does

“

The ideal would be to have a long pipeline of specific projects, and detailed requirements of those projects. But at the moment it seems to be a short pipeline, and very little notice between when a project is identified or announced, and when it goes ahead.

”

Heffernan says Australia’s growing maintenance task for rollingstock and fixed rail infrastructure is a key target for businesses like his.

www.railexpress.com.au

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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COVER STORY

make everything more buoyant, when companies like mine think the government is supporting them,” Heffernan said.

“The reality is, though, a lot of components for these projects are manufactured overseas and brought into Australia for assembly. For a supplier which supplies specific tools and parts, local ‘assembly’ can eliminate most of the actual manufacturing.”

Thomas, who has experience in the defence sector, believes governments could look to contracts in that space as a potential model to further enhance the level

of local content in rollingstock procurement.

“In defence contracts, Australian content is commonly specified right down to the steel source where that manufacturing capability exists within Australia” Thomas said.

“More often for rollingstock, Australian content specification allows for rollingstock to be Australianassembled, but the components are coming in pre-made from overseas even when those components can be manufactured locally. If we’re able to instead take an all-encompassing approach, that would be

Rail construction is underway in urban centres in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, and more is planned elsewhere.

Fasteners are used in a range of rail applications, shown here in lockbolt installation.

Fasteners used in a fishplate joint.

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

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better. Where that really helps us is in supplying the tier two customers, who are supplying the tier one manufacturers; the large-scale engineering shops and so on. They’re the ones that largely miss out with the current setup.”

Reliability and certainty a focus While it continues to navigate an unpredictable market, Heffernan says Infastech is doing its part to remove uncertainty and unnecessary delays as much as possible for its customers.

“We hold spare parts for pneumatic and battery tools at our head office in Melbourne, and we have a repair house here,” he explained. “We also have a loan tool service, to ensure our customers production is not interrupted while their tools are being repaired.

“On a larger scale we have a partnership with Enerpac, the rig that runs our tools for most of the installation of rail-related fasteners. Enerpac has an Australia-wide repair network, with sites in all major cities. That’s a very high-quality product, and the network of service centres further enhances that reliability.”

Heffernan believes this approach to reliability is a must for a sector like rail.

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flexible, cost effective, ergonomic installation tools designed to reduce installation costs, increase productivity, and provide consistent placement for a wide variety of fastening solutions.

“The industry is very risk-averse regarding tools. It’s such a mature industry. For us that’s good and bad: ongoing clients are getting a good product and are happy, but it can be hard to win new business, because once a contractor has its supplier it can often be hesitant to change.”

One source of work Heffernan hopes to continue to tap is the region’s growing rail infrastructure and rollingstock maintenance task.

“You won’t send a bogie overseas to be repaired, for example, so we see the repair and maintenance side of rail as big for us, especially into the future,” he said.

“That’s a huge industry that’s getting bigger.

“Any fastener that’s in our range can be used in some part of rail infrastructure or rollingstock. From things like bogies, all the way to fixed infrastructure around the railway itself. In one case, we supplied fasteners for sound walls during the construction of new elevated rail lines and stations in Melbourne. And our engineering department is trained to go in and look at the required application and specify thebest fastening solution in terms of both performance and cost effectiveness.”

Visit Infastech at AusRAIL at Stand 278.

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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MAJOR PROJECTS

Rail adapting to ‘unprecedented boom’ In this exclusive Q&A, John Holland’s executive general manager for rail, Steve Butcher, tells Rail Express about the shifting rail landscape, the benefits of an integrated offering, and the challenges facing the sector.

R

AIL EXPRESS (REX): How is the landscape shifting for operations and maintenance contractors in the rail sector?

Steve Butcher (SB): There is an unprecedented increase in the investment governments are making into mass transit systems across Australia. As a result, Australian rail operators are adapting to a level of demand that has been lacking for a generation.

The demand has been greatest for mass transit systems in urban centres, where population density has driven an increase in funding for rail projects along the east coast.

The other shift we are seeing is a renewed focus on the customer, which is something we thrive on.

People-centred transport systems are now what governments expect, and our performance is tied to how well we design and manage the customer experience. Governments are also increasingly introducing KPIs for operators, which has driven better customer outcomes.

The importance of integrating the customer experience across modes and ensuring comfort, safety and reliability is now part of rail planning from the design stage.

Public transport increasingly becoming a data business has also created a range of new opportunities for operators, such as linking to on-demand services, and sharing real-time information with customers about reliability and patronage on services.

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REX: What are the challenges faced by John Holland and others in this space, and how is John Holland adjusting to these challenges?

SB: This is a really exciting time for the Australian rail industry – it is a time of great transformation, both in terms of massive physical infrastructure and technological developments to reduce congestion and improve the customer experience.

We are very lucky to be in the thick of some of the most significant rail projects in Australia’s history, but it is important we keep pace with the sheer volume of work that is out there.

Our rail business now makes up 47 per cent of John Holland’s total revenue, and with more than $100 billion worth of projects in the Australasian rail pipeline, we expect the demand on our people to continue to grow.

Adjusting to the increase in work has meant a very consistent recruitment strategy, where we have seen our rail employee numbers increase by 31.6 per cent since December last year.

Separately, we are working hard to improve work-life balance for people across all John Holland projects.

This includes a pilot of flexible working arrangements across different projects.

During a boom, we know that we are in fierce competition for the best people – so we need to ensure we are the best place to work, both to attract new hires and to retain our expert rail people.

Other challenges in rail relate to bringing existing

ABOVE: Steve Butcher.

TOP: An integrated offering for major projects can help provide a whole of life view of what is being delivered, creating better value for money.

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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MAJOR PROJECTS The bulk of John Holland’s work on the Country Regional Network involves upgrading track to improve speed and reliability.

infrastructure up to modern standards. This covers everything from ensuring stations and platforms are accessible, to upgrading track to improve speed and reliability – which forms the bulk of the work we perform on the Country Regional Network in NSW. Making rail competitive with road travel means maximising the performance of existing networks, both for passengers and freight operators.

To keep pace with technological advancements in the operations and maintenance space, we are seeking to draw on our in-house capacity and expand the pool of companies we joint venture with.

John Holland has a specialised internal technology, engineering and knowledge business which we can draw upon to drive innovation for our customers.

REX: John Holland had an integrated involvement throughout the design and delivery of Sydney Metro Northwest. What are the benefits of that to the contractor, and what are the benefits to the customer?

SB: The clearest benefit of an integrated offering is that you take a whole of life view of what you are delivering, which means better customer outcomes and better value for money.

In projects like Sydney Metro and Canberra Metro, where we have been involved in design, construction, through to operations and maintenance we were able to ensure the project was delivered on time.

With major projects there are daily risks that need to be managed. The benefit of having a consistent partner through all phases of a project means that you have an ability to accelerate or adjust the program to accommodate any changes you need to make.

It also means that the design and construction is delivered with decisions being made that are in the best interests of the asset long term, and with consideration being given to the long-term maintenance needs of the project.

REX: Tunnelling has been identified as a difficult element to properly cost ahead of time in major infrastructure projects.

What are some lessons learned from recent tunnelling projects that John Holland has been involved in, and what can be done to minimise risk?

SB: All major construction projects present different challenges, and it is our job to manage them. We should never underestimate this, however, on the Sydney Metro Northwest tunnels - the largest railway tunnels ever built in Australia - we were able to deliver them two months ahead of schedule.

We are currently delivering the Sydney Metro City and Southwest

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

tunnels under Sydney Harbour which are more than 70 per cent complete.

REX: With a lot of major rail projects planned, in procurement, or under construction around Australia, how does a diversified, major contractor like John Holland balance its ambitions and avoid getting stretched too thin?

SB: The volume of work in the Australian rail industry shows no signs of slowing down, with mega projects like the Sydney Metro West and Greater West on the horizon. In other industry booms, you can generally see a tapering off, but there is no end in sight to Australia’s current infrastructure boom.

Every prospect is carefully assessed against our current and future pipeline, to make sure we have the people and expertise to deliver the best results for our customers.

We also make sure that we match the growth in our projects to the growth of our people.

Since December, our rail team has grown steadily, to keep up with the number of projects we are bidding and delivering on.

REX: The rail sector has repeatedly called for a more clear and adhered-to pipeline for major projects, coordinated between

state and federal governments. Do you think this is a realistic goal? How would it help a company like John Holland serve the industry?

SB: A consistent major project pipeline is crucial for the long-term viability of major infrastructure companies.

We are in an unprecedented boom at the moment, with tens of billions being spent on new rail infrastructure all along the east coast of Australia. As a business, we have had to be smart about what we bid for, and just as importantly, what we don’t bid on.

The biggest benefit of a long-term major project pipeline is that it allows companies like John Holland to better plan careers for our people. Not having a clear timeline means that people might move cities to work on committed projects, without knowing that there is a major opportunity in their hometown right around the corner.

The biggest benefit of this to our customers is consistency in the people and expertise delivering major projects.

John Holland is exhibiting at AusRAIL PLUS Stand 39.

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

Digitalisation centre stage for Thales

A combination of local and global expertise helps tailor the delivery of world-class solutions.

Rail technology provider Thales talks rail digitalisation, and its plans to showcase its digital rail solutions portfolio at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 in Sydney.

R

AIL EXPERTS LIKE MARK Smalley all around the region are excited about what’s going on in the Australasian rail sector, and even more excited about what’s to come. Smalley, business development manager for Ground Transportation Systems at Thales, says the range of major capital works underway and the shift towards transforming existing operational systems as part of the “digital rail revolution” are key areas for the business.

“Thales is excited by the unprecedented levels of investment, particularly in NSW, with such a significant backlog of transport infrastructure programs and the ambitious Future Transport 2056 strategy,” Smalley tells Rail Express. “With a strong local presence in Sydney, a credible portfolio of references and a pool of global expertise, we are well positioned to support this vision and are committed to ensuring our customers realise maximum return from this once in a generation investment program.”

One of the key success factors to achieving this vision, he says, is internationally proven, next generation digital technologies.

“This is key to modernising the underlying operational infrastructure to deliver much needed capacity improvements, and significant operational performance, cost and safety benefits for passengers, operators and freight services. These benefits are

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realised by everyone: commuters, transport operators, businesses; the whole economy.

New technologies mean adopting and adapting to new ways of working, however.

“It’s important not to forget the people and process elements of technology programs,” Smalley says. “Understanding how the end user will interact with the new system is essential to ensuring long-term success and acceptance of the technology.

Recognising this, we aim to ensure these Human Factors elements are captured and addressed throughout the design, development and implementation phases.”

Digitalisation at AusRAIL Thales presence at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 in Sydney will focus on the theme of rail digitalisation. Attendees will include key members of the Sydney-based Ground Transportation Systems business, with technical specialists on-hand to support demonstrations and showcase Thales’ urban and mainline digital rail solutions.

These include Thales’ SelTrac Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) solution, which helps move over three billion people annually across 40 major cities, including London, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong. Thales launched the future-focused seventh generation of SelTrac, SelTrac G7, at Innotrans 2018, and

will demonstrate it again at AusRAIL. “This is something I’m particularly looking forward to,” Smalley explains. “Having worked in London for several years on CBTC projects on the Underground network, I’m excited to apply this knowledge and experience here.”

Thales’ internationally proven rail Traffic Management System, ARAMIS, in operation in 18 different countries including Germany, Austria, Portugal, Denmark and the UK, will also be on display along with its complementary digital services platform solutions, TIRIS and Naia. “Our innovative Digital Services platform supports applications which specifically respond to the needs of rail operators today,” Smalley says.

“Naia uses big data analytics to understand passenger behaviour and journey patterns to improve passenger experience and boost operator revenues. TIRIS provides predictive maintenance capability for the assets deployed on the physical rail network, reducing maintenance costs and improving asset reliability.”

Finally, Thales will show off its innovative smart sensing solution, Lite4ce, which Smalley says will “fundamentally transform the way we obtain, gather and analyse data from the trackside to the operational control room”.

“Lite4ce is a passive fibre optic axle counter device, meaning no need for

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

Thales Ground Transportation Systems has established a local knowledge base in Sydney.

outdoor electronics, power supply or copper cable,” he explains. “It is a balance between a disruptive technology with its new capabilities and staying compatible with signalling and operational rules applied by our customers today. It also meets our primary need for reliable train detection with low life-cycle costs. We are really excited to bring these technologies to the Australian market”.

Support Services. Smalley explains: “One of our global strengths is that we prefer to form long-term collaborative partnerships with our customers, where we not only deliver the technology to meet a specific project outcome, but where we also support and enhance the systems over time in line with our customer’s evolving operational needs. From our perspective this is the best way to do business.”

Four-pillar transport strategy

Local skills investment key

Thales has prioritised four target sectors for rail in the region: Metro, Light Rail, Mainline Signalling and Control Systems, and Through Life Support Services. In Australia, Smalley and director of strategy, marketing and communications Sita Brown explain, the company aims to serve each with a good balance of local and global expertise, drawing upon a pool of 3,600 people in Australia, 8,200 global rail specialists, and a workforce of 80,000 worldwide.

“Within Metro, we’re delivering the missioncritical Communications and Central Control System for Sydney Metro, one of the most highprofile transport infrastructure programs I think in the world, but certainly in the Southern Hemisphere and one which will fundamentally improve mobility options for millions of Sydneysiders,” Smalley says.

“Then there’s Parramatta Light Rail, where we’re working with our customer CAF to deliver the integrated rail systems package. This is Thales’ first foray into the light rail space within Australia, which is a huge and exciting opportunity for us.

“In terms of Mainline Signalling and Control Systems, Thales is also targeting Transport for NSW’s Digital Systems program, which will bring ETCS Level 2, Automatic Train Operation, and a modern Traffic Management System to the Sydney Trains network. Along with Sydney Metro, this is the most exciting rail systems program to land in Australia and is something that we’re very much hopeful we can play a part in.”

The fourth pillar of Thales’ rail business in Australia is the most recently added – Through Life

A substantial skills and capacity challenge stands as a major obstacle to the success for all this transport investment, and Smalley believes a focus on developing local skills and competency is an absolute necessity, not just for Thales in the Australasian market, but for the industry as a whole.

“This is a fundamental issue for the successful delivery and long-term return on investment for these programs and for sustainability of skills, capacity and capability in the region,” he says.

Recognising the need for a sustainable answer, Thales established a transport competence centre in Sydney. Including a dedicated transport graduate program to develop the next generation of rail specialists, the centre supports skills and workforce development in the region. Complete with a digital rail integration and test lab as well as technology and system demonstrators, Smalley says it is allowing Thales to address some of the key challenges associated with deploying technologies from overseas into the local ecosystem.

Emphasis has also been placed to ensure work at the competence centre engages local rail specialists, as well as Thales’ global network of experts to leverage best practices and lessons learned.

Smalley is keen to see Thales’ customers and partners embrace skills development in a similar way.

“For example, the proposed Rail Technology Campus in Sydney is a concept we’ve been particularly supportive of,” he says. “Both in terms of establishing facilities for off-site testing and integration, and a dedicated training centre to support ongoing skills development and competency management. This approach provides access to new technologies whilst also supporting both training and familiarisation without disturbing rail operations.”

An invaluable component of Thales’ skillsbuilding strategy has also been its successful integration with its major project portfolio. “Across the business, we’ve been able to benefit from that on each of our major projects that we’re undertaking, we now have a pool of talented and ambitious graduates coming through with fresh ideas and new ways of working, which in turn is helping to challenge the status quo and drive innovation in what we’re doing. As a result, we’ve seen a lot of positive outcomes,” Smalley says. “Furthermore, it’s been really impressive and rewarding to see how the next generation of talent and graduates have risen to the challenge and embraced the opportunities presented within the rail sector.”

Visit Thales at AusRAIL Stand 107.

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

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The Rail Manufacturing CRC closes its doors on June 30, 2020.

Developing supercapacitor technologies with the potential to power light rail

Thanks to the rail organisations and research institutions who’ve worked collaboratively to build an Australian rail industry committed to innovation and R&D. For more on the Rail Manufacturing CRC, visit www.rmcrc.com.au In the past five years...

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industry

projects

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PhD

scholarships

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participating organisations

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MAJOR PROJECTS

For major projects, confidence is key Confidence is a valuable asset in major transport project delivery. Systra Scott Lister speaks with Rail Express about the importance of quality expertise throughout the life of a major project to ensure an effective result.

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COTT LISTER WAS FOUNDED IN 2009 by associates Mark Scott and Howard Lister as an engineering assurance, systems development, and project management and assessment firm. It was acquired in 2016 by Systra, and merged with Systra’s Australian branch in 2018 to form Systra Scott Lister as a single entity in Australia and New Zealand.

Business development director Patrick Desforges says this combination of local expertise with Systra’s global experience is well timed in the Australasian market. With an explosion of metro, light rail and bus rapid transit projects underway or planned right across the region, Desforges says Systra Scott Lister is leveraging this combination of local and global to help deliver better projects.

“Systra is focussing on the rail market that is at its core business, including projects like those in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Auckland,” Desforges told Rail Express. “Systra is targeting engineering services where we believe we can add value and offer a different approach, based on our experience in both local and international markets.”

Desforges sees parallels between major projects like the Sydney Metro program and foreign projects like the new Grand Paris Metro Express, and the Dubai Metro.

“Those projects are all aiming to implement an automatic metro in a dense area environment to increase transport capacity, offer better and quicker mobility solutions to the increasing community, and promote urban development,” he said.

Systra was the project manager in charge of building Dubai’s Red and Green MRT lines, working hand in hand with the local transport authority from 2003 on preliminary designs through to the inauguration of the second line in 2011.

From 2014, Systra carried out preliminary design studies for the extension project, and has remained a part of the project during its construction and commissioning, scheduled for 2020.

“A successful rail project is a project that has been well thought-out and studied from an early stage, e.g. the business case,” Desforges continued. “A new transport system must have good reasons to be implemented and address real issues and risks in the most efficient and appropriate way. A good procurement strategy together with active local community engagement and controlled budget and timeline are essential.”

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Desforges says Systra Scott Lister’s involvement in AusRAIL PLUS – where it is a Silver Sponsor – is to further demonstrate its capabilities in the local market, supported with global experience.

“Systra’s story is relatively recent in Australia and New Zealand and we are always keen to participate in events that present a unique opportunity to talk about rail business with the local rail community. There are solutions Systra can bring to help achieve all of this market’s very challenging projects,” he said.

“The key expertise offered by Systra globally and by Systra Scott Lister in Australia in all its rail projects is the systems integration and the knowledge of how to operate any kind of rail system, including light rail, automatic metro and high speed and fast train. Systra is also an international leader in CBTC and ETCS L2 high capacity signalling systems development.”

Desforges notes the origin of Systra itself – through the merger of the former engineering arms of French Railways (SNCF) and Paris Urban Transport Authority (RATP) – has provided it with a history of rail expertise.

“Our DNA is rail and we are able to cover all technical disciplines, all through a project’s life cycle – from business case and feasibility study, to testing and commissioning, through all levels of design development,” he said.

Systra Scott Lister has played a crucial role in the delivery of Dubai Metro.

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DELIVERING TOMORROW’S TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS TODAY

As the signature team for transportation solutions, SYSTRA helps move the world forward by connecting people and places, in a sustainable way.

By enabling mobility, our work strengthens communities, increases social inclusion and improves people’s access to employment, education and leisure.

For more than 60 years we have delivered consultancy, engineering and technical services, harnessing new technologies to enable safe, efficient mobility and foster economic prosperity.

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Our specialist expertise spans every transport mode, equipping us to help our clients prepare for the future.

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Siemens Mobility implements

Project i-TRACE

“ Implementing i-TRACE in our rail sectors will make railways easier and quicker to maintain, ensuring commuters won’t be disrupted in the event of a failure as the maintainer will have access to the latest and relevant documentation.

Stephen Baker Head Product Innovation & Through Life Support Siemens Mobility

Talk to us now

GS1 Australia Bonnie Ryan Senior Manager Freight, Logistics and Industrial Sectors M 0419 150 266 E bonnie.ryan@gs1au.org

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

‘Historic day’: PN opens Parkes Logistics Terminal Pacific National has opened its new Parkes Logistics Terminal in a landmark commitment to Inland Rail and the freight rail sector.

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N A SUNNY DAY IN OCTOBER, more than 100 government, private sector and local representatives gathered for the opening of Pacific National’s Parkes Logistics Terminal. Just a few years earlier, the land where they stood was a sheep paddock. But after 12 months of construction, more than 16,000 cubic metres of soil moved, over 300 cubic metres of concrete poured, and 253 tonnes of aggregate laid, the paddock had been transformed into regional Australia’s largest logistics terminal.

A $35 million rail hub complete with two 1800 metre rail sidings, and a third of 540 metres, Pacific National’s Parkes Logistics Terminal sits at the intersection of Australia’s east-west railway, and the federal government’s $9.3 billion Inland Rail project, which will link Brisbane and Melbourne via regional Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

The terminal has the capacity to break down double-stacked, 1.8-kilometre container trains – the kind which will run along the Inland Rail route from about 2025. But Pacific National isn’t going to wait that long – the first 1.8-kilometre train departed from the Parkes site on October 10 for a three-day trip to Perth, something Pacific National CEO, Dean Dalla Valle told the gathering would soon become “a regular occurrence”.

“The hub will allow long regional freight trains from Parkes to be broken into smaller metroshuttles to more efficiently access stevedoring terminals at Port Botany,” Dalla Valle said. “And once the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project is complete, regional enterprises can use Parkes as a launching pad to haul goods and commodities by rail more efficiently to the ports of Melbourne, Brisbane, Botany and Fremantle.”

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The importance of Parkes as a future intersection of two of Australia’s most significant railways is not just understood by Pacific National. All three levels of government have recognised the same thing.

Parkes Shire Council leapt on the opportunity in February 2018 and established the Parkes National Logistics Hub campaign, to encourage investment by logistics operators and customers.

A year later, the NSW state government declared the area a special activation precinct, enabling

(L to R) National Heavy Vehicle Regulator chairman Duncan Gay, NSW minister for regional transport and roads Paul Toole, Australian Rail Track Corporation chairman Warren Truss, and Parkes mayor Ken Keith.

The site is built to handle doublestacked, 1.8-kilometre-long freight trains.

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE faster and easier planning processes. And the federal government has made Parkes a central focus of its Inland Rail work, with the first project completed under the Inland Rail banner being the 5.2-kilometre North-West Connection, recently opened in Parkes to join the Broken Hill Line to existing track south of Henry Parkes way.

“Parkes Shire Council developed the vision for a national logistics hub, the Australian government supported this vision by starting construction of Inland Rail, and the NSW government has streamlined planning at Parkes by establishing a special activation precinct,” Pacific National chair Russell Smith said at the opening ceremony. “This new terminal is what can be achieved when all three levels of government work together and partner with the private sector.”

Smith said the company engaged 20 local and regional businesses during the terminal construction, including earthworks, electrical, plumbing, landscaping and water contractors. 80 jobs were generated during peak construction, and not a single incident or injury occurred during the 50,420 total person hours that went into the work.

“Pacific National is proud to be part of Parkes,” he continued. “I’d like to think our investment in this critical piece of freight infrastructure has helped, albeit in a small way, alleviate some of the pressures of the drought for businesses in the Parkes district.”

Dalla Valle also recognised the impact drought conditions have had on the Parkes region, like

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so many in the nation’s east. “But like everyone today, Pacific National sees a tremendous future for this town, for these people, and for the wider region,” he said.

“Once the Inland Rail project is complete their customers can use Parkes as a launching pad to haul goods and commodities more efficiently to all four corners of our nation. Regional exporters will enjoy access to a centrally-located, world-class facility designed specifically to enhance the haulage of containerised freight.”

Deputy prime minister and minister for

Local school children helped perform a Welcome to Country ceremony to open proceedings.

Around 100 delegates visited the site for the formal opening ceremony.

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infrastructure, Michael McCormack, took the opportunity to thank Pacific National for “buying in” to Inland Rail through its Parkes investment.

“Thank you for your confidence. Thank you not only for what you’re doing for Parkes, but for Australia,” McCormack told the gathering. “I am so excited about this nation-building project because it opens opportunities for farmers and regional businesses that would otherwise not be possible and Parkes is brilliantly geographically located to be the epicentre of Inland Rail’s success.”

NSW minister for regional transport and roads, Paul Toole, also praised the impact Pacific National has had on the Parkes region. “To see the commitment the board has made, the commitment that everyone here at Pacific National has made, to this site, is incredible,” he said.

Both Toole and McCormack were particularly eagre to commend Parkes mayor Ken Keith and his team for their role in developing the region as a logistics centre. Pacific National recognised Keith’s efforts by naming the main internal road in the terminal “Ken Keith OAM Drive”.

“We’ve travelled the breadth of this nation promoting the Parkes National Logistics Hub and promoting Inland Rail, because we can see it not

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just being a huge benefit to Parkes, but a huge benefit to the nation,” Keith told the audience.

“It’s wonderful to see this paddock today. Three generations of Keiths lived on this land, and it’s a privilege to say my forebears would be so delighted to see the way this hub has developed. They always had a vision to work for the community.

“It’s a wonderful example of what can be achieved in this nation when federal, state and local government can work with the private sector to deliver major projects. What a harmonious nation we would have if we could do that all the time.”

The Pacific National site makes up 365 hectares of Parkes Shire Council’s 600-ha National Logistics Hub. Once it’s fully operational in 2025 – in line with the targeted Inland Rail completion date – Pacific National says the terminal will be able to handle roughly 450,000 shipping containers each year.

“Pacific National is committed to remain at the forefront of the rail industry in this country,” Smith said. “After so many years of neglect, a rail renaissance is emerging in Australia at the forefront of a more sophisticated, smarter logistics chain that puts community and environment first, through the design of new, sustainable solutions for the long-distance haulage of our freight.”

(L to R) Pacific National chair Russell Smith, NSW minister for regional transport and roads Paul Toole, deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, Parkes mayor Ken Keith, and Pacific National CEO Dean Dalla Valle.

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Visit us @ AusRAIL PLUS 2019 stand 217

Shaping Connected Mobility Visit the Siemens Mobility stand at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 where we will be going full steam ahead to showcase digitally connected products and technology for the rail industry. Meet with local and global experts who will demonstrate the benefits of digitalization: improved availability, maximised throughout, and enhanced passenger experience.

siemens.com.au

OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

How a metro system can change a city With major metro rail projects underway in both Melbourne and Sydney, Rail Express spoke with global operator Keolis Downer about how high frequency metro services can transform a city.

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USTRALIA’S LARGEST PUBLIC transport project, Sydney Metro, is well underway and achieving significant milestones towards its 2024 completion. Once completed, Sydney Metro will extend from the north west, starting at Rouse Hill, through the underground city stations travelling under Sydney Harbour, and beyond to the south west, ending in Bankstown. The West Sydney Metro will also link up the Greater Western Sydney area and the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, connecting it to the Sydney CBD. Ultimately, Sydney will have a 66km standalone metro railway system with fully-automated driverless and fast, just turn up and go, service. Though some of it is complete, most of the work towards Sydney Metro project is still in early construction stages, with tunnels construction, station excavation and structural works currently taking place, and station construction to commence next year.

In Melbourne, work is underway towards building 9km twin rail tunnels and underground stations from the west of the city to the south-east as part of a new Sunbury to Cranbourne/Pakenham line, which will be upgraded with next-generation highcapacity signalling. The tunnel is expected to free up space in the city loop to enable more trains to run and maximise capacity.

To gain an understanding of the new metro landscape, Rail Express spoke to Keolis Downer’s chair, Australia, Leila Frances, about the company’s significant experience across the metro project lifecycle.

Internationally, Keolis Downer operates metros in France and the UK and is building others in India, the Middle East and China. It launched the first automated metro in the world in Lille, France in

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1983, and has significant experience across the project lifecycle, from early operator involvement, including the design and build of the metro infrastructure, to operations and maintenance. The company has experience with both brownfield, 40-year-old legacy assets, as well as greenfield, absolutely new metro systems.

“The thing about metro is that it’s a high-volume mover. Metro has been shown in research to provide the highest capacity transport solution for greater population densities.”

While this has a lot to do with the infrastructure, as Frances explained, a lot of it is due to the speed of the service.

“The journey time is very rapid. There is a shorter headway than traditional rail services, and as metros operate at a very high frequency the wait time is short and so is the journey time. It’s a turn up and go service. From the passenger’s point of view, their journey starts when they step out their door and this is when they measure how long it takes to get from point A to point B. With metro, especially in these congested cities in peak times, the journey time is much quicker than a car.”

With NSW’s population expected to grow to around 9 million over the next 20 years –bringing with it an increase in congestion with more passengers on trains and buses and more traffic on roads – the high capacity solution that metro bring is important.

According to the NSW government, once the metro is functioning, capacity will rise from 120 an hour today to up to 200 services beyond 2024, a 60 per cent capacity increase across the network to meet demand.

This, the government says, is “a level of service never before seen in Sydney”. The target capacity of Sydney’s metro is about 40,000 customers per hour, similar

Keolis Downer operates metros internationally.

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE to other metro systems worldwide, whereas Sydney’s current suburban system has a capacity of 24,000 people an hour per line.

The infrastructure needed for metro also favours comparably to the infrastructure for more traditional modes of transport.

“Metros travel along a dedicated purposebuilt corridor, and the advantages of it being purpose built are significant. It’s modern and it can be designed and built with safety and security in mind as well as speed. The alignment for metro tunnels can be precisely refined to reflect both the current and future of the city.

“Another key thing is that metro stations accommodate large volumes of people passing through at any one time.”

The lifts, escalators, passenger information screens and ticketing systems with the automated gates are all designed with this in mind and, according to Frances, “they’re very much built for future proofing into the next 50, 70 years.”

Indeed, she explains, these elements are all key concerns for the design process prior to the construction of stations stage.

“In terms of the design, we really appreciate early operator involvement because decisions made at the design stage will be lived with for a very long time.”

During the design process it is essential to think from the passenger’s point of view, according to Frances. “What does the passenger need to make their journey simplest and safest as possible?”

“You want ease of movement through the actual station, and for that to be as seamless as possible. So, for example, the positions of escalators is important. During high flow onto an escalator you just need one or two people to not be able to get off easily for that to make it an unsafe situation quickly, so we want to make sure there is good flow off and onto escalators.”

“Platform width, as another example, is extremely important. We also look at what

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we can have suspended to ensure as much space is clear as possible, because you will have equipment on platforms, its necessary.

We suspend as much as we can off either a gantry or a canopy, so to have free access onto platforms.”

Another essential consideration during the design stage, says Frances, is both the location and the layout of the depot.

“Location is obvious because of course you want to be able to minimise your running time when you’re starting up service. The actual depot design itself also facilitates the work flow. Getting the right buildings into the right place is important and within the main depot, the layout is key to both safety, which is at the forefront and then of course efficiency behind that. Location of the stores is really key because if the stores are not located in a quickly accessible place than naturally, it is going to be inefficient with maintainers going to and from to be able to collect the materials that they need to be able to maintain.”

With the trend towards metro taking off, these are considerations more and more cities across the world are taking.

“We’re seeing a lot of development in metro, with cities responding to the growth

Keolis Downer approches its design concepts from the passengers’ point of view – the simplest and safest journey possible.

Investment in metro demonstrates the long-term thinking of the government.

of population and demand for mobility. It’s still very much a trend within mega cities and large cities, where metros are becoming the solution that fits in with the rest of transport to make sure that you’ve got the mass transit to complement the other services.

“It’s always exciting when you see this longterm planning from government, and I think Australia is extremely good in its long-term planning. The driverless metro will really ease some of the congestion in Sydney, where there is clearly a point of natural congestion with the harbour. The success of North West, with a daily ridership of 66,000 shows that the demand is there.”

“The advantage of course of driverless metro is that you can operate with very short headways, for example in Lille we operate 52 trains an hour, that’s one every 50 seconds, on a GOA 4 system so it’s absolutely achievable.

Driverless metro is developing in Sydney,

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and as the network grows it increases the opportunity to increase the capacity, make people’s journeys easier, not just in the peak but in the off peak, and that’s really going to change the mobility experience of people in Sydney.”

“It also gives an opportunity to really bring to life the Greater Sydney Commission’s plan for “A metropolis of three-cities”. When you’ve got that connectivity and the new airport that will come out in the West that’s really going to shape out how the whole area functions.”

Metro is central to the transport landscape, according to Frances, but it is all about creating a wide array of options for commuters.

“If you look at major cities with wellestablished metro systems, London or Paris, it is really key to those cities. Investment in metro demonstrates the long term thinking of governments, the investment and recognition of mobility being essential to create places where people want to live, work or study.”

“In the context of growing cities, it is essential to create more public transport options for all and enable optimal accessibility to mass transit options. We need to encourage more people onto public transport by thinking about their door to door journey, and create enough convenience to encourage them out of their cars. Mass transit needs to be safe, efficient, reliable, sustainable and driverless metros tick all the boxes..”

“At the same time, the general mobility as a service (MaaS) push that we’re seeing has an impact on mobility and behaviours, in terms of information and the route planning, in terms of expectations and integration with other modes to get a different journey.”

“MaaS is giving people the ability to see all options that are offered to them, and the possibility to plan their journeys before leaving home. Depending on the day, where you need to go, the weather, having access to a single platform that offers more choice is a game-changer.”

When Keolis Downer talks about public transport, they’re talking about the passenger needs.

“This is because that’s what the centre of public transport is, it’s the passenger and it’s the community. It’s about providing that service and responding to the needs of the passenger. And so, it’s about choice and making sure that people have that choice in terms of the travel they need to do. This means giving access to the public of what they need and connecting the journeys that people can make with different forms of public transport,” Frances said.

The benefits of the metro system are not just confined to the passenger journey, however. There a supplementary benefit as well. They are of course electric and, if power

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is coming from a renewable source, they are environmentally sound.

“An indirect benefit is the street scaping.

Last mile connectivity is something the authorities we work with are astutely aware of, and we work with them to create the best solutions for that, and street scaping gives an opportunity to improve safety as well as the actual access around the station areas. It’s as simple as making sure there’s good pavements segregated from road traffic,

“In Hyderabad in India, we operate the second largest automated metro in India, Delhi is the largest. In India, as of today there isn’t a GOA4 (completely autonomous) metro line, we operate automated metro as a GOA2. There’s a wish to move towards GOA4 in India, for examplein Mumbai there’s an underground line currently being constructed and the intention of the Government is that that will be a GOA4 metro, with operations and maintenance outsourced, so clearly

Metro is central to the transport landscape but it is all about creating a wide array of options for commuters.

and that’s been very important.”

“A key benefit is the transit-oriented development that comes around metro. It’s typically now a very important part of projects, because in fact it helps the financial viability of the project. Consider Hyderabad where there’s been the development of already four shopping malls, which include cinemas, restaurants, and other facilities. These all connect into the new metro system, so, metro actually helps rejuvenate some areas in a city which will benefit from bringing other services to the community, and of course it helps the viability of a project as well.”

As well as being the chair of Keolis Downer, Australia, Frances is president of its operations in India and the Middle East. She spoke about the organisation’s international experience and what metro had done for the cities where Keolis Downer introduced it.

“Doha is a key metro project for us.

We operate a metro and a light rail, so it is a multi-modal rail system. Buses are a complement to the public transport offering as well. The metro in Doha is in a phased opening, so we’re already operating one stage of the metro, which has been very successful, the ridership has been above expectations, already around 30,000 a day. That is fantastic considering we’re only operating about a tenth of the metro’s final size.”

automation is the absolute trend.”

“In Hyderabad, the metro will be 67km in totality once its opened, and most of it is now up and operational, there’s just one last section, stage 6 to open. Ridership has grown substantially since its opening. Initial ridership was 39,000 a day, with only the first stage which was 30km. Now we’ve opened almost all of it, it’s grown to over 400,000 passengers a day.”

Keolis Downer sees part of its role as an operator is to help ridership grow.

“We want to bring the culture of multimodal public transport to people and to make it an easy choice to shift from car and from, in the case of Hyderabad, twowheelers and auto rick-shaws and onto public transport. Hyderabad’s metro is operating really well, and its very much a part of the culture of the city now. It is an above ground, elevated metro, which is very visible.”

When asked how best to finance metro projects Frances answers that there is not one way.

“The best way is the best way locally, there’s not one best way. It’s a decision made by the Government, but from our point of view it does not impact the passenger experience, which we bring to the heart of what we’re doing.”

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

Guiding rail’s digital transformation Siemens Mobility’s Chris Whiteside talks about the potential savings new digital methods can provide a rail project from the design phase right through to operation.

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IEMENS MOBILITY HAS THE GOAL to help customers achieve what seems impossible: zero unscheduled railway outages. The flagship tool it has developed to provide the underlying processes to support this goal is Railigent.

Siemens says Railigent is designed to make the best use of data to guide rail operators towards 100 per cent availability. Powered by the company’s open Internet of Things (IoT) operating system, MindSphere, Railigent applies artificial intelligence and sophisticated analytics to large volumes of rail data collected by IoT devices in the field.

Rather than just showing individual pieces of technology, Siemens Mobility is connecting all of the technology on display at its AusRAIL stand through Railigent, using cloud computing to provide real-time analysis.

Siemens’ head of digital services in the region, Chris Whiteside, tells Rail Express the exhibition and conference will be an opportunity for him and his team at the company’s Australian MindSphere Analytics Centre to demonstrate the benefits of rail digitalisation and the kind of analytics that can be done to provide an ultra-efficient rail operation.

“I’m really keen to understand where the industry wants to go with analytics, and working how we can make things more efficient and sustainable,” he says.

“We’re very focused at the moment on infrastructure build, and there’s very little focus on efficiency.”

To that end, as part of AusRAIL’s IRSE technical conference stream, Whiteside will discuss how Building Information Modelling (BIM) and System Information Modelling (SIM) can enhance metro rail operations, and reduce risk, and both capital and operational expenditure.

“The model approach helps from the tendering and concept phase all the way through to the maintenance phase. It has benefits all the way through the life cycle. It’s the concept of taking the 2D drawings relied upon by the signalling and technology providers for these projects, and putting that information into a simulated model, and dealing with it from that perspective. Rather than a room full of drawings and lengthy manual/ paper-based approval processes, you have a single digital model with all the necessary information, which can be referenced throughout the project,” Whiteside says.

“We know there is a lot of infrastructure build going on at the moment, and we know skilled resources are like gold – there’s a huge demand

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and a scarce supply – and that’s driving the costs of projects up. So we’re looking at digital methods traditionally used in the building space or in mining, oil and gas, to see if they can be applicable in the rail space.

“It can be quite a provocative subject, because there are the traditionalists who believe drawings are the only way to go. But the savings in time, effort, cost, and simply the reductions to wasted time and re-working, are significant.”

Whiteside and his team will deliver a pair of presentations on day one of AusRAIL – one at morning tea and one at lunch, which will be livestreamed over Facebook.

“We’ll have some of our data scientists from our analytics centre on hand,” Whiteside says. “They’ll be able to talk about the projects we’ve worked on so far, for example where we worked with Auckland Transport to reduce the amount of time it takes to look for faults on ETCS equipment, through the power of Railigent, and the data analytics that’s been done to create algorithms locally.”

Elsewhere, Siemens Mobility’s head of business development and strategy Charles Page will be chairing a session in the Rail Suppliers conference stream, and head of product innovation Stephen Baker will take part in the closing industry panel during the AusRAIL conference.

Visit Siemens at AusRAIL at Stand 217.

Siemens’ Railigent platform provides data-driven insights to enhance rail operations and reduce downtime.

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HIGH CAPACITY I PRECISION I RELIABILITY

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING

Rail tech delivering consistent productivity gains for Roy Hill Rail Express spoke with GE Transportation, a division of Wabtec Corporation, about its work with Roy Hill in the Pilbara.

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HEN YOU SET UP A $10 BILLION mining operation complete with 344-kilometre railroad and bespoke port facility, that investment needs to start paying back in quick order.

Indeed, every efficiency, every saving and productivity boost counts at Roy Hill’s operations in the Pilbara, chaired by Gina Rinehart. What a difference a consistently, evenly loaded, remotecontrolled train makes.

The Roy Hill Remote Operations Centre in Perth runs a model railway. Completed in 2015, the railroad with its state-of-the-art rolling stock carries millions of tonnes of iron ore – blasted across eight pits, crushed, graded and blended at Roy Hill – from the mine to Port Hedland, where it is shipped to international markets.

In 2018, Roy Hill hit its nameplate goal – 55 million tonnes shipped. The strategies and technologies that enabled Roy Hill to ramp up to this run rate, and continue to increase production to a 60 million tonnes per annum run rate, are complex.

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But senior executives agree that a collaborative relationship with Wabtec Corporation’s GE Transportation division – the manufacturers of Roy Hill’s ES44ACi locomotives and the integrated LOCOTROL remotely operated tower control system that goes with them – has helped drive greater value from the Roy Hill railroad.

“Back in the early days we aimed for five trains a day,” Roy Hill chief operating officer, Gerhard Veldsman said. Each train is almost two kilometres in length, consisting of two rakes comprising 116 cars each, with two locomotives at the front and another two locomotives between the rakes. At first, the average load of the cars was 138 tonnes.

Ore-carrying railways have until recently required an engineer driver to inch the ore cars painstakingly under the loading chutes, at a pace of around 0.2 to 0.5 kilometres an hour, but Roy Hill commenced its operations with the LOCOTROL tower control system. This extension of the LOCOTROL Distributed Power system allows the driver to leave the locomotive at the load-out point, and the LOCOTROL tower control system automatically carries out the loading, which on Roy Hill-length trains can take up to three hours.

“The train comes in, the system logs the loco numbers and it goes into remote control mode.

Positioning sensors on either side of the chute spot the gaps in the ore cars, and the system automatically opens and closes the chute to fill

Roy Hill hit its nameplate goal of 55 million tonnes shipped in 2018.

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING each ore car,” Veldsman explained.

From the start, the LOCOTROL tower control system has allowed Roy Hill to utilise crews more efficiently rather than locally manage the load-out process. The greatest benefit has been the ability to smooth the variability in tonnes loaded per car due to the automation of the process.

Roy Hill and Wabtec have collaborated to hone the system such that, “When you look at a fully loaded train out in the yard the tops of the wagons look like they’ve been planned flat,” Veldsman said.

“It’s a good indication of how steady the loading process is. When you get a lumpy ore car, you know there’s been a problem.”

Having the load spread evenly throughout each car also allows the train to be driven more consistently. Veldsman explained, “A smooth load across the bogie sets enhances a train’s ability to efficiently brake and handle curves when travelling.”

Consistent loading enabled by the LOCOTROL Remote Operator Control system has helped Roy Hill’s railway team to increase the number of cars per rake to 118 (236 cars per train), loaded to 142 tonnes each. Train frequency has gradually increased from the initial five trains every 24 hours, to 5.5 or 6 trains on average.

Another significant benefit that Roy Hill has attained by using the LOCOTROL tower control system is the ability to remotely drive the train at the mine that is some 1600 km away from Roy Hill’s Remote Operations Center in Perth.

In resource ventures that pre-date Roy Hill, operators sat in towers at each mine site. At Roy Hill, the crews that run 24-hour remote train load out operations sit in the comfort of the Perth

Remote Operations Centre, and return to their homes at the end of their shifts. This allows Roy Hill employees to spend more time with their families and enables Roy Hill to attract and retain the best people in the industry.

As a result of improved working conditions, said Veldsman, “We haven’t had any turnover in the train-control system in three years.”

The executive team at Roy Hill is contemplating other applications of the LOCOTROL tower control system: to potentially assist load-out efficiency at the Port end of the track; or to control the “train in waiting” for loading. “We’re happy to collaborate with Wabtec regarding the technicalities and see if further efficiencies can be realised,” Veldsman says. He confirms the strong, collaborative working relationship Roy Hill has with Wabtec, and says Roy Hill’s role as a test bed for the research and development of the LOCOTROL tower control system has benefited the industry as a whole.

“It’s great that we’ve come up with several changes in software that Wabtec has recognised as good ideas and rolled out universally. As well as being good from a Roy Hill operational point of view, it’s helped improve the product for all industry users.”

“Wabtec sincerely values the collaborative relationship we have with Roy Hill and are thrilled to be a part of their ongoing success,” GE Transportation executive leader in Australia Claire Pierce adds.

Train frequency has increased to 5.5 to 6 trains every 24 hours, on average.

Each train consists of two 118-car rakes, for a total of 236 cars per train.

Visit Wabtec at AusRAIL at Stand 232.

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING

Staying agile in the changing rail industry Tim Young explains how Downer is helping realise the benefits of passenger rail growth.

A

DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS report found each passenger journey made by rail instead of road generates benefits to society of between $3.88 and $10.64 by reducing congestion, accident and carbon costs. In September, 1.2 million trips were taken on Sydney’s trains and trams each day.

There is no better time to realise the societal benefits of rail travel. But the transport and infrastructure sector is changing, and the challenge for rail operators, maintainers and manufacturers is keeping pace with the evolving industry and expectations of an evergrowing customer base. That’s an opportunity – and challenge – the industry is keenly aware of, Downer’s Rollingstock Services executive general manager Tim Young says.

“We’re seeing a huge shift in what passengers expect from their transport providers, and in turn, what our customers expect from us,” Young tells Rail Express.

“From technology to sustainability, urban services is changing across Australia, and being agile in these circumstances is key to the industry’s success. It is the passengers that we really need to start to focus on and service better. As we know, passengers don’t measure averages, they measure variation, and the old adage, that you’re only as good as your last game, could never be truer than today.”

collaborative research and commercialisation partnerships in rail manufacturing.

By bridging the gap between industry and academia, Downer has been able to develop innovative solutions to complex problems and tap into a nation-wide network of expertise.

“We’re investigating diverse issues ranging from data analytics to virtual reality, exploring how they can help us improve various aspects from engineering design, to maintenance, to operations. We’ve got some really smart people working with us thanks to these partnerships, bringing their expertise to the table to help us develop real, industry focussed solutions to improve the lives of everyday Australians,” Young explained.

The Rail Manufacturing CRC has actively worked with Downer on a wide range of innovative projects over the last five years, including predictive maintenance, passenger dwell time management, and battery systems.

“Downer has committed to engaging with the Rail Manufacturing CRC to support the creation and adoption of new domestic rail technologies, including Dwell Track and TrainDNA. This is in addition to generously providing support to several PhD students working in leading research on miniature robots for rollingstock maintenance, and virtual and augmented training for rail,” Rail Manufacturing CRC CEO Dr Stuart Thomson

More passengers than ever are using Australia’s rail networks.

Downer received the Australasian Railway Association’s Sustainability award for delivering the first Environmental Product Declaration in the Southern Hemisphere for a rollingstock asset.

said. “Not only will this research drive innovative improvements to Australia’s rail sector, it also highlights the value that Downer places in collaboration, and the resulting benefits that this provides to their organisation’s competitiveness on a global stage.”

Integrating operations With passengers expecting a seamless transport experience, closer partnerships are just part of the answer. Organisations must also look into how technology and knowledge can be integrated for better maintenance and operations outcomes.

In May 2019, Downer launched their Integrated Operations Centre (IOC), a hub of cutting-edge technology, co-located staff and integrated systems.

The IOC brings together critical functions such as planning, engineering, mobile response and materials supply personnel to enhance operational asset management.

Young says the IOC is another piece of the

Partnering for success “At Downer, we talk about relationships creating success – and that’s a commitment we take seriously across our business. It means partnering with our customers, suppliers and academia to address challenges across our industry, recognising that we can do much more together than alone,” Young says.

One partnership Young says has proved immensely successful is Downer’s work with the Rail Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Launched in 2014, the initiative works to foster, sponsor and direct

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puzzle to improving the passenger experience.

“With the growing pains of the heavy rail networks and potential capacity gap along the east coast of Australia, we see the IOC as an opportunity to aid in the passenger experience and bridge the capacity gap through enhanced fleet management, stimulating greater reliability, capacity, availability and immediacy of response. In addition, it will unlock value to operators in the form of enhanced driver education, timetable development and passenger satisfaction,” he says. “Not only that, it provides an opportunity for us to work more closely with our customers to enhance operations, through better sharing of data, recprical information flows and real-time reporting.

“Understanding passenger experience is key, and they too can help in this process,” Young adds. “For example, the IOC also monitors social media, enabling real time monitoring of asset condition and passenger sentiment. On several occasions this has resulted in us sending a technician to the train to rectify an issue whilst it remains in revenue service.

“In the future, I think we can expect to see this kind of integration and innovation take hold across the transport industry – embracing

the full ecosystem of operations, improving the passenger experience while enabling ease and speed through the rail network.”

A commitment to sustainability Young also emphasises the increasing importance of sustainability and environmental concerns to business outcomes.

“The drive towards a more sustainable future continues to gather pace, and it’s something investors are becoming more passionate about and the industry must address, while delivering an efficient, reliable and cost-effective service,” he says. “An emphasis on sustainability is core to achieving our goal of Zero Harm, and for several years Downer has focussed on developing solutions to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and repurpose trade waste across our business.”

Earlier this year, Downer delivered the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) in the Southern Hemisphere for a rollingstock asset – the Waratah Series 2 train – and was recognised as an industry leader at the 2019 Australasian Rail Industry Awards.

“The EPD shows the environmental impact, resource use and carbon footprint of our trains across their 30-year lifecycle and

can also help predict the future performance and environmental impact of the train even at the end of the vehicle’s life. It’s something that our customers are increasingly asking for and demonstrates Downer’s commitment to environmental responsibility across the life cycle of our assets,” Young says. “With an improved understanding of our rollingstock’s full carbon footprint, we are leveraging this to shift our thinking to investigate what we can do to improve both our end of life management and through life management options during maintenance and overhauls, to reduce the carbon impact as opportunities arise.

“For example, we’re currently investigating opportunities in cradle to cradle asset recovery in Victoria, where we’ve been working with local suppliers to understand how we can recycle laminated glass and what re-use potential there is for it within our business.

“Thought leadership is fundamental to our success, and we need to continue to collaborate and innovate across the value chain. It’s these alliances and arrangements between academia, suppliers and industry that will unlock even greater value for the rail sector.”

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

The new era of rail depots Andrew Engineering’s Chris Parish tells Rail Express how the trend towards digital integration has impacted the fit out of rail depots.

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OUNDED IN 1951 AS A SMALL tooling company, Andrew Engineering has come to offer the design, manufacture and supply of special purpose machinery for a wide range of industries. In the late 1990s, the company shifted from being 85 per cent dedicated to supplying the automotive industry and became a major supplier to the rail industry.

“Around 2007, 2008 we had our first major rail project which was the bogie exchange system at the Auburn maintenance centre,” engineering director Chris Parish tells Rail Express.

“We completely regeared the business away from what was effectively a special purpose equipment supplier to the automotive industry to being a major supplier to the rail industry, as far as rolling stock maintenance equipment solutions go. So, in the last 10 years we’ve seen a 100 per cent, complete U-turn in the way we do business.”

Andrew Engineering was contracted to design, build and install a solution to remove and replace all 16 bogies of an eight-car Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) at the Downer Rail operated train depot for the maintenance of Millennium and Waratah trains.

Andrew Engineering was asked to replace the 16 bogies without the EMU moving and within a 12hour cycle.

In response, the company designed, built, delivered and installed a first of its kind bogie exchange system (BES) consisting of 6 self-propelled bogie drop machines, 72 automated removable rails, 6 pairs of 12T vehicle jacks, 6 pairs of bogie jacks, 36 bogie drop stations and 3 bogie turntables. The new BES exceeded the facility’s cycle time requirements.

The company has, however, created railway products for decades, upgrading machines and equipment, in-house manufacture and OEM supply and delivering breakdown and on-call support, and so they have significant experience in the sector and are well acquainted with the Australian Standards of railway production.

As an engineering firm, they have also developed prototype parts, such as automated assembly systems, etc. “We can develop bespoke technology or provide off-the-shelf solutions,” Parish said.

What’s different about the business now, according to Parish, is that they are a one stop shop.

“We provide a turnkey solution from depot fit-out through to life support, and we offer a full suite of products in order to maintain the vehicles effectively.

We’re effectively a one stop shop to cover that particular area, whether it be in passenger rail or the freight area, we can efficiently provide a full solution and hand over the reins to the customer and say there you go – there’s your working facility.

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“We can go right from the design and engineering through to manufacture or procurement, depending on whether or not we’re providing a third-party product such as a wheel lathes, or our own product such as a BES, turntables, lift platforms, these sorts of products.

“Along with the procurement comes the project management, the commercial management, the delivery, installation, conditioning and the full sign off, then at the end of it all the through life support.

So, you have an organisation that can effectively take a project from the ideas phase through to full completion and through life support on the other side.”

In the passenger rail sector, Andrew Engineering has worked on a number of projects, one such being on the New Generation Rolling Stock maintenance facility for Bombardier Transportation at Wulkuraka, Queensland.

In partnership with Laing O’Rourke, Andrew Engineering worked onsite to deliver, install and

Andrew Engineering provide a turnkey solution, from depot fit-out through to life support.

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OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE commission depot management systems and specialist rolling stock maintenance equipment and machinery for the NGRS Maintenance Workshop in Wulkuraka, Andrew Engineering was awarded by Laing O’Rourke as a quality supplier of rail asset maintenance equipment for its “meticulous eye for detail and expert knowledge within rail engineering”.

The purpose-built Wulkuraka facility was designed to maintain the 75 new trains purchased under the Queensland Government’s wider NGRS project for 30 years.

Within the freight sector, Andrew Engineering has worked on key projects such as the FMG Thomas Rail Yard in Port Hedland, Western Australia. In partnership with Niles-Simmons-Hegenschedit Group, Andrew Engineering delivered a full turnkey project of the fully automated ore car and wheel and axle repair shop.

The greenfield project was delivered from concept to fully operational within 22 months. Andrew Engineering worked onsite to deliver, install and manage all of the wheel shop machinery and remain the primary service and maintenance provider for this facility.

According to Parish, “Andrew Engineering has a highly skilled team of engineers and technicians to provide comprehensive support for rail depot equipment with custom designed rail wheels, turntables and automated handling systems also in our repertoire.”

This is what sets Andrew Engineering apart from its competitors, that they are a one stop shop in the full sense.

“We have a strong engineering focus, so we’re not just a reseller or an agent, we have a full understanding of the engineering aspects of the products and projects that we do, and we have the full project management and commercial management capability, so it doesn’t require third party to engage in that process, and we have in house capability on the technical side. We have a large number of tradespeople that work alongside with engineers and project managers all within the same organisation.

“We have a 3500 sqm facility where we can

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actually provide local solutions even with imported products, so for instance at the moment, in the construction industry we’re manufacturing building maintenance units at the moment for an overseas company who are actually behind in one of their projects and they’ve asked us to do a major fabrication here in our facility.”

Since entering the rail space, Andrew Engineering says it has seen the entire industry change and become much leaner.

“The drive for asset utilisation has been a big shift. Whereas before they would simply just buy a huge amount of stock of spares, and hold them as contingency spares, today they are a lot leaner. The emphasis now is on minimising capital investment and and maximising the output from assets. So the expectation of high quality performance of maintenance equipment is a lot higher these days.

“Another big thing for us is the rise in the desire for electronic depot protection systems, which we offer in partnership with Zonegreen, which takes people away from the conventional, mechanical locks and padlocks and more into the digital sphere. On a safety side, that’s been a big aspect.”

Having experienced and adapted to these changes in the industry, Andrew Engineering is confident in tackling the integration of equipment into the digitisation of asset management.

“Automatic tagging or RFID tagging, communication with asset information systems, we’re advancing into the idea of having all of the equipment digitally connected with real time information regarding performance and how that effects maintability and availability of assets, whether by allowing remote access, remote diagnostics, and automatic data collection and transfer.”

The Australian firm says it’s looking forward to seeing what the future will bring to the space.

Andrew Engineering is a one stop shop.

The company sees the rise in the desire for electronic depot protection systems.

“

We’re effectively a one stop shop to cover that particular area, whether it be in passenger rail or the freight area, we can efficiently provide a full solution.

”

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING

How to survive a Digital Tsunami: the Rail Manufacturing CRC’s legacy A digital revolution is underway in the rail manufacturing industry, says Stuart Thomson, CEO of the Rail Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).

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ITH THE GROWTH OF EMERGING technologies which will disrupt the way industry conducts its business, “the changes are going to be rapid and the rail industry needs to be ready,” Rail Manufacturing CRC CEO, Stuart Thomson, tells Rail Express.

In response, the Rail Manufacturing CRC has spent the last five years working with the rail industry to start tackling these challenges.

Launched in 2014, the Rail Manufacturing CRC’s focus has been to increase the capability of Australia’s rail manufacturing industry. Industry participants include Downer, CRRC, Knorr-Bremse, Bombardier Transportation Australia, HEC Group, Airlinx and Sydney Trains, who collaborate on research and development programs with institutes such as University of Technology Sydney, CSIRO, Deakin University, University of Queensland, Monash University, CQUniversity, Swinburne, RMIT and CSIRO. “By sharing the risk involved in the development of technology while building networks across the supply chains, this increases the Australian rail sector’s competitive global position and creates a depth of industry capability.”

Since commencing though, there have been some changes in the centre’s focus. Initially focused on heavy-haul, the subsequent plateauing of the mining boom, coupled with massive growth in passenger rail thanks to state and federal investment in rail infrastructure, resulted in a shift in the centre’s focus.

While its projects have contributed to a more innovative rail manufacturing industry, the most important contribution of the Rail Manufacturing CRC is the newfound strong engagement between universities and participating rail organisations.

Australia’s universities have highly skilled and worldclass levels of research capabilities, and the challenge lies in the capacity for the rail sector to use that knowledge.

“With less than half of one per cent of scientists and researchers working in rail, it is key to attract and train the next generation of employees, while recognising the new skills that research graduates can bring to Australia’s future rail industry,” Thomson shared.

Planning for the future has, so far, consisted of 32 industry projects, 48 PhD scholarships and the involvement of 35 organisations over the entire six-year

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life of the Rail Manufacturing CRC, with the centre now working towards a closing date of June 2020.

“Over our full six-year lifetime, we will have achieved a wide range of leading research and commercialisation activities across the centre’s program areas of Power and Propulsion; Materials and Manufacturing; and Design, Modelling and Simulation,” says Thomson.

In its Power and Propulsion stream of projects, the centre has focused on energy solutions for better rail efficiencies, looking at battery and supercapacitor development and manufacture, new composite braking materials and rail-wheel-interface projects.

Some of these projects involve the testing of lithium storage technologies. With Australia’s great lithium reserves, this has wide reaching benefit across the resources sector as well as for rail, and according to Thomson, there is a boom in the use of lithium in energy storage devices.

In regard to battery technology, Thomson says the centre is looking at fundamental studies to create better and more efficient lithium batteries, supercapacitors and energy storage systems. The ultimate goal of our energy storage projects is to develop technologies

Building camera hardware for use with Dwell Track project with Downer and University of Technology Sydney.

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING Assessing Bombardier’s axle bearing lubrication needs at the University of Queensland.

Ballast stability projects underway at the University of Wollongong.

that will make overhead rail catenary systems obsolete, resulting in reduced infrastructure and maintenance costs.

“We’re working with companies such as Downer, Knorr-Bremse, CRRC, and the HEC Group, all of whom have different applications in a very active field of endeavour.”

“We’re also using energy storage devices for emergency applications in rail as backup batteries. We’re looking at using lithium and new battery technologies to decrease the cost and also increase the life cycle of those devices. Obviously, the less servicing needed means significant cost savings in terms of maintenance.”

Meanwhile, the Materials and Manufacturing stream of work focusses on component durability, maintenance optimisation, composite material design and assembly automation. The projects in this stream intend to create replacement materials that are much more light weight, yet still with similar or better structural properties and the safety properties required.

“The challenge in rail at the moment is that we’re creating more energy consuming rail rolling stock, so it’s ideal to reduce energy consumption by light-weighting light rail and heavy rail.”

Within this, the centre is investigating with Swinburne University, metallic cellular materials, such as recycled aluminium honeycombs and foams for rail sandwich panels. One project is researching the manufacturing methods to best make these materials, while another is looking at experimental works and simulations to investigate the mechanical properties of the sandwich panels.

Another centre project collaboration with the University of Queensland and Bombardier worked to predict the wear rates of axle bearings used in suburban passenger trains. Through the development of a software model, bearing

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life is predicted using algorithms that aim to optimise the bearing selection, lubrication and overhaul maintenance schedule with significant economic benefits.

Within the Design, Modelling and Simulation stream, the centre is focussing on passenger information systems and dwell time management, cabin airflow monitoring, data transfer and analytics, and virtual and augmented reality rail training.

One of the more visible of the centre’s projects is the Dwell Track technology created in collaboration with Downer and the University of Technology Sydney. The technology enables operators to anonymously monitor passenger numbers and movement using 3D cameras to extract the relevant spatial and temporal information in real-time.

“We are able to monitor passenger flow and pathways. The information collected is used to better understand how platform infrastructure can be designed and operated in a more efficient way to limit congestion at certain points and times. By understanding where the congestion points are on platforms, operators

are able to redesign or tailor solutions based on the information collected, so it’s really data driven.”

Thomson credits the rail operators for providing the facilities to keep improving the Dwell Track technology. “Queensland Rail, Sydney Trains and PTA Western Australia have all participated in testing and trialling the technology over a number of years. This has enabled the project team to tweak the technology to make it better as we’ve gone along. It is a real example of how operators have come to the fore to assist the development of new innovations,” he said.

While at the moment this technology enables decisions to be made or exceptions to be identified efficiently, Thomson believes this technology will eventually have an artificial intelligence component.

“If we could automate some of those functions, such as if gates can be closed or opened based on computers rather than having staff on the platforms doing that work, we’d be able to free up staff time to concentrate on other critical issues.”

Ultimately, however, the goal is to take the data captured by the technology, analyse it and understand what responses can be taken to alleviate congestions at stations.

When asked about his predictions for the future of innovation in the rail manufacturing space, Thomson says that data analytics is the key.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more use of data for modelling and prediction. We’re

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seeing a huge focus on condition-based monitoring applications and being able to monitor and understand all components to provide the operators and customers with information relating to the rollingstock’s use and performance in real-time.”

One of the critical uses for this is also to provide maintenance when its needed, rather than in the aftermath of issues. “Being able to predict when something’s going to happen before it does and fixing it prior to breaking down will have huge benefits for operators and manufacturers.”

One example of research being undertaken in this area is a Rail Manufacturing CRC, Deakin University and Downer collaboration to provide data specialists for Downer’s TrainDNA project. Aimed at improving data collection, analysis and interpretation, the team are developing algorithms and system platforms to provide real time information to customers, maintenance staff and engineering specialists. The implementation of TrainDNA is likely to have significant benefits for those who operate and maintain rolling stock.

The growth of new digital systems and data analytics in rail will require an ongoing adaption of the rail workforce. “That’s where we see some of the challenges and the opportunities for rail companies in the future.

Building new skill sets into the rail workforce is going to be key to unlocking these digital benefits that can flow into the sector.”

Where previously the skilled workforce in rail was confined to a few specific domains of engineering expertise, a new breed of skilled workforce is now needed.

“We no longer primarily need mechanical and electrical engineers, we also need people who can code, we need AI specialists, data scientists, virtual reality specialists, and more.”

As such, the rail sector must be able to attract a whole new digital workforce. “We’re not only competing with other transport providers for specialised blue and white collar workers, we’re also competing with other industry sectors such as finance, mining and tech giants like Google and Amazon,” Thomson said.

“Too often, we focus on the technology, but a lot of the future solutions within the digital field will be expertise driven, they’ll be people-driven. The focus should be on a culture within the industry to build research and innovation capacity, but also to bring the right skill sets and expertise to utilise these new technologies most effectively.”

“The biggest thing we have seen [during the CRC’s six-year term] has been a change in innovation culture.

There are very talented young people who need to join the rail industry to propel it forwards, so the focus should be on the next generation of rail workers. I think that we’ve partly contributed to the industry realising that.”

“We’ve got young researchers working on very exciting areas. At Monash University, we have multiple PhD students working on automating systems that can send drones onto tracks, into tunnels and even into the Pilbara region to automatically assess and monitor

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railway lines and the integrity of those systems.”

The main benefits to this are to get people out of danger, off the tracks and out of harsh environments, not only for safety reasons, but also to free them up to do other skilled jobs. “It’s one thing to collect data, that’s the easy part, but it’s another thing to be able to automate, transmit and analyse it instantaneously, in real-time,” Thomson said.

The innovations that the Rail Manufacturing CRC has seen with the rise of the Internet of Things and other such emerging technologies has enabled a whole range of critical information to be captured, such as the integrity of rail infrastructure, the performance of equipment above and below rail, and the capacity to plan for future growth and safe operations of the networks.

Upon the completion of its term in June next year, Thomson tells Rail Express that a large part of the Rail Manufacturing CRC’s legacy lies in its initial commitment to collaboration.

“I think we’ve contributed to a realisation that collaboration between researchers and industry is a very good thing,” Thomson said. “The legacy that we’ve created is that collaboration between research organisations and the rail industry is assured.”

And when asked in conclusion how companies in the rail manufacturing space can be more innovative, Thomson is succinct. “It’s simple. Hire, support and trust smart young people.”

Partnership with CSIRO and CRRC to develop supercapacitor technologies.

Showcasing Dwell Track technology at a Sydney demonstration.

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ROLLINGSTOCK & MANUFACTURING

The digitalisation of supply chain management When the Australasian Railway Association announced the industry-wide adoption of GS1’s ISO data standards in 2015, Project i-TRACE was established to help industry with their implementation across all stakeholder companies. Head of product innovation at Siemens Mobility, Stephen Baker, spoke to Rail Express about Siemens Mobility’s Project i-TRACE journey.

T

HE DIGITALISATION OF SUPPLY chain management is well underway across a range of industries, and GS1 Australia says it is committed to making this process easier for the rail sector.

As a not-for-profit provider of standards and solutions for over 20 industry sectors, GS1 introduced barcoding to Australia in 1979 to enable its more than 20,000 member companies to implement their standards more efficiently. The barcodes are now scanned across the world over six billion times daily.

When the rail industry agreed in 2015 that GS1 standards were the right choice to enable best practice supply chain management, the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) led industry working group initiated Project i-TRACE to help implement consistent identification (globally unique codes) and automatic data capture (barcoding) in organisations and value chains across the rail industry.

Efficiency within the rail industry is heavily reliant on successful supply chain management practices.

Assuring material availability of the right quantities, the right qualities, at the right place and time with minimum effort and cost is crucial.

Stronger life cycle traceability is needed for this, and best practice requires the uptake of the innovative technologies that are disrupting the sector.

“Around the world there is a realisation that the digitalisation of the rail industry is essential. Project i-TRACE is a fundamental building block towards achieving digital capability in the sector,” ARA CEO, Danny Broad, has said.

Project i-TRACE allows all stakeholders within the supply chain to follow a component, part or asset throughout its lifecycle (including maintenance) from procurement to disposal with ease. It is intended to help stakeholders identify products, electronically capture information about them and then share that information with relevant parties.

GS1 supplies a tracking technique to give a unique identification to all rail products including items such as point machines, tracks and signalling parts.

“Project i-TRACE allows us to trace every component from when it’s been manufactured all the way through to installation and to the whole of life performance of that asset,” Sydney Trains chief executive officer Howard Collins said when Sydney Trains began its digitalisation.

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Stephen Baker, head of product innovation of Siemens Mobility in Australia.

“My message to all those involved in the rail industry whether you are a small supplier, all the way through to us as a big maintainer, is get on board with i-TRACE.” Essentially, standardising the way materials in the rail industry supply chain are identified and marked enables “traceability and warranty management, which is fundamental for lifecycle tracking,” according to Stephen Baker, head of product innovation at Siemens Mobility in Australia.

“This has always been a challenge for the industry,” Baker said.

Under Project i-TRACE, identification codes compliant with GS1 standards are encoded into a machine-readable GS1 DataMatrix barcode, usually directly laser-engraved. According to GS1, an engraved barcode is the best option in harsh environments where labels are likely to fall off, such as for rolling stock. One GS1 client developed a process whereby the DataMatrix barcode could be vulcanised into rubber parts, for others a sticker label is enough.

Once the barcode has been affixed, product data

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can be read by using a scanner or smartphone with the appropriate software application installed.

While Siemens Mobility is still in the process of implementing Project i-TRACE, Baker says the benefits of implementation are obvious.

“We’ve been able to laser engrave unique IDs onto black plate which are then placed on a product, which takes less than two minutes.”

“Automating the manual processes saves time and eliminates the possibility of human error. The field technicians are then able to capture the maintenance history of these products while on site, which makes it so much easier and improves efficiency.”

Other benefits include reducing inventory write-offs and waste leading to optimal inventory management, improving maintenance and repair operations, and reducing cost with fewer transaction errors and better data quality.

“We see Project i-TRACE as an enabler,” Baker said.

With Internet of Things (IoT) innovations allowing components to become smart, interconnected and capable of talking to each other for essential data capture which allows the monitoring of the performance of items, these components however need to become consistently identifiable.

“It’s easy enough to capture data in stock management, but how are you going to identify which component you are capturing?”

“GS1 gives us the building blocks to implement these processes.” “i-TRACE is quick, and it’s comprehensive. It gives us access to all the necessary information, and we can understand the behaviour of our systems by looking closely into the analytics of the product’s lifecycle. For example, where before the only information you could get about a railway signal was that it was a railway signal, with i-TRACE you can now use the unique product ID to see an entire data matrix of information.”

“With this ecosystem of knowledge, you can ensure best practice quality control, maintenance and accountability to your clients through a more agile process.”

While Project i-TRACE was designed to enhance

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Stephen Baker sees Project i-TRACE as an enabler.

supply chain management, for Baker it is more than that.

“For most, GS1 compliance is about getting the products to the end-user, but we see it as going beyond that. Once a product has been marked, it’s an asset,” he explained.

“Traceability helps organisations provide a better service to their clients, with improvements to the maintenance and repair of assets. Implementing i-TRACE in our rail sectors will make railways easier and quicker to repair and cause a flow on effect to service delivery, helping reduce commuter disruption if things go wrong.”

“Asset management is amazingly complex, the digitalisation enabled by Project i-TRACE makes it easier,” Baker said.

Especially for a manufacturer of safety equipment, wherein the high levels of accountability GS1 enables are vital.

While Siemens Mobility is still in implementation mode, as one of the first in the industry to take part in the project which they commenced in March 2018, Baker has advice for organisations who want to implement the solution.

“The first step is budgeting, because the biggest challenge is the allocation of funding. Implementing Project i-Trace can be scaled up or down depending on the size of your organisation,” he said.

For a small trader it’s simply a matter of adding the unique ID to a docket, whereas for Siemens it was possible to use more sophisticated machinery.

Products get marked at downstream. The key at this stage, during budgeting, is to have a good business case according to Baker, who recommends hiring expert consultants to provide the necessary analysis. The next step is the project plan.

“We began with a deep review of the process, got sign off on the business case and in the months following, started our internal working group. In 2019, our internal working group and internal activities with our program were being finalised and we received our unique marking machine for over 18,500 trackable items to be marked at our Port Melbourne manufacturing facility.”

While compliance with GS1’s standards is necessary, having been determined as enabling best practice by the ARA and industry representatives, implementation has been made all the easier for organisations of all sizes by GS1’s Project i-Trace.

“

Implementing i-TRACE in our rail sectors will make railways easier and quicker to repair and cause a flow on effect to service delivery, helping reduce commuter displacement if things go wrong.

”

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WORKFORCE & TRAINING

Changing times, changing needs While known as a training solutions provider for the rail industry, over the last 16 years since its inception, the Centre for Excellence in Rail Training has become much more than that.

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HE CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE in Rail Training (CERT) began as a training facility in Western Australia in 2003, offering training courses for all areas required by the rail industry nationally, including rail infrastructure, rail operations, rail safeworking, rail safety investigations, rail structures and rail safety management. Since then, the organisation has grown to become the nation-wide choice for those training courses, as well as assessment services, but also an international player delivering courses in Indonesia, Malaysia and East Africa. CERT now also offers extensive training for workers in mining, port and engineering industries, as well as its core market in rail. They are also best placed for future rail innovations such as in-cab rail signalling systems and automatic train protection systems.

In addition, CERT has established training facilities in WA (Bunbury, Perth and Port Hedland) to provide training services for high risk work licences, mobile equipment, first aid, fire equipment, and training for working at heights and confined spaces.

Part of the reason for the organisation coming to take this place in the industry, according to CERT national manager, Mark Haigh, is its “ability to holistically service the industry nationally, with independent, compliant and quality training solutions”.

Having presided over some of the most significant

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growth in CERT’s operations, throughout 2005 and 2006, Haigh has been able to establish an agile training team, designed to meet the needs of industry. CERT’s trainers have a minimum of ten years, while most have more than 20 years, experience in the industry. Trainers have worked in the delivery of rail infrastructure, rail operations, and rail safe-working training and assessment.

During this time, CERT has seen changes in Australia’s rail labour market. “The attempt to align rail safety worker competence to national units of competence, in order to allow people to work in all states and all networks has been the biggest change in my fifteen years in the rail training industry,” Haigh said.

“Allowing rail workers to have portability in their skills gives them and their families the ability to move from project to project and have sustainable lifestyles. It also allows networks, contractors and employers in general access to competent staff who have experience and exposure to rail networks nationally.”

These changes have helped CERT grow into the business that it is today, having established training facilities and engaged trainers in all states of Australia.

“CERT has and will travel anywhere to support rail safety workers in gaining competence which in turn assists them in gaining employment.

Our demographic spread also mitigates costs

CERT’s aim is to enable anyone who wants to, to be capable of meeting the rail industry’s needs.

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WORKFORCE & TRAINING CERT has seen changes in Australia’s rail market.

to industry,” Haigh said.

Being capable of delivering its services in such an agile manner is another reason for the CERT’s success.

Uniquely placed as it is within the Australian rail landscape, and with sixteen years’ experience, CERT holds such a comprehensive repository of information about the rail industry, that it has become the first port of call for those who are confused by the lack of, or by the mixed, information available about the rail industry.

CERT staff field countless calls every week from people with questions as disparate as “how do I become a train driver” to “what medicals do I need?”

CERT has expertise is competency consultancy in terms of skills mapping, organisational training needs analysis, mentoring and work skills coaching.

The organisation now intends to leverage its unique place in the industry and the wealth of knowledge of its trainers to become a one-stop shop for all information related to the rail industry.

As such, CERT will soon be launching its new website answering these questions, from “RIW card – what is it and how do I get one?” to “what is rail infrastructure?”

CERT will share its in-depth knowledge of the industry, making the it as transparent as possible.

Its major goal in this is to help students navigate the rail industry, whether it results in or even relates to students choosing a CERT course or not.

Delivering effective training solutions remains CERT’s core business, however, especially in light of the Australasian Railway Association’s (ARA)

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predictions that Australia’s rail industry will struggle to cope as demand for labour peaks in the middle of the next decade and the workforce continues to age, during a time when the pipeline of rail infrastructure projects has never been bigger.

“Every state, every network in Australia is experiencing skills shortages. Investment in rail by all levels of government is high and the workforce is not keeping up with project demands. The rail industry has an ageing workforce and the investment in skills is required to ensure rail projects are sustainable,” Haigh said.

CERT’s aim is to enable anyone who wants to, to be capable of meeting the rail industry’s needs.

While the organisation tailors customised cost effective and industry compliant training packages for Australia’s biggest rail networks, it is also agile enough to cater to individual needs.

According to Haigh “CERT has a committed team of rail and vocational training experts dedicated to developing current and contextualised courseware to meet the needs of all rail projects nationally”.

“We are investing in the skills and currency of our trainers to ensure they can meet the demands of industry. We are not a labour hire company; we are training organisation that is committed to ensuring Australian rail safety workers have the skills to meet the needs of the rail industry for decades to come.

Quality, compliance, responsiveness and flexibility in our delivery methodologies are key strategies in our business,” Haigh said.

When Paul, who is hearing impaired, required training for a new job role in Western Australia,

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CERT catered the course to suit his needs. The difficulty of translating the theoretical components of the course through Auslan meant Paul required a very specific environment to be able to attain a successful outcome.

Paul worked with an Auslan interpreter over a course of months, rather than the usual one- or two-day courses, to translate the assessments and take extra time to slowly work through them, until Paul felt confident that he could complete the assessments.

Paul’s Employment Support Coordinator told CERT that “Paul’s self-esteem and morale has grown in leaps and bounds. From a business perspective, it’s another step in having a more flexible and can-do team which is good for everyone. CERT’s one-on-one training package delivered by Craig was certainly great value for money- thanks for making it happen.”

CERT has also partnered with another training solutions provider as part of a program designed to offer long-term unemployed and disadvantaged candidates the opportunity to complete workbased training and skills funded under the Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) initiative. This is provided over an 8-10 week period across regional Queensland where rail-based employment opportunities are available.

To keep as agile as possible, CERT is now in the process of changing its Student Management System.

The organisation says that is committed to investing in making the relevant changes to create a userfriendly, efficient and quick process to find and enrol in training courses. Once the transition is complete, there will be student and client portals available.

From a business aspect, this will allow an employer to login and select any student in the system that has that client name listed as their employer, select them by name and book them into a selected course. It will also allow the client and individual student to view their training history and certificates.

Haigh emphasises CERT’s commitment to tackling the ongoing issues facing the future of the rail industry.

“Skills shortages, an aging workforce and access to complaint, current and cost affective training solutions are real and ongoing issues for the rail industry,” he said.

“CERT has committed management, quality, training and administration teams that are conveniently situated nationally to assist rail safety workers and employers address these situations.

CERT is also part of the public company Engenco, whose board is very supportive of ensuring rail industry skills are supported and developed in order to enable future projects and generations.”

“

Allowing rail workers to have portability in their skills gives them and their families the ability to move from project to project and have sustainable lifestyles.

”

Streamlining railway operations Railway passengers are looking for a reliable and efficient journey experience.

Unified control rooms are the future for railway operations, allowing effective resource management, informed decision making and precise communication flows, improving safety and service continuity.

Together the Frequentis Operational Communication Manager (OCM) and Incident Crisis Management system www.frequentis.com

(ICM) support efficient day to day operations as well as prompt incident resolution. A common operational picture, faster communication and efficient workflows, are all aligned with the latest railway telecommunication standards.

With Frequentis technology operators are put back in the driving seat and customer satisfaction is improved.

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Committed to sustainability Hitachi is a fully integrated global provider of rail solutions across rollingstock, signalling, services and turnkey projects. With a presence in 27 countries, it believes its commitment to sustainability can make a difference.

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HE RAIL SECTOR IS INTIMATELY connected to everyday life, putting it in a unique position to offer solutions to societal issues, such as the challenges of population growth and urbanisation. The global population is forecast to grow to approximately 10.8 billion by 2080, placing pressure on transportation networks, and there are already more people living in urban areas than rural ones. As society seeks ways to ease congestion in high-density areas, metro trains, trams and monorails become increasingly attractive.

Connecting cities is an area in which Hitachi believes it can make a difference. Rail is an environmentally friendly alternative to car and air travel, producing 3-5 times less CO2 per passenger kilometre, and Hitachi is striving to develop more energy-efficient products and technologies, including electric and hybrid trains.

Technologies like autonomous drive will also create new opportunities. If people can buy tickets for the entire journey rather than the train, riding to and from the station by a driverless car, rail may see wider use even as it undergoes new transformations as part of the transport ecosystem.

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Hitachi faces challenges such as delays in production, reliability issues and not delivering on easing congestion, all of which have the potential to undermine operations. To tackle these risks, Hitachi is implementing efficient production facilities, effective project management, robust testing and commissioning, and stringent quality assurance and control. For example, the Dynamic Headway solution, which is now undergoing feasibility studies in Copenhagen, aims to monitor passenger numbers with sensors at stations and optimize the number of trains needed, automatically, to reduce station congestion and improve energy efficiency.

If the monitoring technology fails, neither of those goals would be achieved.

Innovation and sustainability are key in the rail industry, and the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) underpin much of Hitachi’s work.

At the same time transportation is a fundamental element in every city’s development as transport enhancements and improvements in connectivity let people enjoy wider opportunities and benefits.

Managing director at Hitachi Information Control Systems Europe, Tim Gray, stated

17 SDG Goals.

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“

The risks we face from such factors as climate change and a global population explosion have grown to unprecedented levels in recent years and are threatening the sustainability of our way of life.

RAM 3.0

”

al Twin Solution For Infrastructure “We are excited by the global opportunity the SDGs present and are committed to identifying opportunities to support clients and stakeholders in making progress towards their own commitments in this space. We are also keen to collaborate with our industry partners on areas such as Digital Twin to deliver benefit to our customers and society at large.”

One of Hitachi’s specialties is the delivery, support and maintenance of signalling control software for automatic route setting and high fidelity simulation for signaller training. In an increasingly digital world Hitachi says it is keen to develop strategic partnerships with organisations that can connect and add value for their clients via the delivery of complimentary solutions. Through a more collaborative development program, Hitachi will primarily address SDG 9.

Recently, Hitachi has been working on a digital twin solution with a partner organisation called Specialist Project Integration (SPI) to combine simulation and decision support tools. SPI are experts in information management and support their customers through major construction project delivery and with enterprise digital transformation. Their toolkit includes a range of BIM modelling solutions which complement our products and enhance the total solution.

Benefits of this collaboration include cost reduction through more accurate design processes, a unified asset database, which increases efficiency as options are modelled to prove operational benefits and, most importantly, safety, through more effective possession management during construction and whole life asset condition monitoring.

In it’s Corporate Commitment, Hitachi is focused on SDG4, as part of which they promote careers in engineering through sponsorship of the Women in Engineering Society and other graduate schemes.

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dessan REVEAL Railway Simulator and Data Analytics

d

V-RAM 3.0

Rai

The Digital Twin Solution For Infrastructure Hitachi’s Corporate Commitment has a secondary focus on SDG8 and 13. Contracts around the world increasingly require proof of sustainability, and this is something we are working on with suppliers and clients alike.

The Hitachi team will be attending AusRail in December and would like to meet with other organisations in the rail industry that share their philosophy and commitment to the SDGs and they will be seeking opportunities to collaborate on projects to deliver sustainable solutions.

Hitachi has been working on a digital twin solution with SPI.

If you would like to know more about HICSE’s products and services or would like to arrange a meeting please visit www.hitachi-infocon.com/ contacts/ If you would like to understand more about Hitachi’s commitment to sustainable development please visit: www.hitachi.com/sustainability/

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Keolis Downer is the leading multimodal transport operator in Australia. We are proud to partner with Governments and Transport Authorities to design, operate and maintain public transport and mobility services that are integrated and adapted to local needs.

With more than 4,000 employees and a presence in five states, Keolis Downer enables 250Â million passenger journeys per year. We operate and maintain the largest tram network in the world in Melbourne (Yarra Trams), the light rail network on the Gold Coast (G:link), and more than 1,200 buses in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Since 2017 we have also been operating the integrated transport network in Newcastle that includes regular bus services, On Demand transport, ferries and from 2019 the new light rail.

www.keolisdowner.com.au

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Smarter all the time: Local firm enhancing remote condition monitoring technologies As the rail industry trends towards more efficient operating practices, MRD Rail Technologies managing director, Rob Gersbach, sees no limit to the application of predictive asset maintenance technology throughout the rail corridor.

“I

N THE FUTURE, WE BELIEVE ALL major rail assets will be remotely monitored by condition monitoring systems,” MRD managing director Rob Gersbach tells Rail Express.

“These will be either built in by the manufacturers (smart) or implemented by third party integrations such as TrackSense. MRD are also working with points machine manufacturers to include TrackSense in their products.”

TrackSense is MRD’s predictive asset condition monitoring system. Relying on Australian-manufactured plug and play loggers designed to be robust, compact and affordable, TrackSense’s primary goal is to give meaning to data to allow the customer to make data driven maintenance decisions.

MRD has 30 years’ experience designing and manufacturing electronic equipment for the rail industry. Three years ago, it launched TrackSense to capitalise on this with a push into the growing space of predictive maintenance and condition monitoring.

Now, Gersbach explains, MRD is moving to ensure it can help customers apply predictive

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asset condition monitoring to improve each of its core maintenance tasks.

“We see all trackside location cabinets (LOCs) being transformed into ‘Smart LOCs’ containing remote condition monitoring systems capable of monitoring all assets within the LOC using one Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) Logger,” he said.

“Price has been a major barrier to achieving this in the past but this has rapidly changed due to competition and technology such as cloud hosting.

MRD has adopted this technology and is at the forefront of the movement towards affordable open platform RCM solutions.”

Gersbach says one of the key benefits of TrackSense for his customers is that it is open protocol. “Open protocol solutions will become the standard in RCM solutions as this gives the customer security, independence and the flexibility to shop around for the most competitive hosting solution and analytics package of their choice,” he said. “It also allows for easy integration with the customer’s Asset Maintenance System.”

This preference towards open protocol is also being driven by specialisation of analytics platforms from major computing vendors.

“We are also seeing the emergence of

Through the TrackSense system all assets within the LOC can be monitored remotely using one Remote Condition Monitoring Logger.

TrackSense loggers are manufactured in Australia.

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY sophisticated big data analytics packages by vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon to name a few,” Gersbach explained. “TrackSense provides API integration with these systems as standard which allows the customer to tap into the power of these systems including advanced machine learning and AI systems as they emerge.”

Since it was launched three years ago, TrackSense has grown to now collect data and measure various parameters of condition in thousands of railway assets across Australia and in international markets.

Product manager Yvie Hough says through a continued focus on listening to and communicating with customers, the TrackSense team hopes to refine its state-of-the-art approach, and help new and existing customers best take advantage of what it has to offer.

“The MRD team has been working closely with our customers to refine and improve our solution to provide a robust, easy to install system that is user friendly and provides valuable information to users,” Hough said.

Despite operational savings being a core benefit of condition monitoring and predictive maintenance systems, one major obstacle MRD has seen operators struggle to overcome is simply the cost of installing and maintaining a condition monitoring system, and the inflexibility of many common solutions available in the market.

“Some vendors charge exorbitant amounts for hardware and lock customers into fixed contracts,” Gersbach said. “The obvious downside to this is that should you decide to break ties with the vendor or they go out of business, you’re basically left with an expensive paperweight.”

Taking a different approach, the MRD loggers used in the TrackSense solution are not bound to that system. “Yes, we offer a local or cloud server option for accessing the data, but this is optional as our loggers are capable of stand-alone operation,” Gersbach explained. “Our loggers log, process and alarm directly from the device without the need for external servers or software.

“This gives the customer total ownership and control of their hardware and data.”

MRD has recently expanded monitoring capabilities of TrackSense through the addition of new sensors and communication protocols for its range of loggers. “This sets our customers up for future expansion,” Gersbach said. “They can start off monitoring points machines, then expand to monitoring track circuits, batteries, boom gates, earth leakage and more just by adding additional sensors.”

Another recent addition to the TrackSense offering is a mobile App, which literally puts key data in the operator’s hands, providing a convenient way to view asset performance both on and off site.

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A new App for mobile devices will put TrackSense data in the operator’s hands.

Auto-tuning One misconception Gersbach says he always aims to address is that a condition monitoring solution will provide maximum results from day one. “When implementing a condition monitoring solution it’s important to understand it’s not a set and forget solution. It requires operator training, tuning and data input from the user,” he said.

To address this, MRD has developed tried and tested workflows to help operators get started with condition monitoring. The TrackSense team will also work with the customer to refine that workflow to their individual needs.

“Our auto-tuning feature will get you up and running fast and our teach feature will keep the system performing optimally,” Gersbach added.

“We use shape recognition to identify anomalies, and KPIs are extracted from logged parameters and used to gauge an assets health and identify trends. All positive alerts and alarms are sent to the system’s fault library and fed back into the system to improve the systems performance. This library is also available for reference and training purposes.”

Critical to this is the use of machine learning to refine how data is analysed.

“The primary output of any condition monitoring system is data. Performing complex analysis of data collected from hundreds or thousands of sensors is a tedious and time-consuming activity, beyond the capabilities of human operators.”

By putting machine learning to work, Gersbach says TrackSense can help operators maximise the value of predictive maintenance while keeping costs down.

MRD designs and builds hardware, and develops its software and applications locally in Australia.

Along with TrackSense, the company also provides EarthSense, a solution for detecting earth leakage; and RelaySense, a solution to test the condition of relays.

Contact: TrackSense.com.au

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Innovative train detection solutions Frauscher Sensor Technology’s innovative new wheel sensors can withstand extreme conditions.

T

HE AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY MARKET has a growing demand for innovative solutions that support them in dealing with increasing requirements. These range from challenging environmental conditions and rising train density on track to the implementation of new technologies and possibilities. At this year’s AusRail PLUS, Frauscher Sensor Technology will present a selection of its products and latest innovations that enable the development of appropriate solutions.

Covering global requirements at one place Travelling throughout Australia as a passenger gives you the possibility to experience tropical climate or deserts – as well as snowstorms and heavy rain falls.

As inductive wheel sensors mark the state of the art in terms of reliable train detection, they have to maintain maximum availability under all of these conditions. Frauscher has installed a global base of approximately 200,000 wheel sensors – which have proven their appropriate capabilities on all continents. Based on their robust design, their

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functionality is not affected by extreme temperatures, moisture or even floods, mechanical impacts or electromagnetic interference. Additionally, the possibility of mounting these sensors using a rail claw allows for quick installation without drilling – and weakening – the rail.

Flexible evaluation for individual requirements The establishment of inductive wheel sensors in different regions and railway segments around the globe means that new areas of use are constantly being discovered. Due to its open, analogue interface, the Frauscher Wheel Sensor RSR110 can be easily and quickly integrated into any infrastructure.

Evaluation of the sensor signal can be realised by the system integrator or operator themselves.

“This allows for the economic realisation of wheel detection-based applications, such as weighing, lubrication, imaging and others in different areas, for example depots or yards. To provide support if required, Frauscher has developed a Wheel Signal Converter WSC, which converts the analogue signal

Frauscher Wheel Sensor RSR110 can be easily and quickly integrated into any infrastructure.

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The Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdC provides flexible interfaces and high modularity.

“

into a digital signal and creates the corresponding interface”, Lee Walker, technical support manager at Frauscher Australia said.

Proven axle counter Other Frauscher wheel sensors, such as the RSR180, come in combination with evaluation boards, forming full SIL4 wheel detection systems and axle counters. The Frauscher Advanced Counter (FAdC) provides flexible interfaces and high modularity. It allows for individual solutions to be developed in close collaboration with the customer according

to project specific requirements. Additionally, innovative functionalities, such as Supervisor Track Sections STS and Counting Head Control CHC can increase the system’s availability even when unavoidable external influences occur.

“Connection to a high-performance electronic interlocking is possible both via a customer-specific interface and the freely available Frauscher Safe Ethernet FSE protocol. On that base, centralised architectures and decentralised architectures can be realised, as can a mixture of both. The Frauscher Diagnostic System FDS provides diagnostic data via remote access – which is extremely beneficial for widespread systems. We have realised several projects using the FAdC throughout Australia.

We look forward to seizing the opportunity at this year’s AusRail to meet known customers and new interested experts to discuss their experiences and requirements – and how we can support them in meeting them in future”, Walker said.

New intelligent sensors As a highlight, Frauscher will present their new SENSiS system. “We presented SENSiS for the first time at InnoTrans 2018 and were overwhelmed by the great interest and positive feedback. With a newly developed sensor, which works as an intelligent device on the track, this system sets new standards. The evaluation of the sensor signal takes place in the sensor – i.e. directly on the rail.

Using a dedicated bus system, digitised data is transferred directly from the SENSiS Detection Point SDP to the SENSiS Processing Unit SPU in the indoor location. The possibility of building ring architectures enables immense savings by reducing the cabling required. In addition, the sensor is able to collect information on temperature and vibration. In the overall package, this system opens up completely new possibilities and represents the latest generation of track vacancy detection against the backdrop of an increasing digitalisation of the railway industry”, Walker said.

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We presented SENSiS for the first time at InnoTrans 2018 and were overwhelmed by the great interest and positive feedback.

With a newly developed sensor, which works as an intelligent device on the track, this system sets new standards.

”

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Boosting service intervals for traction motors SKF tells Rail Express about how the latest methods of bearing protection, including insulating coatings, hybrid bearings and sealed bearing units, can help extend maintenance intervals for traction motors in the rail sector.

I

N MODERN RAIL INDUSTRY traction engines, AC motors have almost completely replaced DC motors as they present several advantages, including higher efficiency, reduced wear, less maintenance and greater power density.

That’s not to say they are problemfree, however. One consequence of using AC motors typically in combination with frequency converters is an increased risk of stray, high frequency currents. These can cause surface erosion of bearings, leading to potential failure. This then requires more frequent servicing – which undermines the original efficiency gains.

SKF Australia’s general manager rail, Anthony Clack, says the company aims to provide a range of solutions to help designers and users of traction motors extend maintenance intervals and boost efficiency. He says all solutions rely on SKF’s proven ability to protect bearings – to various degrees – from the conditions within AC motors.

Hybrid approach The most important technology is hybrid bearings, in which the steel rolling elements are replaced with ones made of ceramics. This material provides very high current insulation, so is resistant to the “damaging” effects of AC motors.

“Hybrid bearings have the high resistance and low capacitance needed to withstand these conditions,” Clack said.

Some of the advantages of running these bearings include: high wear resistance; lower

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Hybrid CRB and DGBB - bearing solution for extreme railway application conditions.

BOTTOM LEFT: Insocoat - prevent electrical erosion and increase the reliability of railway bearings.

friction; higher speed capabilities; and no cold welding effects under poor lubrication or low load conditions. However, one main attribute of hybrid bearings is that they run cooler than conventional bearings, thanks to their lower friction. This has a profound effect on bearing life because it ensures that lubricant lasts longer.

“For grease-lubricated bearings – which are used in almost all traction motors – the maintenance interval is usually determined by the grease life. This is mainly affected by contamination, mechanical stressing and temperature,” Clack said.

A temperature rise of just a few degrees can have a huge effect – while a 15°C rise in bearing temperature will cut grease life in approximately half. At the same time, the insulative nature of ceramics ensures there is no electrical “burning” of the grease.

In this way, adopting hybrid bearings can help to more than double the grease life – with a subsequent extension of the maintenance interval.

Yet, despite their many advantages, hybrid bearings have traditionally been considered unaffordable for general applications.

However, recent manufacturing advances have helped to bring the price of hybrid bearings closer to that of standard bearings.

“For smaller bearings, it has been possible to reduce the price gap significantly – though large hybrid bearings are still more expensive than their standard equivalents. Taking lifecycle cost into account – rather than

simply purchase cost – makes hybrid bearings even more attractive,” Clack explained.

An added advantage is that hybrid bearings can be swapped directly for their standard equivalents, as a direct retrofit replacement.

Insulated coating Hybrid solutions – particularly the hybrid TMBU – will guarantee the longest possible extension of maintenance interval. However, Clack says not all applications require such an extension – and not all budgets will stretch far enough.

A more basic solution is to use specially treated Insocoat bearings – which are standard steel bearings with an insulated coating that gives a degree of resistance against stray electric currents. Insocoat bearings are useful for designers who are not yet ready to make the switch to hybrid bearings due to missing experience with ceramic materials.

They can also be incorporated into a TMBU arrangement.

SKF is currently expanding the capabilities of its Insocoat products. Last year, for instance, it launched a new product that works more effectively in humid conditions – making it highly appropriate for rail applications in certain regions. In addition, SKF will increase coating thickness on Insocoat bearings, to improve their effectiveness.

Find out more by visiting SKF Australia at AusRAIL PLUS, at Stand 286.

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

New display systems designed for versatility, scalability Australian technology company, tm stagetec systems, will debut its new range of passenger information display technology at AusRAIL PLUS 2019.

A

S PATRONAGE INCREASES steadily on rail networks across the region, passenger information systems are more important than ever for efficiency and safety.

Beyond their most common purpose – providing service information – digital displays and public address (PA) systems are being used more often on the concourse and the platform for safety, to manage the flow of commuters, and to provide additional revenue through dynamic advertising. tm stagetec systems (TMS) general manager, Mark Lownds, tells Rail Express the increasingly varied use of digital displays and PA systems in stations has driven a focus on improved integration and scalability of these systems for TMS’s customers.

“Service information, wayfinding, advertising capabilities – our passenger information displays and digital PA system has all of that integrated by default,” Lownds explained.

Lownds says TMS’s new Smart pi Eye range, making its debut at AusRAIL PLUS, provides a single, scalable and integrated platform for all uses of digital displays in the rail environment.

“These days every system needs to be integrated with every other system, and if you need to make a change, you want to be able to do it all in one place across all the systems,” he explained.

“That’s why our Smart pi Eye series of products is designed to be able to encompass everything from the passenger information display side of things – one digital signage platform for advertising, passenger information, maps, and so on.”

“

Service information, wayfinding, advertising capabilities – our passenger information displays and digital PA system has all of that integrated by default.

”

TMS’s revised Network Amplifier Module.

Facilitating this multi-use platform is a web-based content management system (CMS), which provides all global administration controls for both digital displays and PA systems across an operation. Under Smart pi Eye, multiple sizes and types of displays can be managed through the use of templates, which configure to suit size and purpose. This allows CMS administrators to select the display type which can then automatically render the information in the correct format.

Lownds says the web-based approach works across all platforms and updates more easily. “We’ve moved away from having an application installed on the user’s device,” he explained. “When you need to run an update – especially on large operations – you’re not relying on hundreds or thousands of devices to have their application updated. With a web-based platform, once the central server or servers are updated, everything is up to date.”

The use of node servers 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.

This idea of scalability has always been a focus for tm stagetec. “Our philosophy is that everything we provide has to be modular, so you can use the whole solution for all of your needs, or just certain parts of it for what you’d like to,” Lownds said.

TMS’s AusRAIL stand will showcase a revised range of the company’s digital PA Network Amplifier Modules (NAMs) for both indoor and outdoor applications. The new modules are capable of extra signal processing and can play out from themselves, and the range has been expanded with a high power version, making it possible to use as a hearing loop amplifier.

“We conduct a lot of testing – particularly in harsh Australian environments – with the aim of making the individual pieces of hardware as reliable and maintenance-free as possible. We use passive cooling and heatsinking rather than fans, for example, in our outdoor devices.”

Lownds and other TMS experts will also be on hand at AusRAIL PLUS to discuss the company’s experience with digital PA systems, tailored to the transport and infrastructure industries.

Visit tm stagetec systems at AusRAIL at Stand 46.

www.railexpress.com.au

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Synthetic sleepers going strong 39 years on Synthetic sleeper manufacturer, Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. is bringing a sleeper recently extracted from service after 30 years to AusRAIL to show visitors how well the company’s polymer technology has held up.

A

S RAIL NETWORKS HAVE GROWN in Australia and New Zealand, the sector has become more focused on not only the capital cost, but also the ongoing cost of maintaining its fixed assets.

This is the trend targeted by Sekisui with its Fiber reinforced Foamed Urethane (FFU) sleeper. The company’s marketing manager for Asia Pacific and the Americas Masaki Hayashi says the sleepers are workable like wood, but last significantly longer.

“The difference between timber and FFU is that FFU has longevity,” Hayashi said. “FFU doesn’t rot like timber, and it comes with uniform quality. When you work with timber, it’s very difficult to obtain uniform quality over a large batch.”

A follow-up survey of FFU synthetic sleepers after 30 years in service, conducted in 2011 by Railway Technical Research Institute (Japan), suggested the expected life of an FFU sleeper is around 50 years.

Sekisui will have one example of an FFU sleeper with 30 years of service logged at AusRAIL PLUS. Next year the company plans to pluck another from the field, to testing after 40 years of service.

“While timber might last that long under specific circumstances, it will depend a lot on the environment and the usage,” Hayashi said.

The primary benefit of this longevity is the elimination of costs associated with reinstalling timber sleepers over the long term.

“Installation costs including labour, track equipment and safety measures costs are generally higher than material costs, so with a lifecycle cost of 50 years without replacement, FFU works out much better than natural timber in many applications,” Hayashi explains. “A natural not protected timber sleeper in some environments may have to be replaced up to

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seven times during the lifetime of a FFU sleeper.”

The core design feature of an FFU sleeper is its collection of continuous glass fibres which run from one end to another. These fibres reinforce the thermosetting resin foam comprised of rigid urethane resin, which is poured over the glass fibres and then sets during the manufacturing process.

The benefit of using FFU is to enjoy both the features of natural wooden sleepers and those of plastics. The FFU sleepers are a similar weight to natural lumber. Bending strength is stronger than natural lumber, and maintains this strength for a long period FFU manufacturing process means sleepers can be fabricated to a specific height, width, and length.

Shinkansen platform at Osaka station.

Bridge in Queensland.

You can visit Sekisui at AusRAIL PLUS at Delkor Rail’s stand, Stand 190.

Contact: contact@sekisui-rail.com Web: www.sekisui-rail.com

Caption right

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Time-saving tech boosts OHW maintenance efficiency Australian-owned electro-technology company Australian Rail Technology has developed a significantly more efficient way to isolate overhead traction supply.

T

IME DELAYS ON RAIL NETWORKS have become a major issue for politicians and a source of ongoing frustration for commuters. One contributing factor is the technical challenge of isolating a set of complex systems that make up a rail network.

The problem: complexity, safety, time Most in the industry know that a modern electrified railway possesses a complex electrical distribution network consisting of multiple substations, protection and isolation devices, overhead wiring (OHW) and sometimes problematic sections and zones when it comes time to isolate them.

The complexity of such systems and high-consequence nature of electrical work can make the maintenance and repair of equipment a time-consuming task.

It is particularly problematic when an unplanned event occurs, impacting revenue service, and when overhead lines may be dragged down and potentially into contact with rollingstocks, other rail assets, or people.

“Currently the procedures for isolation and earthing of the OHW requires a switching crew to be deployed to the section isolators to isolate the section from the substation,” Australian Rail Technology (ART) national sales manager Darren Will tells Rail Express.

“The work crews must then add additional rail connections from the OHW to the rail to short-out the section in the event of a fault. Only after both of these operations have been completed can a work permit be issued.”

This process can take several hours, and once work is complete must then be performed in reverse in order to re-energise the OHW. In an era when operators are trying to send their network uptime up, and maintenance budgets down, crews are already contending with shorter maintenance windows and less staff to perform the works, and a lower tolerance for mistakes.

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“Current procedures involve manually switching the isolator(s) and grounding or shorting the overhead to rail. Safety lockouts, including interlocking keys, prevent the inadvertent re-energising of the system. This method relies on the switch operator travelling to the switch location to isolate the supply, visually checking the isolator has successfully moved into the correct position and that the manual gate is locked in the correct position.”

Not only are both procedures timeconsuming, but physically travelling to those isolation locations can be problematic and in some instances dangerous for maintenance staff. “Then there’s tunnels...”

Will adds warily.

ART’s Remote Isolation System Taking a pragmatic approach to developing a better solution for this complex issue, ART has invested time and resources in developing a motorised isolator system which is modular, compact and readily fitted to existing infrastructure. It removes the need to replace existing isolators and earthing switches, while providing core functionality and elements to support safety rating of the entire system.

A modular solution such as the ART Remote Isolation (RI) solution means flexibility in meeting different requirements as well as allowing component

ART’s Remote Isolation solution.

approvals to be reused between different applications. The ART RI system contains a safety PLC allowing for flexibility of integration, and future proofing for unique system installations.

“The system not only provides a much faster time to isolation – improving operational efficiency – but assures a much higher level of safety by removing human error that currently exists with visual inspection requirements.”

The remote isolation ability can be staged through an initial implementation of remote switching which is then fully compatible with future remote isolation functionality enablement.

“For operators, maintainers, constructors and asset owners, ART is ready to supply your remote isolation needs,” Will concludes. “With a bolt-on ready product and engineering expertise to achieve integration with appropriate SIL ratings, save yourself the time of development and utilise and Australian-developed, adaptable, configurable and safe system for your AC and DC traction supplies.”

Visit ART at AusRAIL at Stand 160.

Contact: ar-tech.com.au

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

How to tackle Australia’s infrastructure pipeline Omada, Gioconda and Ketech are sharing a stand at AusRAIL Plus this year, showcasing the services and technological solutions they say will have a positive impact.

T

O TACKLE THE IMPENDING onslaught of work the infrastructure pipeline will engender for the rail industry, a growing number of companies in the space are joining forces.

Omada Rail Systems has a strong awareness of the business and economic fundamentals of successful rail projects and a firm appreciation of business operational requirements.

About joining forces with Gioconda and Ketech to bring their respective ranges of innovative solutions into the Australian market, Mark Hadfield, director of Omada said, “I am extremely excited by our new partnerships with Ketech and Gioconda.

This is an incredible opportunity for both companies to expand into the Australian market. Likewise, I am confident that Omada will also benefit significantly from these partnerships to fulfil our ambitions of expansion into the UK.” Being founded in 2016 and specialising in a range of signalling, telecommunications management and engineering services for the rail industry, Omada is a new player in the systems management space.

Their strong in-house capabilities and engineering focus, enables them to work across the life of a project, including the planning, design, test, commissioning and management stages. According to Omada, (which is the Greek word meaning “team”), they boast over 300 years of combined experience in rail signalling and telecommunications.

“With our highly trained and experienced engineers and world-class technologies, we are able to apply effective solutions to a wide variety of technical challenges. We provide our clients with innovative and excellent service, and apply knowledge and expertise across technically advanced, purpose built signalling and communication systems,” Hadfield said, speaking to Rail Express.

“Our many years of experience in managing and engineering safety critical systems has cemented safety as a fundamental principle in all our working practices.”

The company also says that its credo is to provide value for money services to the Australian rail market and, when designing their solutions, focussing on getting the

basics right – identifying and understanding the requirements of any project, having a collaborative relationship with their clients and implementing stringent planning for high quality project delivery.

Both Gioconda and Ketech are well established within the UK rail industry, with Ketech being a leader of innovative technology, and Gioconda being the leading provider of desktop-based signal sighting and driver briefing packages. “Omada has the resources to support the introduction of their products into the Australian market.

We consider that this technology will bring significant benefits to the Australian rail industry.”

Omada and Gioconda will also trade together as GioMada, through which they are looking to add efficiency to signal sighting, asset management and driver briefing activities.

Gioconda has previously worked with Metro Trains Melbourne and is looking forward to further collaboration in the near future as GioMada, while Ketech is a newcomer to the Australian market.

The Omada team has over 300 years of combined experience within rail signalling and telecommunications.

www.railexpress.com.au

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Experience the Progress.

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The two-way excavator A 922 Rail Litronic from Liebherr Ultimate cost-efficiency due to future-oriented technologies Sophisticated machine concept for maximum productivity Quality components made by Liebherr Ergonomic and well-appointed operator’s cab for maximum operator comfort and consistently high performance

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

The latest in next gen communications solutions In the era of exponential population growth increasing congestion, railway emergency management systems and overall rail communication networks need to work smarter to enable on-time train services.

W

ITH RAIL PASSENGER numbers growing globally, resolving incidents quickly is crucial to guaranteeing on time services.

Rail passenger numbers in Sydney are set to double by 2024. To prepare, Sydney Trains decided to undergo modernisation in order to enable more efficient response times and keep passengers moving. So the operator set itself on a path to centralising 14 control centres into one streamlined Rail Operations Centre (ROC). This signalled a move away from individual controllers at local train stations to bigger control centres.

Operators at the Sydney Trains ROC deployed Frequentis’ Incident and Crisis Management (ICM) solution in late 2018 to support the move and enhance incident resolution. The ICM is a railway emergency management system (REM) enabling workflow-based incident management, a common operational picture and mobile collaboration.

It uses a resolution workflow based on the time, location and classification of the occurrence to instantly identify and connect internal and external stakeholders, whilst also logging every activity to satisfy legal requirements. The cost-effective tool can be deployed within a short timeframe.

“Being able to respond and recover from incidents faster will ensure that we can cater for the projected capacity increases and meet the customer demand of the future,” ROC program director, Geoff Howard, said.

Frequentis Australasia head of delivery, Ruth Trojan explained how the ICM works: “The ICM guides the user through the necessary steps to be performed in an incident situation, depending on the type of the incident and stakeholders involved in resolving it. The ICM solution tool enables different groups to work on the same incident together, adding and editing information simultaneously. Furthermore, the ICM mobile application gives staff at stations and on trains real-time information about what´s happening.”

“All these features and functions speed up the workflow and lead to less errors. The ICM also documents all steps undertaken

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during incident resolution for post-incident and safety analysis.”

The REM has been in use in Sydney Trains ROC since December 2018, with the mobile application and web portal deployed to Sydney Trains Customer Service teams by June 2019.

“A step-by-step modernisation of Sydney’s rail network has incorporated many different operational functions and systems into a single location, including implementing the ICM from Frequentis,” Howard, said.

“Senior executives praise the efficiencies the Frequentis solution brings to their incident management and operators comment that they “don’t need their notepads any longer’.”

The benefits of this are plentiful, but when streamlining multiple operation centres, an initial concern is often the loss of local knowledge. Frequentis says, however, that their ICM solution ensures that this is not the case.

It does this by capturing information centrally, including contact numbers for local contractors and emergency services. Based on the underlying responsibility model, staff have all the information relevant for a specific location available and can record, manage and access incidents efficiently and safely from a mobile device, web portal or desktop client.

“All our products increase the safety of rail operations because they support the user in his decision making and in his communication in “normal” operation as well as in incident situations,” Frequentis AG head of public transport solutions, Markus Myslivec, said.

“Our products follow a clear roadmap, driven by customer needs and standardisation and in addition, they have a rich feature set, tailored to customer needs.”

Another Frequentis solution tailored for the new era of control centres is their operations communications manager (OCM) which unifies communications within a single AudioHub media-device with a longlasting life cycle.

When asked about the future of railway communications and the move to the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), Myslivec said, “Frequentis has already evolved its fixed terminal system for rail voice communication, FTS 3020, to become a multi-bearer solution, meaning that

The Frequentis ICM enables workflow-based incident resolution.

it allows communication over not only GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railways), but also TETRA and LTE, therefore providing a Bearer Independent Communication (BIC) solution and unifying operator experience at the same time. It is a web-based smart terminal, the Operations Communication Manager (OCM) provides a flexible, easy to configure and rapid to deploy human machine interface (HMI).

“The FTS/OCM are the “sixth sense of the operator”, they ensure highly-reliable communication and information functions to support the operator in his decision and communication process in his daily business.”

As the FRMCS starts to develop as the successor to GSM-R, it becomes important for railway network operators to take advantage of alternative bearers. The Frequentis FTS/ OCM solution will provide railway Mission Critical Services to mobile and fixed line users via one single system with one single core network but various access networks. The clear separation of applications – services – transport follows a bearer independent communication approach and will lead to easier migration from existing systems and easier integration of legacy and new applications.

Several benefits come with FRMCS, for example: the usage of standardised interfaces ensures interoperability. As FRMCS will most likely be based on 5G technologies and architecture, it will also bring broadband communication to allow, for example, live video feeds during an incident situation, subject to the availability of appropriate spectrum.

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KLP® Hybrid Polymer Sleepers

Sustainable Polymer Railway Solutions ■ Design life of 50 years ■ Low Life Cycle Costs ■ High strength & low thermal expansion due to steel reinforcement ■ Excellent damping due to highly ductile polymers ■ Sound & vibration reduction ■ 100% recycled & 100% recyclable ■ No glass fiber dust emission during drilling ■ Machinable and installable like timber Official Service Partner: Link Asia Pacific (LinkAP)

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Pieter-Jan van Driel M +61(0) 400 623 240 E pieter-jan@linkap.com.au

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Improving heavy machinery through simulation Plasser & Theurer tells Rail Express how its research and development team is embracing the future of track construction and maintenance.

S

INCE 1953, PLASSER & THEURER has supplied more than 16,300 heavy duty machines for installing, renewing and maintaining rail tracks and overhead lines around the world. Despite this long and successful history, the company has emphasised a focus on new technologies with its research and development team.

One example of this, is the Hardware in the Loop (HIL) simulation method, which Plasser & Theurer has used for over a year. The method allows the manufacturer to test and optimise the function of machine control units as soon as design is completed and – crucially – before the machine is built.

The HIL method simulates the actual environment of a component by digital means. The result is reduced costs: laborious test and development assemblies can be constructed in a virtual environment, saving time and allowing for testing at any stage, irrespective of the production progress.

Plasser & Theurer HIL expert, Harald Daxberger, said another major benefit of the method is enhancing overall quality of the machine, thanks to the fact testing can be used directly to improve the design.

“In our case, it is always a specific machine we model,” Daxberger explained. “This simulation is then used to connect the actual control device to test functioning.”

At present, Plasser & Theurer primarily applies this procedure to testing machine controllers. The major advantage is testing can begin directly after completion of design and software development rather than during commissioning of the machine, leaving enough time to optimise the configuration of functions. Commissioning then becomes more efficient as system issues can be identified and resolved early on.

Another strength of the HIL method is proving proper functioning of a machine before completion.

Daxberger says this is particularly helpful when building large customised machines and has already been used in one specific case.

In one case, the purchaser of a track renewal and ballast cleaning machine wanted to know whether the automatic system provided to prevent overfilling of the ballast hoppers would work flawlessly. To achieve this, Plasser & Theurer set up a model simulating the ballast flows and the interaction of the conveyors.

This model was connected to the actual control unit which regulates both the speed of conveyors and their position. With the help of this test arrangement, the Plasser & Theurer team was able to prove that the automatic system would work as intended.

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Daxberger says the HIL method can be used for more than just optimising control units. “It is certainly feasible that we can use this tool for remedying any faults in operation,” he said. “For this purpose, we would simulate the entire situation including its environment on the computer and therefore not need to go to the construction site.”

To find out out more of Plasser & Theurer’s research and development work, visit research.plasser theurer.com

For a large machine up to 200 metres in length, up to 25 conveyor belts need to interact smoothly.

Plasser & Theurer HIL expert Harald Daxberger.

Visit Plasser Australia at AusRAIL at Stand 345.

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Why quality rollingstock components matter Ross Equipment is an Australian owned and operated supplier of polymer wear components which, Matt Ross tells Rail Express, significantly extend the life of rollingstock due to the high quality Rostuf branded materials.

R

OSS EQUIPMENT HIGH QUALITY rollingstock keeps trains moving. To this end, quality, durable, wear resistant and reliable materials are necessary.

Polymer materials are often chosen across a range of different applications for their specific properties such as low weight and wear, high toughness and elasticity with an additional damping effect. The moulding process also allows the production of complex shapes that cannot be produced efficiently by traditional machining methods.

Ross Equipment manager, Matt Ross, said not only does Ross Equipment produce polymer wear components of the highest quality, the company’s innovative components produced with cutting edge technology significantly extend the life cycle of rollingstock – meaning less costly replacements and less frequent down time of rolling stock.

Ross Equipment is a one-stop shop for the design, manufacture and supply of polymer components for rolling stock, including: bogies, locomotives, wagons, passenger cars, trams, and track vehicles. Their Rostuf range is trade-marked.

“Rostuf has, for over 40 years, enabled rail operators to continually experience extended service life on their rail vehicles due to the unique methods Ross Equipment Australia undertake to produce high quality polymer compounds. Parts are supplied either as an OEM product or superior replacement items”.

Rostuf B is used extensively where high impact resistance is required. Alternatively, Rostuf G is offered where a lower coefficient of friction could be advantageous in certain applications. After extensive research and development Rosflex has been incorporated into an innovative new design for Spring Block used in constant contact side bearers.

Rostuf unique polymer wear components have significantly minimised wheel flange wear on bogie vehicles throughout the rail industry.

In conjunction with rail engineers, the company is addressing noise reduction on rail vehicles by incorporating new polymers into rolling stock.

“Ross Equipment’s Australian clients who have implemented Rostuf technical components into the fleet of rail vehicles over the past 40 years, have commented on the major improvements to their railcar performance over both short- and long-term periods.”

The company’s in-house capabilities enable it to also supply bespoke products tailored to clients’

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Matt Ross, Ross equipment manager, at AusRAIL.

specifications. “The fact that we’re Australian made and Australian owned enables our company to meet customers request on a short turnaround basis, whether it be for the design of a new rail product or any other requirement, our company will be there to meet their request,” Matt Ross said.

The reputation Ross Equipment has gained in the rail industry both nationally and internationally, is a testament to the extremely high quality of the products and services it offers.

“These innovative new products are now been recognised globally as our company strive to lead the way into the future of rail worldwide.”

With the trend towards the reduction of suppliers within the rail industry, Ross Equipment is also the best choice for attaining rail components all from the one supplier, with its quality innovative materials and significant in-house capabilities. This allows rail operators to plan scheduled work in advance knowing all items required will be delivered on or before the required delivery lead time, thus significantly improving their efficiency.

Matt Ross said that, rail safety is a major concern in today’s rail industry in light of the occurrence of many preventable injuries due to traditional work methods being implemented.

“Ross Equipment have listened to the concerns of rail operators and responded by developing an extensive range of rail safety components which have not only minimised the risk of an accident in the field but also greatly improved the efficiency of the rail operations undertaken.”

For many years, Rostuf has enabled rail operators to continually experience extended service life on their rail vehicles.

You can visit Ross Equipment at AusRAIL PLUS Stand 185.

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Rollingstock communications systems in the new digital era How Lantech Communications Global’s sub-communication systems offerings are resolving long held challenges for the rail industry.

D

EVICES IN RAIL environments must operate in harsh conditions, and survive severe air pollution, vibration, shock, input voltage ripple and surge.

At the same time, operators are increasingly demanding more sustainable and costefficient solutions to connect all rollingstock sub-communications systems. These include train control and monitoring systems, digital displays and other passenger information systems, CCTV cameras, PA systems, and the passenger Wi-Fi systems that are increasingly becoming a necessity.

Lantech Communications Australia, a joint venture partner of Lantech Global based in Taiwan, provides the networking (switch and router) infrastructure for these subcommunications systems. Lantech’s EN50155 switches solutions are adopted on rollingstock across the world, including the Sydney and Melbourne Metros, as well as the metro in Barcelona, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Helsinki, German operator Deutsche Bahn’s networks and France SNCF rolling stock.

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While current conventional train communication networks (TCN) are facing several challenges to improving services, Lantech Communications sales VP, Amanda Lee, tells Rail Express that Lantech is overcoming these.

For example, one of the reasons Lantech’s solution for the Melbourne Metro was chosen over its competitors, according to Lee, is because of Lantech’s superior high frequency power conversion circuits that allow for DC-DC conversion into regulated 54VDC voltages inside the switches themselves for Power over Ethernet (PoE) operation.

“The systems integrators wanted to use our switches, as all these devices are IP based and digitalised, they wanted the switches not only to be able to provide the data communications, but to also have the PoE functionality, which eliminates the need to have additional power for each

16 10/100/1000T + 4 10G Copper + 2 10G Q-ODC OM3 Fiber with 8/10/12/16 PoE, EN50155 Managed Ethernet Switch.

EN50155 Multifunction VPN Router with 1 WiFi 11ac + 1 LTE 4G + 2 serial ports + 6 Gigabit X-coded Ethernet switch (incl. 4 PoE ports).

RAIL EXPRESS | ISSUE 9 2019

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY EN50155 Multifunction VPN Router with 1 Wi-Fi 11ac + 1 LTE 4G + 2 serial ports + 2 Gigabit X-coded Ethernet switch (incl. 1 PD port).

16 10/100/1000T + 6 10G Copper with 8/10/12/16 PoE, EN50155 Managed Ethernet Switch.

device, which is more convenient” Lee said.

“Not only do our switches provide the PoE functionality, but Lantech is capable of providing wide range DC-DC conversion technology inside the switches, so we’re able to handle the direct input power. For example, for 24 volts or 110 volts or 72 volts, the switch can boost or step down within the switch system to feed the power over the ethernet and comply with the PoE 802.3at standard.

“Because we can handle the DC-DC conversion and can make it in smaller housing and with much better support, our customers choose us over our competitors. In a train if you need DC-DC conversion which has an IP-54 house rating, which is very costly. We are able to provide it, and this is why our customers choose Lantech.”

Part of the reason for the advanced capabilities of their offerings, aside from inhouse expertise, is that Lantech is extremely flexible said Lee. “Competitors who may build their protocols based on third party solutions have trouble adapting to project requirements in short time. Whether it’s in Australia or Europe, Asia, requirements for networking infrastructure differ from project to project. Lantech is able to adapt and customise those features to requirements. This is because our switches are fuelled by the Linux platforms.”

Since Lantech began supplying to the rail industry, seven years ago, Lee says they have noticed the industry’s requirements for more ruggedised, more sustainable offerings in hardware as well as software, get tougher.

“Some projects require an inrush current limit to deal with sparks which may harm the switch. That kind of limit can be dealt with a circuit breaker, however, the long-term inrush

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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS

current could also shorten the switch lifespan.”

“Also, because PoE is transmitted by a copper wire, and when you transmit power with copper a surge or EFT can easily be conducted to the copper wire and cause damage to the switch and router system, you need to have some kind of isolation to prevent from happening. We’ve designed all our offerings to be more complicated so that they’re able to effectively fix all the problems encountered with rolling stock network infrastructure.”

Another scope Lantech has developed within the rail train application is an IEEE 61375-2-5 & -3-4 protocol switch able to be used in train control monitoring systems.

Other challenges Lee says Lantech is overcoming are those presented by the impending uptake of 5G networks which will need to be capable of 10G – referring to internet speeds of 10 gigabits per second.

Vendors looking to develop the 10G uplink switches are faced with different challenges.

“We are a leader in this kind of solution because we have the most selection in this range. There are very few competitors who offer these 10G uplink switches for on board trains, because you have to put the DC-DC conversion inside the switches and you need to resolve the problem of heat dissipation, Because 10G is so fast, the heat generated is a lot higher, so its very easy to overheat.”

Lee says that Lantech is in a leading position in providing the technology to enable these speeds right now and are receiving enquiries to provide solutions for European projects.

“They want to have sustainable communication systems, future-proofed for the next 20 years down the line, this is what they’re looking for right now. With 5G coming, a lot of devices will need higher bandwidth, so we’re in a leading position with regards to providing these solutions right now,” she said.

The company is undergoing an exciting period, aside from being in a leading position with its offerings, Lantech will soon be launching a new series of routers which integrate a lot of the functionality that covers PoE, LTE, Wi-Fi, VPN, managing switches functions, and mobus gateway.

“We come from a background of switches, so that’s where we have some of the most interesting product ranges for new solutions,” Lee said.

Within these router solutions, Lantech is always adding more and more protocols. One of the latest developments they are adding are Wi-Fi mesh for train applications, allowing faster speeds, smoother reliability and greater wireless coverage.

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Light Rail 2020 4 – 5 March 2020 | Hyatt Hotel Canberra

TOPICS WILL INCLUDE: – Project updates – Finance, procurement and funding options – Planning, design, delivery and asset management – Customer engagement and experience: Ensuring passengers feel safe, confident, empowered and informed – Data and disruption – Signalling, communications, control systems and integration – Meeting future passenger, traffic and network capacity needs – Emerging technologies and designing the next generation of trams HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2020 INCLUDED: – Great networking opportunities and the dinner was excellent Transdev Auckland – Learning about the new light rail projects recently delivered or about to be delivered throughout Australia, especially learning about the shared lessons and similar experiences Bombardier – Great people with great experience presenting PTV PLATINUM SPONSOR

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SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITIONS The ARA Light Rail conference offers a unique platform to profile your company as a leader in your field to key decision-makers for the Light Rail industry.

Over 200 delegates attended Light Rail 2019 in Melbourne, including senior representatives from Government, suppliers, operators, manufacturers and contractors.

Please Sarah Ingram at Sarah.Ingram@informa.com for a copy of the Sponsorship & Exhibition Prospectus or call +61 403 530 043.

LANYARD SPONSOR

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Lankhorst expands KLP Hybrid Polymer Sleeper success into Australasia Dutch company Lankhorst recently made its local entry with a significant order for its KLP steel-reinforced Hybrid Polymer Sleepers to the Australasian region.

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HE INCREASINGLY SCARCITY OF hardwood and the ban on creosote-treated wood for sleepers have created challenges in the maintenance of timber infrastructure.

Lifespan of timber sleepers is dropping and the replacement of timber with stiffer or weaker materials creates new problems. Lankhorst, a global firm whose Dutch origin began in 1803, has developed its modern Hybrid Polymer Sleeper to mimic the dynamic behaviour of a traditional wooden sleeper with an extended life span.

First installed on the Dutch rail network in 2006,

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KLP Hybrid Polymer Sleepers consist of highly ductile recycled polymer, reinforced with steel rebar. Lankorst says the steel reinforcement is located where it is most effective, and does not interfere with the installation of fastening systems. This helps it achieve longitudinal and lateral stiffness to maintain track gauge under all load and climate conditions, while the recycled polymer simultaneously acts as an effective impact absorber and sound damper, resulting in a reduced noise and longer lasting infrastructure.

Gerhard Klooster, business development director of Brisbane-based Link Asia Pacific (LinkAP) – which

KLP Bridge Transoms benefit most from their hybrid design.

Testing has proven noncatastrophic failure in extreme overload conditions.

Lankhorst’s KLP Hybrid Polymer Sleepers are designed as a viable replacement for traditional timber sleepers.

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represents Lankhorst in Australia and New Zealand – tells Rail Express the combination of metal and synthetic material was immediately recognised by operators as a good solution to transition from traditional wooden sleepers.

“It did not take long for other track operators to see the logic and benefits of this design,” Klooster says. “KLP Sleepers are now operational in mainlines, bridges and turnouts in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Gabon, Malaysia and Mexico.” That success has continued more recently in the Australia and New Zealand region. After Lankhorst and LinkAP participated jointly in AusRAIL PLUS 2017, they were pleased to see an increased interest in the hybrid polymer product.

“We were impressed with the progressive approach towards new technologies,” Lankhorst commercial director Stefan Hofman says. “We are now reaping the first fruits from our joint efforts. We recently received a significant order for supply of mainline sleepers and turnouts in the Australasian region. We are working towards first delivery of product in early 2020.”

“We knew that the demand for alternative sleepers would increase with time,” LinkAP’s managing director Pieter-Jan van Driel adds.

“We believe that no other product in the global market matches the comprehensive and balanced offering of the brilliantly engineered products from Lankhorst. We believe that the KLP sleeper products not only offer environmental and functional benefits, but also that their ‘value-for-money’ offer is in a sweet spot compared to alternative offerings.”

When asked what the future holds, Van Driel smiles. “We are in discussion with various Australasian track owners regarding test installations and type approvals,” is all he can say.

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Engineered and tested solutions Lankhorst technical director, Aran van Belkon, said the product is backed up by solid engineering and extensive laboratory testing, which has enabled its use in railways operating at speeds up to 180km/h.

“Hybrid polymer sleepers combine the consistency and durability of concrete sleepers with the favourable impact and sound damping behaviour of timber sleepers,” van Belkon said.

“With more than 13 years of practical product performance at various clients in a variety of applications in 11 countries, we have proof that our engineered hybrid solutions meet customer requirements.”

The combination of the respective strengths of steel and recycled polymers is designed to achieve a number of desirable objectives throughout the Lankhorst range of sleepers: • s tructural soundness, with dynamic stiffness comparable to timber sleeper it replaces; • s taged implementation, with 1-in-2 to 1-in4 interspersed implementation possible due to designed stiffness; • g auge stability, thanks to high lateral and vertical stability under working load across broad temperature range, due to steel/ polymer combination and unique footprint; • s afety, with no sudden catastrophic failures under extreme overload situation, only gradual deformation; • e nvironmental, with a certified net carbon store, a negative CO2 footprint and full recyclability; • e asy handling, as the range can be machined on-site and handles and installs like timber sleepers; and, • h ealth benefits, as the sleepers contain no fibres, meaning no special respiratory equipment must be warn during installation To satisfy the demands of various clients for type approval over the years, Lankhorst has successfully put the range through a range of testing, including static and dynamic loading, destructive testing, water absorption, electrical insulation, UV testing, slip and wear resistance, storage, handling, screw spike pullout tests, flammability and more.

The result of the testing and implementation of the sleepers in the field is satisfied customers. Voestalpine, which has fitted dozens of bridges with KLP Bridge Transoms since 2010, says there is “no maintenance required [and] performance on all bridges is satisfactory”. LEAG’s head of rail track infrastructure in Germany, Torsten Scharnetzki, adds: “The KLP Switch Sleepers were installed in 2008, handle 25 tonne axle loads and have remained within tolerance without maintenance after 10 years accumulated exposure to more than 250 million tonnes of load passing.”

Under the design, hard-working steel is encapsulated in ductile, recycled polymer.

Varied range Optimised KLP Mainline Sleepers, the “everyday” member of the Lankhorst range, are designed to use up to 30 per cent less material, resulting in a more economic and environmentally friendly product. A unique bottom profile and increased ballast on top of the sleeper are designed to offer the required lateral and vertical stability, even against uplift. The reduced weight allows for easier handling during installation and maintenance.

Meanwhile, the KLP Turnout & Crossing Sleepers are designed with an enhanced ability to absorb and distribute impact when compared against timber and concrete; a benefit at crossings and turnouts, which are typically exposed to severe impact and lateral forces. Unlike concrete (where every hole must be pre-cast), KLP Sleepers can be drilled and milled. This saves costs and time.

Finally, Klooster says its KLP Bridge Transoms benefit most from the hybrid design. “The steel reinforcement provides the strength required to easily handle the high bending moments in bridges with offset girder applications,” he says. “The design offers enough safety margin to ensure no gradual plastic deformation occurs.

Unballasted bridge structures are very stiff and do not have the ability to flex during load and unload cycles; this is where the KLP Sleeper’s polymer absorbs and spreads impact energy, resulting in lower loads in the bridge structure.”

Measurements conducted on a steel girder bridge in Amsterdam yielded a 3-5dB noise reduction, following replacement of timber sleepers with KLP Bridge Transoms, Klooster adds.

Contact: lankhorstrail.com Email: pieter-jan@linkap.com.au

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PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

Surge protection in the era of digitisation Electrical engineering manufacturer, Phoenix Contact says it’s developed the world’s first intelligent system for surge protection, integrating the essential solution into the Internet of Things.

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URGE PROTECTION IS CRITICAL TO the smooth running of trains, because railway technology depends on highly sensitive electric and electronic systems. These systems require a high degree of availability in order to avoid delaying critical operational processes, and inducing high costs associated with downtimes and maintenance.

Disruptions to the functioning of this technology, however, can be easily caused by a myriad of factors, such as weather events - especially lightning strikes, aging systems, or damage to conductors, interlocking components, modules or computer systems.

With the ongoing digitisation of the rail industry becoming more and more comprehensive, applying to every component and system across the sector, there is now an intelligent system for surge protection.

Phoenix Contact, which provides Surge Protection Devices (SPDs), has this year released a surge protection monitoring solution called “ImpulseCheck” which enables the continuous monitoring of the surge protection system’s electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the

installed SPDs, and facilitates preventative maintenance in order to comprehensively reduce overall maintenance costs and increase the reliability of services.

Phoenix Contact’s national marketing manager in Australia, John Ortika, spoke to Rail Express about the world first.

“Products that we previously would have just installed and operated, we now want more information and more detailed information on them continuously.

Are they still functioning at maximum capacity? Are they doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Is there potentially a failure down the track that we can cater for and remove before it actually happens?”

ImpulseCheck monitors every single arrestor, detecting electromagnetic interference and surge currents on each active conductor, allocates a time stamp to the event, and then transfers the data to a cloud interface called “ProfiCloud”. In ProfiCloud, the state of health for each mode of protection is analysed based on the recorded events.

“It’s the first solution on the market that ImpulseCheck transfers all data collected to the ‘ProfiCloud’.

Caption right

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dynamically and continuously monitors for surges and actually measures their frequency so that you’ve got an exact idea of how large the surge was and how often they’ve occurred, because it’s time-stamped,” says Ortika.

Once data from the monitoring system is input into the cloud system, Phoenix Contact conducts predictive analytics to offer remote diagnosis, identifying the error cause and offering prognosis of the potential disruption to the rail operator so they can conduct predictive maintenance on their systems with a precise picture. This enables the maximisation of system availability, avoiding breakdowns and reducing maintenance efforts.

“We can tell them, for example, based on the number of surge events that have occurred in your system, the surge protection components are starting to wear out and should be replaced prior to them failing, therefore allowing predictive maintenance and ensuring maximum system availability. It’s real time information and it’s accessible via a cloud interface, so its 24/7 basically,” Ortika says.

“Where previously, all of this involved guesswork, oh there was a lightning storm the other week and that might have damaged it, now we’ll have real time-stamped data to be

able to really work out what has caused the issues that brought the system down or caused the component to fail.”

External sensors allow the system to be easily installed or retrofitted in both new and existing systems. Ortika says the implementation process is incredibly simple.

“In a few easy steps, you can affix the sensors to the connecting cables of the power supply or an SPD that is actively monitored. That’s easily retrofitted to the cable, so you don’t really have to stop the system in any way, shape, or form.”

But ImpulseCheck is not the only rail related solution Phoenix Contact offers, according to Ortika.

“Another one that’s been of interest to the rail industry, amongst others, are our power supplies and UPS systems, and again it’s about providing more information to the operator, continuously and in real time, about the availability and status of the power supply and the battery back-up system, knowing continuously that the battery is fully charged or what discharge level it’s at so that appropriate actions can then take place. Or, also knowing whether the battery lifetime is close to expiring, whether its nine years left or two months, so that the appropriate action by the operator can

then be decided upon, and the operator is able to schedule maintenance rather than reacting when the battery is no longer functional.”

The significance of the data that ImpulseCheck gathers goes beyond preventative maintenance. With detailed data mining, it can provide the trends which operators will be able to react to and ensure the smooth operation of the railways.

“The analytics and what you do with the data that makes that data relevant and useable in a real application, that’s going to develop further over time.”

With its in-house machine building experience, Phoenix Contact knows the requirements of digitalisation and integrated data flow, from the engineering through the product life cycle. The future, Ortika believes, will see even further gains in the digitisation of all components of rail operation.

“We’ll see more and more electrical and electronic components being further and more deeply integrated into the operational system so that, right down to what were considered simple components in the past, we have the ability to see what affect they have on the overall lifetime and availability of the system.”

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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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Combining the resources of our respected journalism team and our unparalleled industry contacts and affiliations, Rail Express provides extensive, comprehensive and balanced coverage of breaking news and trends in key areas like infrastructure, investment, government policy, regulatory issues and technical innovation.

Published both in print and digitally every second month, the Rail Express magazine is the only publication to have both the official endorsement and active participation of the main railway associations in Australia and the broad support of the rail industry.

The only way to ensure you get every copy of Rail Express is to subscribe today.

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AUSTRALIA’S LEADING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS RAIL PUBLICATION

PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY

New Australian tech on show at AusRAIL Australian-owned rail equipment manufacturer, Melvelle Equipment will debut two new technologies alongside its well-established range of portable rail maintenance and construction equipment solutions at AusRAIL PLUS.

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SECOND-GENERATION, FAMILY -owned business based in Newcastle, Melvelle Equipment leverages a local team of engineers to help solve problems for rail owners and maintenance businesses. In one example, last year it delivered its locallydesigned and manufactured lightweight, rapiddeployment rail trolleys to the Melbourne Metro network, after discussions found there was a need among some rail operators for such a solution.

The company’s CEO, Andrew Melvelle, tells Rail Express Melvelle has had to book a larger stand at this year’s AusRAIL PLUS than it did two years ago in Brisbane, simply due to the wide range of successful products it has to display.

Along with its existing range, the company will debut an electric battery pack to power its Trackpack solution, and its new Australiandesigned rail tensor.

The battery pack to power Melvelle’s Trackpack is designed to serve as an alternative to the internal combustion, petrol and diesel engines. Melvelle’s Trackpack is a complete hydraulic power unit with boom arm and rail trolley, designed to allow the use of multiple hydraulic work heads without the need for numerous power supplies. The design, which uses adjustable counterbalance positioning, means weight on operator handles never exceeds five kilograms.

Melvelle says the electric battery solution was designed, like so many of the company’s products, to respond to a consumer need. “Our customers are seeing the benefits of going green with their power systems, and this is our offering in that space,” he said.

One customer Melvelle says has been particularly keen for a battery-powered solution is New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “Currently, they have our Trackpack system, but in the petrol version – or ‘gas’ as they call it,” he said. “They want to use more of our equipment in the underground, so they would prefer the battery power pack in that application.”

For now, the electric battery solution is suitable for several key workheads in the Trackpack range, but this will soon be expanded to the full range.

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The second product Melvelle will debut at AusRAIL PLUS is its Australian-designed rail tensor, a tool used during both greenfield track construction, as well as track replacement and maintenance.

Melvelle says the tensor is designed with safety and ease-of-use at the forefront of design.

“The only components over 20 kilograms will be the cylinders,” he said. “And we’re applying some innovative ideas to alleviate some of the more common OH&S issues around this work.

“Currently, when a crew loads the tensor onto the rail, they build the tensor up upside down, balanced on the head of the rail, and then they flip it over. When they flip the tensor over, with the jaw arms and everything in it, it’s quite heavy and can be hard to control. We’ve got an innovative method of building the tension and rotating it into position.”

Melvelle’s stand will also feature products from companies for whom Melvelle is an exclusive distributor in the region, including Rail Products UK, Knox Kershaw, Permaquip, ABTUS, ROV Group and Rotabroach.

A new electric battery solution will offer an alternative to a petrol engine for Melvelle’s Trackpack solution.

You can visit Melvelle at AusRAIL PLUS Stand 191.

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WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

Leading women in transport to be recognised Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 2020 Women in Industry Awards, with awards in transport, manufacturing and engineering of particular note for rail businesses.

The Womein in Industry Awards seek to recognise companies and individuals across a range of industries.

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HE AUSTRALASIAN RAIL SECTOR is facing a skills crisis which could peak at an estimated workforce gap as large as 70,000 jobs by 2023. A crucial component of managing this unprecedented skills demand will be increasing the diversity of rail’s workforce.

To that end, rail employers – whose workforces are traditionally male-dominated – need to adapt to better facilitate a larger portion of their workforce being made up of women.

The Women in Industry Awards seek to recognise the companies and individuals across a range of industries, who are working towards this outcome. Supported with a networking dinner event, the awards aim to facilitate a higher level of network integration and development opportunities for women in industrial and transport markets, and to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding achievements within those markets.

Rail Express will proudly take part in the event for the second year in 2020 and, with the addition of an award specifically for the transport sector, we would encourage readers to take part.

With a range of sponsorship opportunities still available, award categories include: • E xcellence in Transport: Recognises an individual who has gone above and beyond to improve and positively impact the Australian transport industry.

• E xcellence in Manufacturing: Recognises an individual who has thought “outside the box” to implement an outstanding personal contribution to their manufacturing business and the wider manufacturing community.

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• E xcellence in Mining: Recognises individuals who have made a positive contribution to one of the many facets of the mining industry.

• E xcellence in Engineering: Recognises an individual who has shown leadership in engineering, technological excellence and innovation.

• S ocial Leader of the Year: Recognises those individuals who have significantly effected positive change within their local or regional community.

• Rising Star of the Year: Recognises individuals who show significant promise within their chosen industry or who have reached new goals at the start of their career.

• Business Development Manager of the Year: Seeks out business development managers who have created new growth opportunities which allowed their organisation to expand and generate greater revenue.

• Industry Advocacy Award: Recognises of individuals who have helped shape a positive view of their industry and/or helped to create a policy change which benefits those working in the sector.

• Safety Advocacy Award: Highlights those individuals working actively to improve safety for their industry.

• Mentor of the Year: Recognises those individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to developing female talent within their organisation and wider industry.

For more information, contact Lauren Winterbottom at Lauren.Winterbottom @primecreative.com.au, or visit WomenInIndustry.com.au

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ASSOCIATION PART NER S

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SAFETY & ASSURANCE

RISSB recaps past 18 months With a solid number of products developed and the launch of several new initiatives, the past 18 months has been a time of significant change for RISSB. This month we’re reflecting on the progress we have made in overcoming some of the greatest obstacles currently facing industry.

More products developed Throughout FY19, RISSB delivered a total of 23 products – a solid achievement by any measure; one which took the number of products in RISSB’s catalogue to a healthy 200.

Products completed in the past 18 months include: Configuration Management for Railway Contractors Guideline; Digital Engineering Code of Practice; National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers – Technical Note for AHPs on Category 3 Assessments; AS 7457 Management of SPADs and Proceed Authority Exceeded Events; AS 7527 Event Recorders; AS 7471 Australian Rail PPE; Rail Cyber Security Guideline; AS 7472 Management of Change.

RISSB Training Update RISSB’s core training courses; the Rail Safety Investigation Course and the Derailment Investigation and Analysis Workshop continue to draw strong interest from industry. In the past year, RISSB introduced two new courses – Safety Critical Communications and Fundamentals of Risk Management to round out its training suite. RISSB is currently developing a Fundamentals of Safety course which will be offered in the first half of 2020.

Horizons Program Fostering the next generation of technical professionals and innovators are key success factors for our industry. So, last year RISSB launched its Horizons Program, a new engagement initiative for rail professionals aged 35 and under.

The Horizons Program has been very well received, attracting close to 50 nominations in its inaugural program and similar numbers of applications from over 30 organisations in the second program, as well as the participation of major industry stakeholders including CEOs, government and significant industry executives.

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Technology and Innovation Roadmap developed RISSB has been working hard to deliver against all six of its strategic pillars. In particular, its technology and innovation pillar which commits RISSB to develop an agile and flexible framework with industry to identify emerging technologies and systems, including automation, requiring RISSB products and services to support timely and safe implementation. To that end, earlier in 2019 RISSB completed a significant piece of work to produce an: • Innovation inventory – a high-level inventory of where current innovative efforts (especially technological) are being made within Australia’s and international railways.

• A map of innovation related trends – a description of the significant trends that will be relevant to Australia’s rail industry over the mid to long term.

Some interesting findings from the IRT work include: • The push for industry efficiencies appears to be the major driver for innovation • Around 2/3 of the innovations/research are in pursuit of: • Operational cost efficiencies (asset maintenance and new materials), or • Increased capacity (through improved passenger movement).

• Heavy haul has consistently been an early adopter of new technology.

National Rules Significant progress has been made in the development of the National Rules which will promote harmonisation of train operations and “work on track” rules, and lead to cost, productivity and safety benefits.

Development of the National Rules is being informed by a cross-industry National Rules Development Group.

RISSB completed a roadshow of the National Rules which was well received by industry.

The National Rules are planned to be completed by January 2020.

Australian Rail Risk Model ARRM – one of the Objects in RISSB’s Constitution – is a very sophisticated, quantitative web-based tool which helps rail companies understand their safety risk in great detail and meet their obligations under the Rail Safety National Law. ARRM models safety risk across 104 different hazardous events, each one interrogable at multiple levels allowing users to understand the major contributors to those hazardous events, all through a user-friendly front end.

The past year has been one of significant achievements for the ARRM team: • RISSB wanted to expand and increase the number of members of ARRM and we have achieved that goal. ARRM now has 265 registered users (within the system) across 34 companies.

• The ARRM system is a complex collection of interrelated sub-systems, and in the last 12 months RISSB added one more – ARRM now benefits from a machine learning (artificial intelligence) module which is being used to help in processing industry information to underpin risk calculations.

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

• This year, RISSB completed its third model update, bringing the total number of rail transport operator occurrence datapoints analysed to 154,596. The model is becoming mature and the risk calculations very robust.

Catch up with RISSB at AusRAIL Just in case you didn’t know, RISSB’s executive chair and chief executive officer, general manager safety and innovation, and general manager national rail programs will all be at AusRAIL PLUS 2019 – attending as conference delegates and manning our stand, Stand 307, at the exhibition.

For more information visit: www.rissb.com.au

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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Visit the RTAA Stream and Stand at AusRAIL PLUS The Rail Track Association Australia details its role in this year’s AusRAIL PLUS conference and exhibition.

2018 Young Rail Specialist Award winner, Andrew Kelly, on his European rail tour.

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HE RAIL TRACK ASSOCIATION membership-based, ot-for-profit organisation. We are dedicated to providing high levels of services to our members through the promotion of our strategic priorities.

The Rail Track Association Australia (RTAA) are once again pleased to take part in selecting the technical program for AusRAIL PLUS. We have 12 papers being presented in the RTAA stream this year among the following 4 topics: Rail Asset Maintenance, Track Construction and Operations, Turnouts and Safety, and Rail Head Management. With a record number of abstracts submitted this year, the RTAA Technical Review Panel had a tough job.

It’s a lengthy process and the RTAA would like to extend its thanks to: Peter Milton, Jarod Wakefield, Jim Mahood, Julian Sharp, Aleu Dekuek, Phil Long and Mayuri Nathoo.

The RTAA would like to particularly thank both Peter Milton and Julian Sharp for their continued and diligent support. Peter

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of the Australasian Rail Diversity Award.

The award represents our response to the chronic skills shortage that continues to affect the Australian rail community, and is also reflected in our strategic priorities.

We know that creating a diverse and inclusive workforce is one way to redress this issue. Added to this, diverse workforces have been proven to increase positive business outcomes.

The award is now in its fifth year and a high prestigious accolade. Nominations are now open and can be submitted direct to businessmanager@rtaa.org.au. Further details regarding criteria and guidelines can be found on the RTAA website. The winner will be announced during our annual dinner in March 2020.

Milton has been on the RTAA Technical Review Panel for 15 years and Julian Sharp has been on the Review Panel for 5 years.

Their technical expertise and guidance have been fundamental in this process.

Strategy workshop 2020-2023 In September, the RTAA Executive and Management Committee conducted a half day strategy workshop. The purpose of this workshop was to develop the RTAA’s strategic plan for 2020-2023 and redefine the key priorities in which the RTAA operates.

It was an effective and successful session and the Vision Statement and Key Priorities will be published to all RTAA members’ in the coming months.

Australasian Rail Diversity Award 2019 The RTAA are proud to recognise the outstanding achievements of members in the promotion of diversity and workplace inclusion through the establishment

RTAA Young Rail Specialist Award The RTAA was delighted to see the 2018 Young Rail Specialist Award winner Andrew Kelly utilise the prize money for this prestigious award. Andrew embarked on a three-week international rail tour in September 2019. His journey included a conference in Salzburg, Austria, site tours and meetings with key international railway leaders throughout Europe. All possible with the support of RTAA’s global network and partners.

The RTAA will be looking to revamp the Award in 2020 to be more gender inclusive.

Follow the RTAA on social media to stay tuned for further information on our activities in 2019!

Twitter: @RailTAA LinkedIn: Rail Track Association Australia – RTAA Facebook: RailTAA

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Unlocking freight rail opportunities Australian Logistics Council CEO, Kirk Coningham, discusses the progress being made to properly realise the role rail will play to manage Australia’s growing freight task.

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HERE IS WIDESPREAD RECOGNITION among policy-makers and freight logistics industry participants about the benefits of moving more freight via rail. It has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and safety of freight movement, while at the same time improving urban amenity, reducing road congestion and decreasing queuing times at ports.

However, there is also recognition that Australia is, to some extent, playing ‘catch up’ in when it comes to enhancing the quality and capacity of our freight rail networks.

The fact that construction of Inland Rail is now underway – after decades of talk – is testament to the fact that governments are finally recognising the increasingly vital role that rail will play in facilitating Australia’s growing freight task.

Yet even in the case of this most prominent of freight rail infrastructure projects, there remains uncertainty over key details – most particularly, the establishment of a dedicated freight rail connection from Inland Rail to the Port of Brisbane. Establishing this connection will be essential to derive the full benefits of the project and address road congestion in Brisbane as that city continues to grow.

Similarly, making more effective use of short-haul rail is not merely important from a productivity standpoint. It is also crucial to the freight logistics industry’s continuing efforts to improve its social licence.

Freight volumes going through major Australian ports are increasing, and it is worth noting that many of these ports are operate within inner city environments that are increasingly desirable residential locations for our growing population.

Achieving modal shift from road onto rail in order to transport it from ports to intermodal terminals is an ideal way to reduce traffic congestion in port precincts.

Some progress has been made at the jurisdictional level in recent years, such as the NSW Government’s target of having 27 per cent of freight moved by rail, and the focus on port rail shuttles within the Victorian Government’s freight strategy released in mid-2018.

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However, there is a place for greater national leadership, particularly with work now occurring to finally develop a National Rail Plan.

As part of this work, the federal government must take immediate action to ensure that corridors are protected that will permit the construction and use of short haul rail as freight transport solution in Australia’s growing cities.

Likewise, the National Rail Plan must finally address the costs and inefficiencies that stem from Australia’s current approach to rail regulation, particularly around environmental regulation, workplace health and safety, workers’ compensation, and drug and alcohol testing in the sector.

In 2015, the cost of inconsistent and overlapping jurisdictional regulations in these areas was estimated to be $29 million per annum – yet progress towards meaningful reform has remained frustratingly slow.

There are several possible explanations for this – but a major factor is certainly the lack of a dedicated regulator in the rail sector with oversight of productivity and efficiency matters.

The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) was established as part of a Commonwealth policy designed to harmonise transport operations across Australia. In the road space, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) was established in 2012.

However, there is one important difference between ONRSR and NHVR. The NHVR has a productivity mandate. ONRSR, while playing an important role in national rail safety, does not have the responsibility for the productivity and efficiency of Australian rail operations.

ALC believes this should change, and that the current Productivity Commission review of national transport regulators should recommend ONRSR be given the mandate and resources it needs needed to drive enhanced productivity in the rail sector.

This is a relatively straightforward reform that will help overcome years of inaction and a lack of accountability in delivering the regulatory harmonisation that the rail sector urgently needs.

Australian Logistics Council CEO, Kirk Coningham.

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