Dear Readers,
If steam railway journeys are your ideal way of seeing the sights during your summer vacation, here's a list of the UK's top five steam train experiences. (Source: Travel Daily)
The Jacobite:
Rated top in the UK, the West Highland Line from Fort William to Mallaig in Scotland is one of the world's great railway journeys, and steam has been a feature of the line since 1984.
Journey time: 2 hours from Fort William to Mallaig
Where to board/alight: Fort William
When: weekdays 22 april-25 October; weekends 4 May - 29 September
Cost: Adult day return GBP37.75
https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/
Bluebell Railway
Ranked top in England, the Bluebell Railway is Britain's oldest preserved standard-gauge railway. It is deservedly well known for its historic carriage and enchanting stations
Journey time: 40 minutes each way
Where to board/alight: Sheffield Park, East Grinstead
When: Almost daily until 3 November
Cost: Adult return/advance purchase All Day Rover: GBP16
https://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/
Dartmouth Steam Railway
Ranked as best for sea views, Today, the steam railway links Paignton and Kingswear, on the opposite side of the Dart Estuary from Dartmouth.
Journey time: 30 minutes each way
Where to board/alight: Paignton, Kingswear
When: Daily until 2 November
Cost: Adult return GBP18.25
https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/
Vintage Trains
Mainline steam trains have been a feature of the 'big railway' since 1971, often combined with one or more dining experiences. One of the main operators is Vintage Trains, using a fleet of steam locomotives based at its Birmingham engineering works and depot.
Journey Time: From 1 and a quarter hours each way
When: Excursions year-round
Cost: Adult fares from GBP17.50 - GBP250+
http://www.vintagetrains.co.uk/
Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways
Ranked top in Wales, these two narrow-gauge railways have been visited by railway engineers from all over the world.
Journey time: FR 1.25 hours each way; WHR 2.25 hours each way
Where to board/alight: Porthmadog, Blaenau Ffestiniog (FR)/Caernarfon (WHR)
When: Daily until 3 November (FR); 2 November (WHR)
Cost: Adult return: GBP21.75 - GBP25.60 (FR); GBP41.50 (WHR)
https://www.festrail.co.uk/
Features positions in Australia, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
In Victoria, Australia a family operated business is seeking a Rolling Stock Engineer who has a slight understanding of signalling systems.
We have a permanent role for a building / facilities engineering expert to Design the Freight & Operations Maintenance Facilities for both Stage 2 and 3 in accordance with the requirements in the contract documents. This job is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Our client is the main contractor for the light rail transit line (LRT3) project delivery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Infrastructure works are split into 10 main packages plus one underground section and system works are split into 8 main packages.
They are seeking a Malaysian candidate for the permanent role of Director, Construction.
For further information and other opportunities worldwide, visit our website at www.railpersonnel.com.
Regards
Ceri Taylor
Editor
ceri@railpersonnel.com
This Week's Headlines
3 Aug 2019. Germany. Deutsche Bahn network to get E86bn upgrade
The German government has approved a plan to spend E86 billion to upgrade the Deutsche Bahn rail network.
Source: Construction Europe
2 Aug 2019. UK. Sleeper factory plans submitted to Sandwell Council
Network Rail has submitted a planning application to build a railway sleeper facility in Bescot sidings, Sandwell.
Source: Railway Technology
2 Aug 2019. Australia. RATP and John Holland join forces for Sydney Metro bid
Automated metro operator RATP Dev, has partnered with John Holland in order to enter the Australian market for the first time thanks to the significant metro program in place.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
1 Aug 2019. India. Railways cut workforce by 300,000
Reeling under heavy expenditure for employee salary and benefits, Indian Railways has decided to fire 300,000 employees.
Source: Zee News
31 Jul 2019. France. Alstom to supply 12 trains to SNCF for the TGV Atlantique lines
Alstom will supply 12 Avelia Euroduplex trains to SNCF Mobilites for the sum of E335mn.
Source: Alstom
Jobs of the Week:
Job Title: Rolling Stock Engineer ( #12696 )
Discipline: Rolling Stock; Planning
Role: Sales and Marketing, Maintenance
Position Type: Permanent
Country: Victoria, Australia
Languages:
Job Description:
This family operated business is seeking a Rolling Stock Engineer who has a slight understanding of signalling systems.
The key aspect of this role is maintaining long term relationships with key customers. The role, which reports to the General Manager, must identify needs and requirements to promote the company's solutions and achieve mutual satisfaction.
Responsibilities include:
- Keeping abreast with changing status of these decision makers and stakeholders
- Identifying potential customers and set approach strategies
- Identifying opportunities for growth in product portfolio and set plans to achieve these goals
- Act as the liaison between customers, product managers and suppliers
- Accomplish quality objectives by establishing an effective Quality Assurance system.
Must have Australian citizenship or permanency to work in Australia.
Requirements
- Degree qualification in Mechanical or Civil Engineering
- Must have a current valid driver's license and current passport in case of international travel requirement
- Have a minimum of 5 to10 years' experience in a rail supply or service related organisation
- A minimum of 5 to 10 years' experience in key management of business relationships with clients (preferably railway industry) as well as international suppliers
- First aid training.
Contact: jackie@railpersonnel.com
Job Title: Director, Construction ( #12532 )
Discipline: Civil; Electrical
Role: Management
Position Type: Permanent
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Languages: English; Malay
Job Description:
Our client is the main contractor for the LRT3 project delivery. Infra works are split into 10 main packages plus one underground section and System works are split into 8 main packages.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- In conjunction with the various senior project people develop and implement the overall objectives and strategies in compliance to the general, technical and operational requirements and standards of the contract
- Organise and manage all Infrastructure and Systems construction activities involving Client, Stakeholders, PDCs, DDCs and WPCs and ensure the design requirements are clearly defined and fully incorporated into the designs and fulfilled during construction and installation in compliance to the sontract
- Ensure that infrastructure construction and Systems construction, installation, testing and commissioning requirements are tracked and controlled throughout the project lifecycle.
The client only wants Malaysian candidates.
Requirements
- Degree in Civil/Electrical/Mechanical/Electronic Engineering or equivalent
- Minimum 20 years working experience in the design and construction on large railway projects
- Strong leadership and ability to work with a compact local construction delivery team
- Proven track record in managing and driving all packages contractors to deliver within time and cost
- Good command of spoken and written Bahasa Malaysia and English skills
Contact: davidh@railpersonnel.com
Job Title: Facilities Maintenance Manager ( #12698 )
Discipline: Buildings Management
Role: Design
Position Type: Permanent
Country: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Languages: English
Job Description:
Our client is seeking a Building / Facilities Engineering Expert to Design the Freight & Operations Maintenance Facilities for both Stage 2 and 3 in accordance with the requirements in the Contract documents.
Responsibilities include:
- Design Management of railway facility layouts, buildings, architecture, MEP, Interface, Specialist Equipment T&C and NOC's
- Safety and environmental impact
- Adapt to programs/changes of the company's strategic initiatives
- Help support the organisation in extraordinary events such as claims by contractors, dispute reviews and participation in arbitration
- Perform any other activity as required by the company both at the company premises and remotely when requested by the company
- Proactively seeks out information that is relevant to job role whether internally or externally to efficiently and effectively deliver
- Contribute to the execution and delivery of any activities as and when required to ensure the continuity of work in the absence of other colleagues.
Requirements
- Bachelors' degree in Civil/Structural Engineering
- Preferably a post graduate degree
- Professional railway certifications or/and affiliations
- Project Management certification
- Minimum of 15 years of relevant experience in Design Management
- Strong experience in coordination of all railway facility or Stations layouts, Buildings
- Ideally experience in the GCC would be preferable.
Contact: sarasj@railpersonnel.com
More Rail News:
3 Aug 2019. Germany. Deutsche Bahn network to get E86bn upgrade
The German government has approved a plan to spend E86 billion to upgrade the Deutsche Bahn rail network. Transport minister Andreas Scheuer called the project "the biggest railway modernisation programme" in the country's history. The 33,000km network has suffered from dilapidated bridges and overused tracks, with delays and breakdowns plaguing the system for a number of years. This has prompted the government to agree a 54 per cent increase from the previous five-year plan. Scheuer said the government would invest E62bn in the project, with another E24.2bn coming from Deutsche Bahn. Within the scope of work, 2,000 bridges will be renovated, while the ultimate goal for the programme is to see a doubling of the current number of passengers by 2030.
Source: Construction Europe
2 Aug 2019. UK. Sleeper factory plans submitted to Sandwell Council
Network Rail has submitted a planning application to build a railway sleeper facility in Bescot sidings, Sandwell. The final plan involves building the facility approximately 600m from the originally proposed site. The location is further away from local properties and will enable Network Rail to build a new link road to improve access and mitigate possible traffic congestion. The Bescot site, selected in April 2017 by Network Rail, will deliver up to 600,000 railway sleepers annually, accounting for nearly 60% of the country's yearly requirement. Sandwell Borough Council and its planning committee will review the plan. The decision is expected by November. Currently, the UK has two sites at Doncaster and Washwood Heath in Birmingham, which manufacture railway sleepers.
Source: Railway Technology
2 Aug 2019. Australia. RATP and John Holland join forces for Sydney Metro bid
Automated metro operator RATP Dev, whose parent company RATP Group runs the Paris Metro, has partnered with John Holland in order to enter the Australian market for the first time thanks to the significant metro program in place. John Holland CEO, Joe Barr, said that the new partnership would harness the expertise of The Sydney Metro Greater West will create connections to Western Sydney's first airport, and Metro West will more than double the rail capacity from Parramatta to the Sydney CBD. John Holland is currently delivering the tunnels for Sydney Metro City and Southwest and celebrated the successful construction of Sydney Metro Northwest in May. It is also part of the Metro Trains Sydney consortium that operates and maintains Sydney Metro Northwest. RATP Dev will soon be opening a new unit in Sydney to become its headquarters for Australia and New Zealand.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
1 Aug 2019. India. Railways cut workforce by 300,000
Reeling under heavy expenditure for employee salary and benefits, Indian Railways has decided to fire 300,000 employees. Railways Ministry has written to every Zonal head under their network to prepare 'lists' for executing these terminations. Every railway employee who is aged 55 years or above could be asked to leave their jobs, even as performance reports and other metrics are being considered. Employees who are completing 30 years of service in Railways by 2020, may also be considered for these layoffs.
Source: Zee News
31 Jul 2019. France. Alstom to supply 12 trains to SNCF for the TGV Atlantique lines
Alstom will supply 12 Avelia Euroduplex trains to SNCF Mobilites for the sum of E335mn. This order is in addition to the one for 55 trains currently being delivered. The 12 trains will enter service in 2021 and 2022. They will replace older trains, some of which are over 30 years old. A first order for 40 trains had been signed with SNCF in September 2013, and 15 additional The Avelia Euroduplex trains have higher capacity, with 556 seats compared to 509 for previous generations. The particularity of the trains for this additional order is that they have been preconfigured to receive a new-generation automatic speed control system meeting the very latest European standards (ERTMS). Euroduplex belongs to Alstom's Avelia range of high-speed trains. Eight of Alstom's 13 sites in France are involved in its design and manufacture.
Source: Alstom
31 July 2019. Turkey. New rail line links port with China and UK
Turkey's largest container terminal, DP World Yarımca has beenc connected to China and London by rail. Inaugurating the new rail line, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mehmet Cahit Turhan, said the new railway line, will link Yarımca Harbor with the main railway network, connected to London and China. Since 2003Turkey has built tracks for high-speed trains and currently, it is engaged in constructing over 2,000 kms of rail network, the minister said. The terminal is in the Gulf of İzmit, at the easternmost edge of the Sea of Marmara.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
31 Jul 2019. India. MRVC seeks TOD zone in Vasai-Panvel rail corridor
The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) is planning to incorporate a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zone in its proposal to build a new rail line connecting Vasai and Panvel. The corridor is one of the three proposed railway projects under the fourth phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP 4). Unlike the previous project, the corridor will terminate at Vasai, forming a seamless interchange with the Western Line. The corridor will pass through areas that are currently not connected by the suburban railway network. It will run beside the existing railway corridor, which is used primarily by long-distance and freight trains. Sources said that the World Bank had shown keen interest in the project during discussions on providing funding for MUTP 3A.
Source: The Hindu
31 Jul 2019. Thailand. First Chiang Mai light rail planned for 2027
The northern city of Chiang Mai hopes to launch its first mass transit line in 2027, officials said at a public hearing hosted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). MRTA governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas said that the agency expected the project to be ready for cabinet approval early next year. The 12-km Red Line route will run from Nakhon Ping Hospital to Mae Hia intersection, with some stretches of track running underground. Construction costs for the project are estimated at 30 billion baht, according to the MRTA. The city could add two more lines depending on the success of the first. The additional lines would be a 12-km Blue Line from Chiang Mai Zoo to Sri Bua Ngern Pattana intersection and an 11-km Green Line from Ruam Choke intersection to Chiang Mai airport.
Source: Bangkok Post
30 Jul 2019 UK. Hitachi wins order for East Midlands franchise
East Midlands rail franchise winner Abellio UK has placed a GBP400 million order with Hitachi Rail to build a pioneering new fleet of intercity trains. The new trains will start operating in 2022 and will serve the main cities and towns on the Midland Main Line including Sheffield, Chesterfield, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Lincoln as well as Kettering and London St Pancras. Abellio has ordered 33 five-carriage trains, which will regularly be operated in 10-carriage formations. The trains will include features such as air conditioning, free Wi-Fi throughout, plug sockets and better passenger information screens. They have the ability to run using electric overhead lines wherever possible, taking advantage of the GBP1.5bn Midland Main Line upgrade and, when running in diesel mode, will cut particulate emissions by up to 90% compared with the legacy high-speed trains. The funding package for these new Hitachi trains is led by Rock Rail and the fleet will be financed through Rock Rail East Midlands Plc. and leased to Abellio for the life of the franchise.
Source: East Midlands Business Link
30 Jul 2019. Latvia. Pasazieru Vilciens signs train purchase contract with Skoda
Latvia's state-owned rail company Pasazieru Vilciens (Passenger Trains) have signed a E240m contract with Czech company Skoda Vagonka. Under the agreement, all 32 electric passenger trains have to be delivered by 2023. Skoda is to start delivering the trains within 140 weeks of the contract taking effect, which in turn will happen as soon as Skoda Vagonka submits its warranty of capacity to execute the agreement, which it has to do within 30 days. The new electric trains will have four carriages each and will be 109 meters in length. The new trains will be equipped with climate control and modern amenities, as well as video and audio information systems. The speed of the Skoda trains will reach up to 160 kmph as compared with 130 kmph of the existing trains.
Source: LETA
30 Jul 2019. France. Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region orders more Alstom express trains
Alstom will supply 10 additional Coradia Polyvalent Leman Express trains to the French region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes for a sum of approximately E70m. They will operate mainly in the north-east of the region, notably the department of Haute-Savoie, to create a modern, homogeneous fleet in this developing sector. Deliveries will take place from December 2020 to May 2021.The region had already ordered 17 Coradia Polyvalent, due to enter service on the Franco-Swiss cross-border Leman Express line in mid-December 2019. Made up of four cars, the Coradia Polyvalent Leman Express trains provide a total capacity of 204 seats with a 'suburban'-style interior layout These new Coradia Polyvalent trains will benefit from the same characteristics as those due to enter operation on the Leman Express network: seven doors on each side, all equipped with bridge plates, a large reception area on the platforms and a first-class area. Designed to ensure cross-border connections with ERTMS technology, Coradia Polyvalent Leman Express trains can run on several types of network voltages.
Source: Alstom
30 Jul 2019. Spain. Renfe cancels 1,152 train services due to four-day strike
State railway company Renfe has cancelled 1,152 train services (477 medium-distance, 230 high-speed AVE services and 445 freight trains) due to a four-day strike called by the CGT union. The work stoppage is expected to affect thousands of travellers as they leave for or return from summer vacation. The strike comes just over two weeks after the CCOO union called a rail strike on 15 July, leading to the cancellation of 320 train services. The CGT union is demanding an increase in the worker replacement rate to curb the outsourcing of services, as well as greater internal promotion and better working conditions.
Source: El Pais
30 Jul 2019. Australia. Queensland Rail's overtime bill blows out
Queensland Rail expects the overtime bill for its train drivers and guards to blow out to A$28.1m next financial year. That's an increase of more than A$2.32m on 2018-19. The Strachan inquiry found Queensland Rail's overreliance on overtime and a shortage of train drivers contributed to the rolling cancellations that followed the opening of the Redcliffe Peninsula Line in October 2016. The Brisbane Times has revealed that the best paid train driver made A$225,894 in 2018-19 after racking up 836 hours of overtime, worth $A69,005. The median pay for full-time drivers last financial year was $145,536.93, including overtime, penalties, allowances and benefits.
Source: Brisbane Times
29 Jul 2019. France. Alstom to supply additional trains to Occitanie Region
The regions of Occitanie / Pyrenees-Mediterranee have placed an order for an additional 5 Coradia Polyvalent trains from Alstom. The order is worth approximately E30m. The region previously ordered 46 Coradia Polyvalent trains for Regiolis and a further 13 trains in March 2019. With this new order, the region's fleet will total 51 trains. Alstom will deliver the new trains between October and December 2020. The Occitanie region's latest order will comprise of 2 dual-mode and 3 electric suburban Regiolis. The new Coradia Polyvalent trains will have the same features as the trains which are currently operating in the region. The first Coradia Polyvalent trains ordered by the region entered service in May 2014. The trains run on the line which links Toulouse to Latour-de-Carol and Mazamet.
Source: Alstom
