Dear Readers,
Concern about climate change is seeing a renaissance in rail travel. The hashtag #trainbrag has taken off on social media in Europe, with users boasting about taking the more environmentally friendly option of travelling by train in preference to flying within the continent.
The #trainbrag movement started in Sweden two years ago and has already seen more train departures added to routes there.
It's great to see the power of social media enhancing our industry.
Jobs of the Week are located in Australia, India and Malaysia.
Our client is seeking a Project Estimator to assist with the preparation of accurate estimates for the assigned tenders, in accordance with the Client's requirements and following all company policies and procedures, to ensure timely completion of the most cost effective and comprehensive tenders. Candidates must be Australia based and willing to work in Sydney in order to be considered for this role.
We are looking for a Bridge Structure Engineer and a back up Support Engineer to be based at our client's Ahmedabad office.
In Malaysia our client is responsible for the maintenance of the 57km of standard gauge railway connecting Kuala Lumpur to the airport. They are looking for an experienced Electrician to maintain their fleet of tamping machines.
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:
30 Aug 2019. Australia. Inland Rail first construction complete
Freight trains travelling from the east and west will next month be running on the Inland Rail North-West Connection following the completion of construction on the first section of the new track.
Source: Ministerial Media Release
28 Aug 2019. USA. Phoenix Votes to Expand Light Rail
Residents in Phoenix have voted to continue financing expansion of the region's light-rail system.
Source: ABC News
28 Aug 2019. Australia. First daytime light rail test in Sydney CBD
Testing of light rail vehicles along Sydney's George Street is now in full swing, with the first tram travelling the length of the street from Central Station to Circular Quay in daylight hours.
Source: Mirage News
27 Aug 2019. USA. First State Investments to buy Patriot Rail
Australian based global asset manager First State Investments have agreed to buy Patriot Rail & Ports, an operator of short-line railroads in 14 US. states, from SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners.
Source: Bloomberg
27 Aug 2019. UK. East London Line capacity increase project receives funding
The Greater London Authority's East London Line - Growth Capacity programme has been allocated an GBP80.8m from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Source: Metro Report International
Jobs of the Week:
Job Title: Project Estimator ( #12517 )
Discipline: Estimating
Role: Project Engineer
Position Type: Permanent
Country: Sydney, Australia
Languages: English
Job Description:
Our client is seeking a Project Estimator to assist with the preparation of accurate estimates for the assigned tenders, in accordance with the Client's requirements and following all company policies and procedures, to ensure timely completion of the most cost effective and comprehensive tenders.
Location preference is Bathurst or Dubbo. For the right candidate they may be able to be based out of Parramatta or Mayfield but will be required to travel frequently to the other depots.
Candidates must be Australia based and willing to work in Sydney in order to be considered for this role.
Key accountabilities:
- Prepare estimates, quantities, prices, costing for projects under the guidance of a Senior Estimator or similar position
- Program and sequence works in a practical and efficient manner
- Interpret specification and standards and assess their impact on project costs
- Develop accurate estimates through first principles pricing of direct and indirect job costs
- Review client's designs for opportunities and omissions
- Assess both design development contingency and construction contingency costs.
Requirements
- Tertiary or Trade Qualifications in Construction, Engineering, Science, Quantity Surveying and/or Project/Construction Management
- Chartered Status in Engineering, Quantity Surveying or Construction Management
- Estimating experience
- Minimum five years' experience in construction, tendering or project delivery
- Financial management skills
- Knowledge of compliance and reporting procedures and processes
- Advanced skills in estimating computer software packages
- Quantitative and qualitative safety, environment and quality risk assessment
- Experience in construct only, design & construct, managing contract, alliance & PPP contracts types.
Contact: jackie@railpersonnel.com
Job Title: Bridge Structure Engineer ( #12733 )
Discipline: Bridge Engineer; Structural
Role: Design
Position Type: Contract
Country: Gujarat, India
Languages: English
Job Description:
Our clients are looking for a Bridge Structure Engineer and a backup Support Engineer to be based at their Ahmedabad office.
The persons they are seeking should have experience in bridge designing for super structure and sub structure, culvert structures, etc., and should be capable of working alone under instruction of the discipline lead.
Candidates must be capable of reviewing drawings for bridges, have an understanding of alignment, hydrology, hydraulic and geotechnical requirements with reference to structures, able to review of specifications (across all civil disciplines), basis of design, crossing and waterway registers, design criteria, engineering reporting, value engineering aspects and any other structure related work for rail projects.
Duration: As and when required for a minimum period of 2 weeks with one-week prior intimation.
Requirements
- Bridge Structure Engineer; Bachelor of Engineering. (Civil) with first class & M.E. (Structures)
- Bridge Structure Engineer; Minimum 10 years' experience in the related field (with exposure to bridge & culvert (rcc/steel) structure analysis and design after post-graduation. (Australian standard knowledge is preferable.)
- Back-up Support Engineer; Minimum of 8 years' experience.
Contact: varun@railpersonnel.com
Job Title: Electrician for On Track Equipment ( #12710 )
Discipline: Permanent Way
Role: Electronics
Position Type: Contract
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Languages: English
Job Description:
Our client is responsible for the maintenance of the 57km of standard gauge railway connecting Kuala Lumpur to the Airport.
They are looking for an experienced Electrician to maintain their fleet of tamping machines and regulators which consist of a Switch Tamper and 3 tamping machines (08-275 08-32 09-32).
Good salary and working conditions for the right person.
Requirements
- Must have Experience maintaining Plasser Tamper machines.
Contact: sarasj@railpersonnel.com
More Rail News:
30 Aug 2019. Australia. Inland Rail first construction complete
Freight trains travelling from the east and west will next month be running on the Inland Rail North-West Connection following the completion of construction on the first section of the new track. The North-West Connection will link Inland Rail to the interstate east-west line from Sydney to Perth providing a vital connection for the freight industry. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development said: "Inland Rail is already expanding the national freight network and the opening of this section will also create a much-needed link that improves access between the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Interstate railway line. The North-West Connection joins the existing Broken Hill Line to the existing rail track south of Henry Parkes Way with 5.3km of greenfield rail track.
Source: Ministerial Media Release
28 Aug 2019. USA. Phoenix Votes to Expand Light Rail
Residents in Phoenix have voted to continue financing expansion of the region's light-rail system. The opposition, which has sometimes been linked to national conservative organisations, asserted that such projects are wasteful and tend to accelerate gentrification in neighbourhoods along rail lines. Mayor Kate Gallego, who has supported expanding the rail system, described the election results as essential to the city's future. A 5.5-mile South Central Light Rail Extension connecting the city's downtown core to its south side down Central Avenue to Baseline Road is scheduled for completion by 2023. Valley Metro Rail, the area's 28-mile light-rail line, opened in December 2008. It serves about 48,000 people each weekday and has stops in downtown Phoenix.
Source: ABC News
28 Aug 2019. Australia. First daytime light rail test in Sydney CBD
Testing of light rail vehicles along Sydney's George Street is now in full swing, with the first tram travelling the length of the street from Central Station to Circular Quay in daylight hours. Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Transport Andrew Constance boarded the first tram to make the journey during the day and travelled from the Martin Place stop to the end of the line at Circular Quay. "This is just the start of daytime testing along the length of the line and we can expect to see a lot more of it ahead of customer services starting before the end of the year," Ms. Berejiklian said. The new trams hold up to up to 450 passengers, equivalent of up to nine standard buses. This means the new light rail network will have the initial capacity to move up to 13,500 commuters per hour during peak times (7am – 7pm).
Source: Mirage News
27 Aug 2019. USA. First State Investments to buy Patriot Rail
Australian based global asset manager First State Investments have agreed to buy Patriot Rail & Ports, an operator of short-line railroads in 14 US. states, from SteelRiver Infrastructure Partners. The transaction values the Jacksonville, Florida-based transportation company at more than US$750m. Patriot operates 12 regional and freight short-line railroads and a scenic rail excursion train with tracks that span states including Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida, according to its website. SteelRiver, which has owned Patriot since 2012, was working with an adviser to find a buyer. The Patriot transaction is the second sizable rail deal this year. In July, a Brookfield Asset Management Inc.-led group agreed to buy Genesee & Wyoming Inc. for more than US$6bn.
Source: Bloomberg
27 Aug 2019. UK. East London Line capacity increase project receives funding
The Greater London Authority's East London Line - Growth Capacity programme has been allocated an GBP80.8m from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund. This project envisages an increase in the frequency of London Overground services on the core section of the East London Line between Dalston Junction and Surrey Quays. A new station is to be built at Surrey Canal Road, and capacity would also be improved at Surrey Quays station, including the provision of step-free access. The Housing Infrastructure Fund supports transport projects that are intended to facilitate the development of new homes, and include projects in London and Essex.
Source: Metro Report International
27 Aug 2019. Germany. NordWestBahn extends leasing contract with Alpha Trains
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe (NWL) have awarded incumbent NordWestBahn the Emscher-Münsterland-Netz 2021 contract, which covers the operation of service RE14 Essen-Steele - Dorsten - Borken/Coesfeld for a further seven years from December 2021. The Transdev subsidiary is to lease Bombardier Transportation Talent diesel multiple-units from Alpha Trains to operate the services. The transport authorities had originally planned to award a longer-term contract specifying the use of hydrogen fuel cell traction. Following a review, they instead opted for battery power, with the new contract being shorter to cover the interim period while battery trainsets and associated charging infrastructure are procured. The contract includes the introduction of through services between Coesfeld and Essen, and it is hoped that eliminating the need to change in Dorsten will attract commuter traffic from the roads and thus reduce overall pollution and CO2 emissions.
Source: Railway Gazette
27 Aug 2019. France. Alstom delivers five trains for CEVA line
Alstom has delivered the first five Coradia Polyvalent Leman Express trains for the cross-border Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse (CEVA) line to the SNCF Technicentre in Annemasse. Five trains will be delivered each month until the end of November, with entry into commercial service scheduled for 15 December 2019. A total of 17 trains from Alstom's Coradia Polyvalent range have been ordered by SNCF, financed entirely by the region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, to run on the Léman Express, Europe's largest cross-border rail network (45 stations, 230 km). The trains have been adapted to the specific characteristics of the Franco-Swiss cross-border CEVA line: configured in their suburban version, each 72-metre train can carry up to 204 seated passengers at speeds of up to 140 km/h, in accordance with Swiss certification. Designed to ensure cross-border connections with ERTMS technology, Coradia Polyvalent Leman Express trains can run on several types of network voltages.
Source: Alstom
27 Aug 2019. Germany. CRRC to take over Vossloh factory
CRRC, the Chinese state company that is the world's largest train maker, is set to gain a key foothold in Europe by acquiring its first factory on the continent through a deal with German manufacturer Vossloh. Vossloh announced Monday that it would sell a locomotive factory it opened last year to CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed CRRC. The German company, which is narrowing its focus to railway infrastructure equipment, said it expected to initially receive a figure in the "low single-digit millions of euros", and another E10m (US$11m) in follow-on transactions, under its agreement with CRRC Zhuzhou. Vossloh, which has an existing joint venture with a unit of China Railway Construction, had originally put its investment in the locomotive factory at E30m .It is unclear how much scrutiny the deal will face in Germany, although industry observers do not expect there will be regulatory action against the deal.
Source: Nikkei Asian Review
27 Aug 2019. Turkey. Freight operator orders Stadler Eurodual locomotives
Rail freight operator Korfez Ulastırma has awarded the contract to Stadler for seven Eurodual electro-diesel locomotives as well as a maintenance agreement for eight years. The first locomotive is expected to be delivered by 2021. These versatile locomotives are the first hybrid locomotives in Turkey. Korfez Ulastırma will use them in freight transport services combining both 25 kV AC electric and diesel operating modes on lines with high gradient, where a strong traction force is required. The new Eurodual will be utilised as a single locomotive to haul up to 2000 tons fuel product trains, which will improve the operational efficiency of the rail operator. The Eurodual has a power range of 2,8 MW in diesel-electric operation and 6,15 MW in electric catenary operation, as well as a tractive effort of up to 500kN. Korfez Ulastırma is the first private operator in Turkey to secure a license for freight transportation, since the government began issuing licenses to use its mainlines two years ago.
Source: Stadler
27 Aug 2019. Saudi Arabia. SAR awards CAF LeadMind solution contract
Saudi Arabian Railway Company (SAR) has awarded CAF the installation of the System to provide real time remote monitoring and CBM (Condition Based Maintenance). The project scope is the supply of real time and advanced analytics functionalities for the six trains operating between Riyadh to Qurrayat. The total monitored coaches and locomotives add up to a total amount of 62 coaches and 12 locomotives. LeadMind is CAF´s digital train platform that offers a new generation of connected trains and more competitive services for operators and maintainers through the, aggregation and consistent analysis of railway data ecosystem (trains, operations, maintenance activity, meteo, social media…) to increase availability, reliability and decrease LCC. It is a modular, open and scalable product, customizable to the needs of the client that presents the information in a friendly format to support decision making process.
Source: CAF
27 Aug 2019. Australia. CIMIC finalises Brisbane's Cross River Rail RIS contract
CIMIC Group companies CPB Contractors and UGL, along with their Unity Alliance partners, have reached contract award with the Queensland Government to deliver the Rail, Integration and Systems (RIS) package of the Cross River Rail project. The RIS package will deliver revenue of approximately A$900m to the CIMIC Group. The award of the RIS Alliance contract follows contractual close for the Tunnel, Stations and Development PPP package of the project, to be delivered by CIMIC Group companies Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors and UGL, as part of the Pulse consortium. Revenue to the CIMIC Group from the PPP package is approximately A$2.73bn.Early works on the Cross River Rail project have begun and major construction is due to be completed in 2024.
Source: Mirage News
26 Aug 2019. Canada. Mobilinx to design, operate Hurontario light rail
Infrastructure Ontario and provincial transit agency Metrolinx have picked the Mobilinx consortium to take on the Hurontario Light Rail Transit project. The Mobilinx team comprises: Applicant Lead: John Laing, Astaldi, Hitachi, Transdev, Amico Concessions, Salini Impregilo. Construction: Astaldi, Hitachi, Amico, Bot, Salini Impregilo. Design: IBI Group, Hitachi, Morrison Hershfield, Arcadis, Daoust Lestage, Operation Maintenance & Rehabilitation Provider: Transdev, Hitachi, Astaldi, Salini Impregilo. Financial Advisor: National Bank, HSBC. The new light rail system will include 19 stops, running along Hurontario Street from the Port Credit GO Station in Mississauga to the Gateway Terminal in Brampton. The system's light rail vehicles will run on dedicated lines and are expected to help ease gridlock in the two fast-growing cities just west of Toronto. In addition to the new light rail route, the contract covers the construction of a maintenance and storage facility for the rail cars to be located at Highway 407. The estimated cost to build the LRT is C$1.4bn. Mobilinx is expected to begin design work on the Hurontario light-rail project shortly after a contract is awarded to the company in the fall.
Source: On-Site Magazine
26 Aug 2019. USA. New plan slashes New York rail tunnel cost
New York and New Jersey have submitted a new plan for a rail tunnel project under the Hudson River that cuts nearly US$1.5bn off the previous cost estimate of US$11bn. Repairing the existing century-old tunnel that was damaged in 2012's Superstorm Sandy, and is a source of frequent delays due to crumbling infrastructure, would cost about US $1.8bn, or about $200m more than previous estimates. The net cost decrease means the states will seek US$5.4bn from a federal grant program instead of US$6.8bn. It isn’t clear how that will affect the project's prospects. The US. Department of Transportation has given the tunnel and an associated rail bridge project in New Jersey low ratings that have disqualified them from the Capital Investment Grant program. More than 400 trains and roughly 200,000 passengers pass through the tunnel and over the Portal Bridge in New Jersey daily on trains operated by Amtrak or New Jersey Transit.
Source: Associated Press
26 Aug 2019. Hong King. MTR under fire for service suspensions
Hong Kong's embattled MTR Corporation exposed passengers to danger and risked damaging the city's economy with its unprecedented service cuts up to 1.5 hours ahead of protests, said commuter concern group Public Transport Research Team. The rail giant came under fire for stopping services or closing stations on the Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and West Rail lines because of anti-government demonstrations staged over the weekend. The service suspensions came a day after the MTR obtained an injunction to restrain people from unlawfully and willfully obstructing or interfering with the proper use of stations and trains. The MTR Corp apparently bowed to Beijing pressure to take a tougher line on protesters after mainland Chinese state media warned the firm against any attempt to facilitate "rioters", saying the operator ran the risk of "derailing and slipping into the abyss" if it did so.
Source: South China Morning Post
23 Aug 2019. Germany. Alpha Trains completes FLIRT refurbishment project
Leasing company Alpha Trains has successfully completed one of its largest refurbishment and modernisation projects and handed over the final of in total 44 FLIRT multiple units to the lessee Keolis. The trains are - with an additional 13 new builds - in service on the Teutoburger Wald-Netz (TWN) and Hellweg-Netz (HWN) lines. On behalf of Alpha Trains, the vehicles were comprehensively modernised at Stadler in Berlin with a dynamic passenger information system and a digital video surveillance system. Alpha Trains was responsible for financing the refurbishment project and also provided its engineering expertise and coordinated and accompanied the extensive technical work.
Source: Alpha trains
