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Rail News

16 March 2020. Volume 3, Issue 3

about 4 years ago by Rail Personnel

​Dear Readers

Time to sit back, relax and check out the two twenty stories in this week’s issue of RailNews.

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They have over 500 titles, covering everything from today's freight railroads, high-speed trains and monorails to the earliest railways and vintage steam locomotives. You'll find technical books, histories, photo books and even children's train books. Created in association with Amazon.Com, you get excellent customer service, money back guarantee, security and low prices. Delivery time is between 5-8 days.

​This week's Jobs of the Week are in Australia and Malaysia. In Perth, we are looking for a Principal Engineer, Track & Rolling Stock and in Kuala Lumpur, we are looking for a Deputy Project Director / Construction Director.

Regards

Ceri Taylor

Editor

This Week’s Headlines

14 Mar 2020. India. Hyderabad: First four-track railway line ready

In a major boost to the Multi Modal Transport Service services in the city, the quadrupling of a railway line, between Moula-Ali – Ghatkesar, has been completed and commissioned.

Source: Telangana Today

13 Mar 2020. USA. FRA releases full list of rail infrastructure grants

The Federal Railroad Administration has announced its full list of recipients of US$248.5m in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program grants.

Source: Trains.com

13 Mar 2020. Slovenia. First Stadler Flirt EMU delivered to SŽ

The first of 52 Stadler multiple-units ordered by national operator SŽ was delivered on 11 March..

Source: Railway Gazette

13 Mar 2020. Croatia. Cengiz Insaat wins contract to upgrade Croatian rail line

Croatian state-run company HZ Infrastruktura has awarded Turkish firm Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret a HRK2.42bn (€322m) contract to rehabilitate a 42.6km rail line.

Source: Railway Technology

12 Mar 2020. UK. Siemens announce recruitment drive for Goole rail facility

Siemens Mobility has announced the first trainee roles for its new rail manufacturing facility in Goole, East Yorkshire.

Source: The Business Desk

Jobs of the Week:

Deputy Project Director/ Construction Director Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Job ID#: 12532

Discipline: Civil

Position Type: Permanent

Job Description

Our client is looking for a Deputy Project Director / Construction Director to contribute to the leadership of the client's team to achieve business goals that meet shareholder expectations in terms of profitability and value creation with focus on safety, continuous improvement and good corporate governance. Client will only consider Malaysian candidates

Management of Infrastructure and System construction work to meet the overall objectives of the client to deliver a fully commissioned system in compliance to the Employer's Requirements, industry standards, consultants' specifications, Client's expectations, safely, on time and at the right quality.

This role is open to Malaysian and expatriate candidates

Duties and Responsibilities:

- In conjunction with the Project Director, Director - Systems and Director - Infrastructure, develop and implement the overall objectives and strategies construction, installation, testing and commissioning of infrastructure and system works in compliance to the general, technical and operational requirements and standards of the Contract.

Job Requirements

- Candidate must possess Degree in Civil/Electrical/Mechanical/Electronic Engineering or equivalent.

- Minimum 20 years working experience in the design and construction on large railway projects as well as construction and installation of systems on large railway projects and have successfully delivered a railway project in the last 10 years.

- Strong leadership and ability to work with a compact local construction delivery tea

- Proven track record in managing and driving all packages contractors to deliver within time and cost

- Proven track record in successful completion and delivery of infra works is essential

- Proven track record in successful completion and delivery of system works right up to trial operation and project handover

- Possess knowledge of Industry Standards and Design Codes in relation to Road/Highway/Bridge/Rail infrastructures to lead and manage the design consultants.

- Understanding of lifecycle system principle, system and safety assurance, quality assurance, control system, software management and configuration management.

- Familiar with AutoCAD, Primavera Version 6 and other related software.

- Leadership style and interpersonal skills suitable for directing, training and motivating subordinate.

- Strong communicator

- Good command of spoken and written English skills.

Contact: David Hyland (davidh@railpersonnel.com)

Principal Engineer- Track and Rolling Stock, Perth, Western Australia

Job ID#: 12944

Discipline: Permanent Way

Position Type: Permanent

Job Description

Our client manages transport infrastructure. They Operate a rail freight network that stretches more than five thousand kilometers across Western Australia and are looking for a Principal Engineer - Track and Rolling Stock to be based in Perth. Suitable applicants are required to sign off on engineering designs and drawings.

The person is to set, oversee and maintain the engineering requirements (policies, frameworks, standards, procedures) for all above ballast assets relating to the track and provide technical advice as required. He or she is the senior technical specialist who is recognised as the expert on the theory and principles of track and rolling stock and is responsible for core activities relating to the rail asset and rolling stock.

The key tasks and responsibilities for the Principal Engineer - Track & Rolling Stock include but are not limited to:

* Leading, developing and mentoring a team of professional engineers, providing technical direction to ensure business objectives are met.

* Developing and maintaining all discipline technical requirements (policies, frameworks, standards, procedures, certifications etc), adopting best practices where appropriate.

* Contribute to the Operational & Maintenance best practice procedural and operational rules.

* Set technical and quality assurance standards and follow up infield inspection, mentoring and advice.

* Drive technical innovation from research, data capture and analysis to further the company"s objectives.

* Conceives and plans investigations of broad areas of considerable complexity and importance for which engineering precedents are currently lacking.

* Support, collaborate and integrate the other business units and functions as required, including support with studies, analysis, engineering design and general advice.

* Co-ordinates project activities with other business units to facilitate participation of appropriate staff in project completion.

* Reviews project-related documentation from other business units to ensure accuracy.

* Review and/or approval of technical specifications and scope of works to determine project objectives.

* Support development of asset management plans from, amongst other things, inspections and analysis of condition monitoring data to develop trends and predict failure rates and modes.

* Engaging with and represent BR on relevant industry forums (e.g. RISSB, ACRI) as required to maintain currency of knowledge for technical innovations.

* Select members of the design team in line with company policy on recruitment, selection and promotion.

* Review performance of subordinates to ensure it is in line with company expectations.

* Be held accountable for the output of their team.

Job Requirements

* Degree Qualified in Engineering or similar

* Extensive and proven experience in a similar role

* Certification/Membership of Engineers Australia or a relevant overseas equivalent body

* Working knowledge of relevant design, operations and maintenance legislation & standards.

* Strong engineering, maintenance and/or project experience within given discipline

* Current Australian Driver's Licence

* Member of Engineers Australia or eligible for membership

Contact: Jackie Hendry (jackie@railpersonnel.com)

Rail News

14 Mar 2020. India. Hyderabad: First four-track railway line ready

In a major boost to the Multi Modal Transport Service (MMTS) services in the city, the quadrupling of a railway line, between Moula-Ali – Ghatkesar, has been completed and commissioned. The project, which is a first in the history of South Central Railway, along with electrification and automatic signalling on the super busy stretch is expected to ease congestion and enable running more MMTS trains, which presently operates with 121 services between Falaknuma-Secunderabad-Hyderabad-Lingampalli -Ramachandrapuram. The new double line, which is for a distance of 12.2 km, is in addition to the existing double line and was done as part of MMTS Phase-II project. The work was executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) in a phased manner.

Source: Telangana Today

13 Mar 2020. USA. FRA releases full list of rail infrastructure grants

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has announced its full list of recipients of US$248.5m in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program grants, which will fund 32 projects in 27 states. Some of the grants had been announced previously by individual recipients. The largest awards not previously announced include: Up to $27m to the Kansas Department of Transportation for upgrades including rails, ties, ballast, turnouts, bridges, and grade crossings on the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad; up to $18.8m for Delmarva Central Railroad projects including refurbishment of three bridges and nine grade crossings in Delaware and Maryland, plus upgrades of over 100 miles of track between Porter, Del., and Lecano, Md; up to $14.5m for upgrades of 38 miles of Class III Ellis & Eastern right-of-way between Brandon, S.D., and Worthington, Minn., including 11 bridges, a siding, 6 miles of rail, and 45 grade crossings; up to $12.9m for Stage A CREATE’s Pullman Junction project, which will add a second track and upgrade signals and switches between Woodlawn Avenue and Stony Island Avenue in Chicago.

Source: Trains.com

13 Mar 2020. Slovenia. First Stadler Flirt EMU delivered to SŽ

The first of 52 Stadler multiple-units ordered by national operator SŽ was delivered on 11 March. In April 2018 SŽ placed an initial order worth €170m for 11 four-car Stadler Flirt 160 km/h electric multiple-units equipped for 3kV DC, 15kV 16·7Hz and 25kV 50 Hz operation in Slovenia, Austria and Croatia, five three-car Flirt 140km/h diesel-electric multiple-units with pairs of Deutz engines and 10 three-car Kiss 160km/h double-deck 3kV DC EMUs. This was followed in May 2019 by the exercising of a €151m option for further 10 Flirt EMUs and 16 DMUs. The Flirt EMUs are intended for use on cross-border services to Austria and Croatia, while the Kiss double-deck EMUs and the DMUs will be used on domestic services. This will enable the withdrawal of Pafawag Class 311/315 EMUs, Fiat Class 813 DMUs and locomotive-hauled coaches.

Source: Railway Gazette

13 Mar 2020. Croatia. Cengiz Insaat wins contract to upgrade Croatian rail line

Croatian state-run company HZ Infrastruktura has awarded Turkish firm Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret a HRK2.42bn (€322m) contract to rehabilitate a 42.6km rail line. The project involves the reconstruction and upgrade of a part of the Croatian segment of the Mediterranean corridor, stretching from Krizevci to the Croatia-Hungary border via Koprivnica. The scope of works includes double-tracking of the line with two viaducts, 21 railway overpasses and underpasses, as well as other associated improvements. Additionally, nine stations along the route will be modernised. Once complete, the project will enable trains to operate at speeds of up to 160km/h on the line. Project works are scheduled to begin next month and expected to complete in October 2023.

Source: Railway Technology

12 Mar 2020. UK. Siemens announce recruitment drive for Goole rail facility

Siemens Mobility has announced the first trainee roles for its new rail manufacturing facility in Goole, East Yorkshire. The 12 apprenticeships will be among the first of up to 700 jobs to be created by the development, along with a further 250 during the construction period and an additional 1,700 UK supply chain roles. Siemens Mobility is investing up to £200m in the Goole facility, where state-of-the-art Tube trains for London’s Piccadilly line will be built under a £1.5bn contract, replacing the existing 1970s fleet. The trains will provide increased capacity and an improved passenger experience with wider doors and longer, walk-through carriages. Siemens Mobility is working with London Underground to maximise the number of Tube trains to be built at Goole. A detailed planning application for the development, at the Goole 36 enterprise zone site, was put forward to East Riding of Yorkshire Council last month. Pending approval, construction is expected to start by early summer, with the first phase of manufacturing facilities operational by 2023, when the first 12 apprentices will complete their training.

Source: The Business Desk

12 Mar 2020. Denmark. DSB adds more carriages to trains to give passengers space

State railway operator Danske Statsbaner (DSB) has announced it will add more carriages to its trains so passengers can sit further apart, in a bid to reduce coronavirus transmission. DSB said it would increase the length of its trains in off-peak hours "so that public transport does not pose a greater risk of contamination than is strictly necessary. DSB has also said it will make all its tickets refundable with no charge so that people who are having second thoughts about travelling are not penalised. The operator is also temporarily banning cash payments on trains in a bid to reduce transmission.

Source: The Independent

12 Mar 2020. Australia. Inland Rail is staying on the Condamine floodplain says ARTC

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has dismissed claims that the Inland Rail should be shifted from its current, proposed route across the Condamine River floodplain (see separate story). In a hard line response to growing anger among frustrated landholders, Inland Rail chief executive Richard Wankmuller said there was no premise to change the route based on either flood modelling or economics. "The science tells us there is no premise to change the route based on flood modelling and the economics tells us that this route was the most viable, cost effective option," Mr Wankmuller said. We have the utmost confidence in our flood modelling, which has been conducted, reviewed and verified separately by the country’s and Queensland’s leading hydrology experts." ARTC's flood mapping is central to the finalisation of the design and costings of the construction of the 16km section of the Inland Rail across the floodplain between Millmerran and Brookstead.

Source: Queensland Country Life

12 Mar 2020. New Zealand. Hamilton-to-Auckland rail service to start in August

A new commuter rail service between Hamilton and Auckland will start running from 3 August. Called Te Huia, the service will run two early morning trains from Hamilton and two return trips in the evening each week day and a single return on Saturday. The service will leave Frankton in Hamilton and then stop at The Base in Rotokauri before going onto Huntly and finally stopping in Papakura in Auckland, where passengers can change onto the Auckland Public Transport Network. Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the connection will allow up to 300 people to get to and from Auckland each day which will help reduce congestion on roads and transport emissions. Funding of NZ$90m for the service was announced last August. The Ministry of Transport also has work underway to investigate options for rapid rail between Hamilton and Auckland, Twyford said.

Source: RNZ

11 Mar 2020. USA. Harsco secures Network Rail mobile maintenance deal

Harsco Corporation has announced that its Rail division has been awarded a three-year (with an optional two-year extension) mobile maintenance train service contract by Network Rail,. The contract, valued approximately at US$25m, calls for Harsco Rail to operate and maintain Network Rail’s fleet of eight mobile maintenance trains. The contract is scheduled to begin in April 2020. The fleet of mobile maintenance trains plays a critical role in Network Rail’s operations, enabling the delivery of essential track-maintenance works throughout the railroad infrastructure; seven trains are currently operational and based at Darlington, Wakefield, Retford, Derby, Horsham, Paddock Wood and Romford, while the eighth vehicle is used to undertake overhaul and maintenance works.

Source: Global Newswire

11 Mar 2020. Mexico. Mexico City underground trains collide killing one

One person has been killed and more than 40 injured in a collision between two trains on Mexico City's underground system. It is not clear yet what caused the collision but footage shows one of the trains mounted on top of the other. The crash happened at Tacubaya station in the west of the city. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said 25 people had been taken to hospital but that none of them had sustained serious injuries. Mexico City's underground is one of the busiest worldwide with 1.6 billion passengers every year. It has 12 lines and 195 stations. An investigation into what caused the collision is underway.

Source: BBC

11 Mar 2020. UK. Darlington Railway Station redevelopment will be fully funded

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has today used his first budget to announce that the redevelopment of Darlington railway station will be approved and fully funded. The £80m ask of Government came following months of discussions between the Department for Transport, the Treasury and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen on the importance of the upgrade in order to improve rail travel across the North-East. The funding is on top of a £25m investment committed to help deliver the vision for the station. The plan will create a new local station and train platforms at Darlington Station, which will see rail capacity increase by more than 300 per cent, taking the current two trains an hour across the region up to a possible eight trains an hour. The scheme will also see improvements to the fabric of the station, including improved entrances, and the regeneration of the wider area around the station. Once complete, the upgraded station will allow for better freight connections from Teesport and prepare the station for high-speed services and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Source: The Northern Echo

11 Mar 2020. UK. Oldest railway roundhouse discovered

Archaeologists digging up the site of Birmingham's main HS2 train station have uncovered what could be the 'world's oldest railway roundhouse'. The roundhouse based on a design by Robert Stephenson was discovered on the site of the original Curzon Street station which operated from the 1830s to 1960s. The Victorian building is thought to have been among the structures demolished from 1860 to 1870 to allow for the expansion of the station. Historians say it was first operational as early as 12 November 1837, meaning it predated a similar building in Derby by almost two years. Among the surviving remains of the Curzon Street roundhouse are evidence of the base of the central turntable, the exterior wall and the 3ft deep radial inspection pits which surrounded the turntable.

Source: Daily Mail

11 Mar 2020 France. International Union of Railways forms coronavirus task force

The International Union of Railways (UIC) has formed a Covid-19 Task Force which will work with the rail section and external organisations to disseminate best practice on limiting and managing the disease’s outbreak while taking into account rail-specific issues and ensuring harmonisation within the railway community. The Paris-based UIC said its experience of technical co-operation at the global level made it well-placed to bring together networks of experts for the exchange of best practice. Focuses include passenger information and awareness campaigns; measures for staff; operation and business continuity; and communication channels between different stakeholders (rail sector, national and international authorities, organisations).

Source: Railway Gazette

11 Mar 2020. Austria. Passenger services to Italy suspended

Both Austrian Federal Railways (OEBB) and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have suspended passenger rail services to Italy via the Brenner Pass across the Alps, which connects Innsbruck to Bolzano, as a precautionary measure due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Both companies say they are acting on the instruction of the authorities. This suspension affects only passenger services. Freight services are still running. The DB service affected by the instruction is the EC line 89, which connects Munich to Bologna via Innsbruck and Verona. These trains will now stop in Innsbruck. OEBB long-distance services into Italy will now halt in Innsbruck or Villach. Night trains to/from Italy will start/stop in Villach. There will be no local passenger rail services crossing between Austria and Italy. OEBB says all passengers with tickets for travel dates between now and 3 April can get a full refund. Deutsche Bahn has also expanded its refund policy to make sure passengers are not left out of pocket.

Source: Railway News

11 Mar 2020. Greece. Four more companies to offer rail services

Data from Greece’s railway regulator, RAS, show that besides the three companies already providing railway services, there are four others preparing to enter the market. Trainose provides passenger as well as cargo services, STASY only provides passenger services (through the Proastiakos suburban railway), and RailCargo Logistics Goldair delivers cargo by rail. The fourth company set to become active on the Greek railway network will be Piraeus Europe Asia Rail Logistics (PEARL), which belongs to China’s Cosco. According to RAS President Ioanna Tsiaparikou, who submitted the data to Parliament, PEARL has received all the necessary certification and all that is left to complete before it can launch operations is employee training. The company will focus on freight rail. There also are three more companies that have submitted licensing applications: They are Greece’s Makios Logistics and two Romanian companies – Grup Feroviar Roman, and TEF Logistica Feroviara. All of them will also offer freight services.

Source: ekathimerini.com

11 Mar 2020. Japan. Tokyo-Osaka bullet train ridership falls by 56%

Passenger numbers on Japan's busiest bullet train line plummeted 56% on the year in early March, the biggest drop in at least 33 years, as a widening coronavirus outbreak disrupted travel. The current decline in ridership on the Tokaido Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo with Osaka, surpasses the 20% fall in March 2011, when Japan suffered a deadly earthquake and tsunami. With revenue from rail transport averaging nearly 4 billion yen ($38.3million) a day during normal times, a prolonged slump also could force JR Tokai to revise its earnings forecast.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review

11 Mar 2020. China. Hong Kong’s MTR deploys cleaning robot

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp has deployed an automated Vapourised Hydrogen Peroxide Robot to undertake deep cleaning and decontamination of its trains and stations in an effort to fight Coronavirus. The VHP Robot is the result of a joint project between MTR Corp and biotechnology company Avalon Biomedical. It automatically sprays hydrogen peroxide solution atomised to a specific concentration, ensuring disinfectants penetrate small gaps that are difficult to reach during normal cleaning work. The operator can set the robot to operate automatically by pre-setting the floor plan of the designated area, or can use a mobile device to control the robot from up to 20m away. It takes about 4 hours to clean an eight-car train in automatic mode. The collaboration between MTR and Avalon also includes the introduction of a dedicated manufacturing facility which can produce surgical face masks capable of blocking PM 2·5 particles using nanofibre technology developed by Hong Kong Polytechnic University. MTR and Avalon are also testing the use of nano-air filtration technology to further improve the air quality of stations.

Source: Metro Report International

11 Mar 2020. Australia. New Inland Rail routes to be considered following

The Federal Government appears set to assess alternative Inland Rail routes following a high level meeting in Sydney. While the meeting fell short of immediately ruling out the already nominated route across the Condamine River floodplain, the meeting has set the scene to force the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to properly consider less controversial options. The behind the scenes pressure is to examine a route through mainly forestry country west of the Condamine floodplain. Supporters of that route say it greatly reduces the distance of the track across the floodplain and will remove the high speed, 1.8km long trains from communities closer to Toowoomba. The other option is to use the existing rail corridor, passing close to Warwick before heading to Gowrie.

Source: Queensland Country Life

11 Mar 2020. Australia. UGL awarded two rail contracts

International contractors, CIMIC Group (CIM) has announced its subsidiary, UGL has been awarded two rail sector contracts, worth more than A$180m. As part of a consortium, UGL has also won a contract to operate and maintain Adelaide's North-South tram and bus network for eight years. The consortium includes UGL, Transit Systems and John Holland. The company will perform operations and maintenance on the Adelaide trams networks for eight years starting in July. Additionally, UGL has also secured a contract to manufacture new locomotives for Qube Logistics, over a period of 18 months. The locomotives will be built in Newcastle, NSW.

Source: The Market Herald

10 Mar 2020. UK. Euston services disrupted due to damage to power cables

Train passengers using London Euston station face more disruption after more damage was found to electrical power cables. Services have been severely disrupted since one kilometre of overhead power lines were damaged near Wembley on Saturday. Engineers had expected to fix the problem overnight on Monday but Network Rail said the damage was “more extensive” than previously thought. James Dean, route director for the West Coast Mainline South route, apologised to passengers and advised them to “check before you travel with your train operator or National Rail Enquiries”.

Source: BBC