Dear Readers
Did you know that the world's first fully solar powered train has been running in Bryon Bay in Australia since 2017? The train was designed and built by one of our clients Tim Elderton at Lithgow Railway Workshops. To power the train, one of the two diesel engines was replaced with two electric motors, inverters and a Lithium-ion bank of batteries. The solar system is so efficient that it not only powers the train, but electricity generated is fed back into the grid. Of the solar power generated, less than a quarter is required to power the train; the remainder is used to power the Byron community via a local green energy supply company.
See https://byronbaytrain.com.au or contact Tim at tim@lithgowrailworks.com.au
Also, we are proud to be supporting this year's Heavy Haul Rail Conference taking place from 6th - 7th April at the Ritz - Carlton in Perth, Western Australia. For further details and to register to attend, please visit:
https://www.informa.com.au/event/conference/transport-logistics/heavy-haul-rail/
And it's another bumper month for Jobs of the Week and we are looking for candidates for the following:
- Cost Control and Estimation Expert, Manila, Philippines
- Sales & Marketing Director, Signal Division, Brisbane, Australia
- Principal / Senior Civil Engineer, Sydney, Australia
- Planning & Scheduling Engineer, Kaoshiung, Taiwan
- Director of Network Planning, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
And don't forget to visit our website www.railpersonnel.com to see and apply for more jobs in the rail industry.
Best Regards
Rail Personnel
This Week's Headlines
9 March 2022. Malaysia. Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link project nears 30-percent completion
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project was 27,82 percent complete at the end of February, local media reported Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) ceo Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak as saying on Wednesday.
Source: RailTech.com
9 March 2022. UK. HS2 unveils updated designs for London Euston station
HS2 on Wednesday published new images of the future London Euston station. The updated designs are a marked departure from the ones first released in 2015, as the station can now be built in a single phase as opposed to two. The new designs for the HS2 London Euston station reveal an entirely different geometric roof design.
Source: RailTech.com
3 March 2022. Australia. $538.5 million Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line contract awarded
A $538.5 million construction contract has been awarded on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project, which will deliver approximately 10.4km of surface and civil alignment works. The contract was awarded to CPB Contractors and United Infrastructure.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
Jobs of the Week
Cost Control and Estimation Expert, Manila, Philippines
Job ID#: 13423
Discipline: Cost Control
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client is looking for a Cost Control and Estimation Expert for the North - South Commuter Railway Project to be based in Manila. This is an ongoing project and will replace the currently assigned Cost Estimator. The period is about 3 years.
Work involves cost estimation
Job Requirements
- Graduate in Civil Engineering
- 10 years Experience in design, tender assistance and construction stage for railway projects:
- Experience as cost estimation specialist in at least one (1) railway project in design stage and in one (1) railway project in construction stage. The project size is to be (procurement/construction cost) > USD 100M (amount of the related packages)
Contact: David Hyland (davidh@railpersonnel.com)
Director of Network Planning, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Job ID#: 13354
Discipline: Logistics
Position Type: Contract
Language:
Job Description:
Our client is seeking a Director Network Planning to be responsible for the management and coordination of the client's selected packages and their design interface, by supervising and monitoring the implementation of the packages' engineering activities and ensuring integration with other packages, in accordance with approved plans and the client's organizational objectives
Activities include:
- Responsible for the management of the design for selected packages and maintaining oversight in areas relevant to railway civil disciplines and pertinent to the design and construction of the railway networks, in accordance with the client's technical requirements and established safety and quality standards and protocols
- Accountable for the management and coordination of selected packages design development (i.e. conceptual design, preliminary design, final design) and for ensuring that design approvals are not impeding the timely completion and delivery of projects and milestones achievement
- Responsible for managing the PMC staff and monitoring the design review performance in addition to the designs progress submitted by contractors, in order to ensure consistency and alignment across the board, in line with the client's expectations
- Ensure the development of an integrated design addressing both the civil and structural works and interfaces with systems in order to enable the production of a fully functional network while resolving any design incompatibilities, where deemed necessary
Job Requirements:
Suitable candidates need to have an understanding of:
- Rail Operation and commercial freight facilities implemented and operated to achieve required operation and commercial service delivery requirements.
- Working with Marketing/Commercial group, to lead the operations development of service delivery plan operational system requirements and the development of critical service e delivery KPI's for each train operations and freight facility operation.
- To analyze each train and freight facility/material handling operation to optimize use of CAPEX/OPEX to support the Marketing/commercial team in the development of commercial business cases.
- Working experience in general management, train operations, freight facility operation, asset management, contract management and the development of business cases with railway customers is critical to this position.
Mandatory: Bachelors' degree in relevant field
Preferable: Post graduate degree
Preferable:
- Professional railway certifications or/and affiliations
- Project Management certification
- A minimum of 5- 8 years of relevant experience
Contact: Jackie Hendry (jackie@railpersonnel.com)
Sales and Marketing Director Signal Division, Brisbane, Australia
Job ID#: 13424
Discipline: Signalling
Position Type: Permanent
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client is looking for an experienced Sales Manager to be based in Queensland.
Job Requirements
To qualify candidates must have
* Experience in Australia;
* Relevant engineering qualification;
* 10 years in a sales role in the rail industry;
* knowledge of railway/mass transit systems and/or rolling stock
* understand Commercial contracts;
* Confidence in Finance and Economics;
* Conduct stakeholders meetings and have strong negotiation skills.
Contact: Saras Jay (saraj@railpersonnel.com)
Principal/Senior Civil Engineer, Sydney, Australia
Job ID#: 13425
Discipline: Civil
Position Type: Permanent
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client provides specialist engineering services, systems integration and turnkey project delivery of signalling, communications and control systems for metro, light rail, passenger and heavy freight railways throughout the world.
They are looking for an experienced civil engineer with a design background for the position of Installation Engineer to be based in either Sydney, Brisbane or Perth. This is a permanent full time opportunity.
Resonsibilites include
* Preparing and Generating the Combined Service Drawings (CSD) and Structural Electrical Mechanical Drawings (SEM) for the Core Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) Systems, including Signalling, communication, Power Supply, trackwork of Railway or Metro Rapid Transit Systems; and, interface with all the systems including civil, architectural, utilities, rolling stock, track works, and Core E&M.
* Cooperating with the system engineer, interface manager, engineers or manager of Building Information Management (BIM), and engineers of each system of the Core E&M.
* Finding and solving clashes from CSD and SEM,
* Finding and solving design, construction, and installation problems from construction site.
* Providing BIM required information and drawings.
* Preparing As-built drawings.
* Preparing, attending or chairing the CSD & SEM related meetings.
* Preparing meeting material and meeting minutes.
* Preparing works related document.
* Replying to work related formal letters, e-mails, or request of information (RFI).
* Visiting construction sites, preparing related reports, and solving clashes by using CSD & SEM.
* Exchanging the work related information on requested time.
* Reporting work status and issues to Project Office and Company.
* Recording and compiling work related letters, meeting minutes, document and issues.
Job Requirements
Essential Requirements
* Skilled of AutoCAD and BIM 3D Works
* Knowledge of Railway or Metro Rapid Transit System
* Good Communication and Meeting Skill
* Good Technical Coordination and Management Skills
* Good Ability on Writing Technical Documents and Reports.
Desirable
* Knowledge of Core E&M Installation Works on Wayside (or trackside), Depot and Equipment Rooms
* Knowledge of Cable Routings
Qualifications
* Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Civil or Mechanical
* 8 years" Experience in Civil / Mechanical design for Rail projects
Behavioural
* Thrives by working in a fluid environment.
* Motivated by work that provides opportunities for development, and the acquisition of new skills.
* Ability to solve interface problems.
* Ability to work in a project team and in a collaborative environment.
* Ability to interface to diversity and international mind-set.
Contact: David Hyland (davidh@railpersonnel.com)
Planning & Scheduling Engineer, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Job ID#: 12691
Discipline: Planning
Position Type: Permanent
Language: Mandarin, English
Job Description:
-Compilation of all necessary information for tenders, monthly reports and presentation;
-Construction planning and liaising with clients, suppliers, building and facility contractors;
-Submission of an optimum tender programme which can meet the client"s requirements/provision of a workable and cost effective Baseline/Master Programme;
-Involvement in the development and control of Project Work Schedule, such as building works, M&E and Process Systems from concept design to construction/installation to testing and commissioning;
-Inputs the activity information into a project scheduling software and use an iterative process of time analysis to obtain an optimum time schedule;
-Calculates/Estimates the duration of each major construction activity and the resource requirements;
-Determines the optimum sequence of the activities;
-Liaise with other staff & suppliers, visits the site to optimise the planning effort;
-Manage design progress, reporting, authorities matrix and similar management tools;
-When on a project, reports to Project Manager.
Job Requirements
*Degree in Mechanical Engineering or Building Construction
*5 - 6 years relevant experience
*Experience in construction planning with building related facility
Technical Skills:
*Understanding of Codes and Engineering Standards of International Clients
*Proficient in MS Office in particular Excel, Powerpoint and MS Project
*Primavera P6
*For local Taiwanese
Contact: May Chen (may@railpersonnel.com)
Rail News
9 March 2022. South Korea. Korea establishes new safety plan following KTX train derailment
The Korean Ministry of Transport has established new measures to prevent high-speed train accidents following the derailment of a KTX high-speed train on January 5. It includes shortening the maintenance cycle of the wheels and strengthening the technical standards of trains to the European standard. The Korea Train Express (KTX) travelling on the Gyeongbu Express Line from Seoul to Busan derailed due to wheel damage, and seven people suffered minor injuries earlier in January. While the train was running, the wheel was damaged and the axle was disengaged. The train was not completely derailed and one passenger car was slightly off track. Following the incident, train delays up to 4 hours were the result, and the damage to vehicles and the infrastructure amounted to approximately 4 billion won (nearly 3 million euros).
Source: RailTech.com
9 March 2022. Malaysia. Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link project nears 30-percent completion
The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project was 27,82 percent complete at the end of February, local media reported Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) ceo Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak as saying on Wednesday. According to Razak, work is now underway in the Malaysian states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor. Due to the country’s geography, the route of the 665-kilometre ECRL largely mirror’s that of the E8 highway. Infrastructure construction at this stage is driven by earthworks, piling, tunnelling activities and the construction of bridges. In Terengganu alone, work is underway at 143 separate locations, Razak said. MRL is targeting a 37 percent completion rate for infrastructure works before the end of the year. In total, the ECRL will consist of 59 tunnels with a total length of 61 kilometres, as well as 127 kilometres of flyovers.
Source: RailTech.com
9 March 2022. UK. HS2 unveils updated designs for London Euston station
HS2 on Wednesday published new images of the future London Euston station. The updated designs are a marked departure from the ones first released in 2015, as the station can now be built in a single phase as opposed to two. The new designs for the HS2 London Euston station reveal an entirely different geometric roof design. The roof itself can be largely prefabricated off-site before installation. The current station was constructed in 1968 and replaced the original structure, opened in 1837. The new station will comprise three levels, with the 300-metre-long ground-level concourse now mainly designed as a north-south route between Euston Road and Bloomsbury to Hampstead Road and Camden Town. To that end, the ten 450-metre-long platforms were moved underground. The concourse will also feature shops and other facilities, as will the station’s first floor.
Source: RailTech.com
3 March 2022. Australia. $538.5 million Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line contract awarded
A $538.5 million construction contract has been awarded on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project, which will deliver approximately 10.4km of surface and civil alignment works. The contract was awarded to CPB Contractors and United Infrastructure.
The contract includes:
•3.5km of elevated viaduct at Orchard Hills and Luddenham
•6.7km of earthworks for track formation
•A 190m long rail bridge over the new M12 motorway
•A 20m long rail bridge within the airport
•Temporary and permanent access roads
•Bulk earthworks for the stabling and maintenance facility site
•At least 20 per cent of the contract workforce will be from Greater Western Sydney
The driverless 23km metro line will link St Marys to the centre of the new Aerotropolis at Bradfield via the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. Six stations will also be built along the alignment.
Source: Source: Infrastructure Magazine
3 March 2022. Australia. $292 million Inland Rail contract awarded for steel rail
The Federal Government has announced a $292 million contract for the supply of more than 147,000t of high quality steel rail, including 110,000t for Inland Rail. The contract has been signed between the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and South Australian company Liberty Primary Steel. The contract will also support upgrades between Narrabri and Turrawan, a vital connection between Inland Rail and the Hunter Valley coal network, and the Southern Highlands line in New South Wales. This announcement follows the $143 million contract that Inland Rail signed with Austrak last month to supply more than 1.3 million concrete sleepers for Inland Rail – representing $435 million in combined investment in the Inland Rail network.
Source: Source: Infrastructure Magazine
3 March 2022. Australia. Fortescue looks to Infinity and beyond with gravity-powered battery train
Mining company Fortescue and its recently acquired Williams Advanced Engineering business have announced plans for the Infinity Train, which is intended to capture regenerated energy from loaded downhill runs and store it to power the returning empty trip. ‘The Infinity Train has the capacity to be the world’s most efficient battery electric locomotive’, said Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines when the acquisition of UK-based WAE was completed on March 1. ‘The regeneration of electricity on the downhill loaded sections will remove the need for the installation of renewable energy generation and recharging infrastructure, making it a capital efficient solution for eliminating diesel and emissions from our rail operations.’
Source: Railway Gazette International
2 March 2022. UAE. Ceremony completes Dubai – Abu Dhabi tracklaying
The final section of track for the rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai has been ceremonially installed by Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Etihad Rail Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The final section of track for the rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai has been ceremonially installed. The completion of the Abu Dhabi - Dubai section of the future national rail network ‘represents an important pivotal phase that shows the great benefits of this national project in linking all the emirates of the country and enhancing the transport process between industrial and economic centres’, said Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed on March 1.
Source: Railway Gazette International
1 March 2022. Australia. $2.16 billion tunnelling contract for Sydney Metro West awarded
Sydney Metro has awarded a contract to deliver the second stage of tunnelling on the enormous Sydney Metro West project, worth $2.16 billion. The Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke Consortium has been awarded the Western Tunnelling contract to deliver 9km of twin metro rail tunnels between Sydney Olympic Park and Westmead.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
1 March 2022. Czech Republic selects contractors for rail modernisation to Slovakia
Sweden-based construction group Skanska and the Czech Elektrizace železnic Praha are selected to modernise part of a railway line from Czech Republic to Slovakia. The modernisation of the border section between Lanžhot (Czech Republic) and Kúty (Slovakia) is to ensure interoperability and increase line speed from the current 120 km/h to 160 km/h. The construction works awarded by Czech infrastructure manager Správa železnic will start this February and will last until the end of next year. The tendered price is 24 million euros (CZK 596 million), and the project will be co-financed by the EU from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.
Source: RailTech.com
1 March 2022. UK. Hitachi Rail awarded Network Rail digital sensors contract
Hitachi Rail and its subsidiary, Perpetuum, have been awarded a contract by Network Rail to develop a real-time digital solution that monitors, and eventually predicts, sections of track that affect ride quality and require maintenance. The monitoring equipment is currently installed on trains across Scotland’s networks including the North Clyde Line, The Borders, and Fife Circle.
Source: Rail UK
25 February 2022. Dutch Railways to revamp double-decker series 4 fleet
Dutch Railways (NS) will modernise all of its 51 double-decker series 4 trains (VIRM4) in the coming years, the company announced this week. The overhaul calls for an investment of 323 million euros. The first train set will be upgraded in 2023 and will return to service by the end of 2025. The following year, the revamp programme for the other 50 train sets will commence. The overhaul will wrap up in 2028. The 51 trains consist of a total of 204 coaches. NS intends to carry out a 99-percent circular upgrade programme, meaning most if not all of the materials will be reused. Either in the trains themselves or elsewhere.
Source: RailTech.com
25 February 2022. UAE. Etihad Rail signs passenger rail financing agreement
A 1·99bn dirham agreement for the financing of future passenger rail services has been signed by Etihad Rail and First Abu Dhabi Bank, which will be the certified lead arranger for the loan. Freight services have been operating on the 264 km first phase of the planned 1 200 km national rail network since 2016, and construction of the second phase is underway to connect Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah with links to the ports at Mussafah, Khalifa and Jebel Ali.
Source: Railway Gazette International
23 February 2022. Australia. Metro Tunnel Project enters new stage of construction
Crews on the Metro Tunnel Project are preparing to lay tracks through the completed tunnels and install rail systems after the delivery of almost 40km of rail to the tunnel’s western entrance. These tracks and rails will be installed through the project’s twin 9km tunnels, moving the project closer to reaching its goal of accommodating half a million extra passengers on the rail network during the peaks every week. Work on the rail tunnel and station fit-outs have been ramping up since four tunnel boring machines finished the 9km-long, 6.3m-high rail tunnels in May 2021, excavating more than 600,000 cubic metres of rock and soil.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
23 February 2022. Japan. Japan’s first hydrogen train to start tests
Trials runs of Japan’s first hydrogen-powered train ‘Hybari’ will start next month, reports Japanese news agency Jiji Press. The train is developed by railway company JR East, Toyota Motor and Hitachi. JR East will conduct test runs for the two-car train on the Nanbu Line, connecting Tachikawa Station, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station as well as some other unspecified lines from late March. The company aims to start commercial operation of the Hybari hydrogen train in 2030. Hybari stands for HYdrogen-HYBrid Advanced Rail vehicle for Innovation. The development cost for the test train totaled some 4 billion yen, around 30 million euros. The Hybari train can travel up to about 140 kilometers per charge of hydrogen, according to the developers. Initially, the test train will have a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
Source: RailTech.com
22 February 2022. UK. Alstom awarded Cambridge re-signalling contract
etwork Rail has awarded a major design and delivery contract to Alstom as part of a £194 million investment for the renewal of the signalling systems in the Cambridge area. The Cambridge re-signalling project aims to replace the existing systems with a modern, state-of-the-art signalling technology which means better reliability for passengers and reduced maintenance. It will also provide a platform ready for digital technologies such as the European Train Control System (ETCS).
Source: Rail UK
22 February 2022. USA. Mitsubishi becomes first non-European CBTC supplier in New York
The Mitsubishi Electric Corporation earlier this week announced a contract award for communications-based train control (CBTC) wayside equipment for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The agreement, valued at 62,65 million dollars, is Mitsubishi’s first CBTC supply deal outside of Japan. The MTA, on its part, will be dealing with a non-European CBTC supplier for the first time. The equipment will be used to manage traffic on the New York City Transit-operated east end of the Queens Boulevard Line, and is expected to become operational in 2026. The installation will be managed by the MTA Construction and Development Company.
Source: RailTech.com
22 February 2022. USA. Texas drops hyperloop option for Dallas-Fort Worth choosing high-speed rail
A hyperloop connection between Dallas and Fort Worth is no longer considered an option. The Regional Transport Council has chosen to focus only on high-speed rail for the corridor. Hyperloop will however also be advanced, but along a parallel path for future separate lines in the region. The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of North Central Texas approved a revision to its policy that excludes hyperloop from consideration and focuses solely on high-speed rail as part of its plans to develop the Interstate 30 rail corridor between Dallas and Fort Worth. The transport council, which serves as the policy-making body for the region and consists of local elected officials, voted in line with the staff recommendations in a meeting on 10 February.
Source: RailTech.com
17 February 2022. Saudi Arabia. 28,000 candidates for first 30 female train driver positions in Saudi Arabia
Nearly 30 thousand Saudi women have signed up for the 30 positions of train drivers, a profession previously not open to women in the Kingdom. The female train drivers will work on the Haramain high-speed train after their training, which links the cities of Mecca and Medina. For the first time in history, women will be performing the train driver profession in Saudi Arabia. Renfe KSA, the Saudi subsidiary of Renfe Operadora, opened a call last December reserving 30 positions for women, which was agreed with the General Transport Authority (TGA) of Saudi Arabia, as well as with the Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR).
Source: RailTech.com
16 February 2022. Australia. Sunshine Station plans expanded to support Melbourne Airport Rail
Sunshine Station upgrade plans have been expanded to include a new regional platform by 2029, as part of the broader Melbourne Airport Rail Link project. This upgrade will allow more regional services to stop at Sunshine Station, including Bendigo services, paving the way for the Western Rail Plan and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link. Construction is slated to begin mid-2022. The announcement adds to previously announced Sunshine Station upgrades, including extending existing regional platforms to accommodate longer nine-car VLocity trains and a new, second concourse to make transfers easier between metro, regional and airport services.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
15 February 2022. Australia. Cross River Rail’s Roma Street enters new construction phase
Brisbane’s landmark transport project, the Cross River Rail, has progressed from tunnelling to station construction, with a 20-metre-deep cavern excavated at Roma Street station. Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey, said the station box at Roma Street would house the future Cross River Rail Roma Street station entrance, which will rise 27m above the new underground rail level once completed. “In 2021, we capped off Cross River Rail’s year of tunnelling when two massive Tunnel Boring Machines completed the project’s twin tunnels beneath the Brisbane River and CBD,” Mr Bailey said. “2022 will be our year for station build and tunnel fit out, as Cross River Rail’s four underground stations, as well as multiple new above ground stations including a new station at Exhibition, really start to take shape.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
