Banner Default Blog

Rail News

27th April 2023. Volume 4, Issue 4

11 months ago by Rail Personnel

​Dear Readers

​If you have any interesting news or stories about the rail industry, please let us know.

We would be pleased to include news and / or stories from our Readers, so please contact renee@railpersonnel.com with the details.

Our Jobs of the Week this week are in Asia and the United States. In Taiwan, we are looking for a Senior Planner and in Los Angeles, we are looking for a Systems Engineer.

Best Regards

Rail Personnel

Rail News

​26 April 2023. United States. Brightline opens Orlando Airport station for services to start this summer

Florida inter-city operator Brightline has formally opened its station at Orlando International Airport, ready for the extension of its Miami – West Palm Beach services to Orlando ‘in the summer’. The service expansion follows upgrading and double-tracking of the existing Florida East Coast Railway between West Palm Beach and Cocoa for 125 km/h mixed-traffic operation and the completion of a 60 km passenger-only line between Cocoa and Orlando International Airport suitable for 200 km/h.

Source: Railway Gazette International

25 April 2023. United States. LA SkyRail Express Partners with Keolis to Deliver High-Capacity Transit System

LA SkyRail Express (LASRE) has partnered with Keolis to deliver a high-capacity SkyRail system between Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley and Westside. This project aims to ease congestion on the I-405 Sepulveda corridor by offering a long-term sustainable solution that integrates with the city’s existing transit networks. It is being delivered by a consortium consisting of John Laing, Skanska, BYD, Gensler, HDR, ACI and Innova, which was awarded the contract by the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).

Source: Railway-News

25 April 2023. South Korea. Busan plans express metro to offshore airport

The southeastern city of Busan has announced plans to build an express metro line to serve the proposed Gadeok International Airport. The airport is due to be built on an artificial island off the coast of the peninsula. The 47·9 km Busan Train eXpress line with six stations would , connecting the airport to Osiria via the city’s main station. End-to-end journey time is estimated at 26 min, with the trip from the airport to the main line station expected to take around 15 min.

Source: Metro Report International

24 April 2023. Australia. Train testing beneath Sydney Harbour begins

The Sydney Metro City & Southwest project has entered its next stage, with trains now running deep below Sydney Harbour for the first time in the state’s transport history. The new metro trains are now travelling in the nearly 16km twin metro railway tunnels, which extends the Metro North West Line from Chatswood Station to Sydenham Station, as part of a rigorous testing and commissioning program.

Source: Infrastructure Magazine

24 April 2023. United Kingdom. GWR Extends Hitachi Rail’s Fleet Maintenance Contract

Great Western Railway (GWR) and Eversholt Rail have extended their maintenance partnership with Hitachi Rail to further improve the reliability of GWR trains. The contract extension is worth over 300 million GBP and will see Hitachi Rail continue to maintain the GWR West of England fleet of 36 Class 802 Intercity Express Trains until 2028.

Source: Railway-News

24 April 2023. Australia. Designs released for new VIC tram facility

The Victorian Government has released the designs for a new tram maintenance and stabling facility in Maidstone – giving locals a sneak peek of what the facility will look like once complete. The facility will be home to the new fleet of Next Generation Trams, located on the corner of Williamson and Hampstead roads in Maidstone. It will be used to maintain, clean and store the accessible, low-floor trams, as well as house tram operations and administration staff.

Source: Infrastructure Magazine

24 April 2023. Germany. Deutsche Bahn feeds solar power directly into traction energy grid

Deutsche Bahn (DB) has inaugurated a new solar energy facility in the northern federal state of Schleswig-Holstein along with partner Enerparc. Solar energy from the site is fed directly into the grid for traction energy, which is a first for Germany. The solar site covers area of 400.000 square metres, which corresponds to around 70 football fields. The electricity that is generated on-site, is fed to the 16.7 Hz traction current network via a converter plant in the town of Neumünster, some 20 kilometres to the north of Hamburg. The panels are expected to generate some 38 GWh per year and result in savings of 18.000 tons of CO2 annually.

Source: RailTech.com

22 April 2023. Vietnam. Agreement signed to develop Vietnam – Laos railway

Vietnamese construction company Deoca Group and Laos’s Petroleum Trading Lao Group have signed an agreement to study the construction of a 555 km railway between Vietnam and Laos, and to build a section of the line within Vietnam, Deoca announced in March. The east-to-west route would connect the Vietnamese port of Vũng Áng, which is not rail-served, to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, where it would have a connection with the 1 435 mm gauge main line to China. The route is expected to carry significant freight traffic between the port and terminals in northern Laos, China and Thailand.

Source: Railway Gazette International

21 April 2023. India. Egis Wins Kochi Metro Phase 2’s Detailed Design Consultant Contract

Egis Rail earlier this month was declared as the lowest bidder for Kochi Metro Phase 2’s Detailed Design Consultant (DDC) contract of station components. This consultancy contract is the third significant pre-construction contract for Kochi’s Phase 2 which will feature a 11.2 km new elevated corridor, named Pink Line, with 11 stations connecting JLN Stadium – Kakkanad – Infopark (Smart City).

Source: The Metro Rail Guy

21 April 2023. United States. New rail operator Dreamstar Lines to run luxury night trains in California

A new luxury night train company called Dreamstar Lines plans to enter the US market, with the first route being the Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay Area travel corridor. An alternative to short-haul flights, the operator hopes to run the first trains by 2024. The new operator focuses on the “500 mile gap”, trips that are “too far to drive, too close to fly, but just right for a comfortable night’s sleep in a private hotel room on wheels”, it communicates on its social channels.

Source: RailTech.com

21 April 2023. India. SYSTRA-RITES-DB JV Wins Hyderabad Metro Airport Line’s General Consultant Contract

SYSTRA – RITES – DB Engineering JV has been declared as the preferred bidder for the General Consultant (GC) contract of Hyderabad Metro’s 31 km Airport Express Line. This semi high-speed rail line will connect Mindspace Junction with Rajiv Gandhi International Airport via 10 stations and be developed under Hyderabad Metro’s Phase 2 project by Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML).

Source: The Metro Rail Guy

Jobs of the Week

​Senior Planner, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Job ID#: 13692

Discipline: Programming / Scheduling

Language: English / Manadarin

Job Description:

Our client is a global leader in design, engineering and delivery of facilities for high-tech industries and they are looking for a Senior Planner to work in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Our client is looking for candidates who are fluent in Mandarin and English and will also consider local Taiwan based candidates and foreigners.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

* 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.

* System skill required: P6, Project

* Language skills: Chinese and English (bilingual)

Job Requirements

* More than 10 years experience using P6

* Independent and service-oriented way of working as well as teamwork and communication skills.

* Language skills: both English and Chinese.

Contact: Patricia Hsiao (patricia@railpersonnel.com)

Systems Engineer II, Los Angeles, California

Job ID#: 13694

Discipline: Rolling Stock

Language: English

Job Description:

Our client is a leading manufacturer of railroad vehicles and they are looking for a Systems Engineer II to join their team in Los Angeles, California.

This job is open to locally based candidates only.

Purpose:

The Systems Engineer II will work with various engineering team members, project management, purchasing, manufacturing, quality, our suppliers during various sub-systems development. In addition, this position will make recommendations for systems & software development & integration, process improvements and assist in supporting integration and troubleshooting of issues that affect vehicle critical systems and sub-systems interface and integration.

Primary Responsibilities:

1) Help develop tracking sheet and action item list & hold weekly meetings.

2) Coordinate & participate with sub-system testing, vehicle level development & integration testing.

3) Participate in all sub-systems and systems integration activities with a focus on sub-system & system performance meeting the requirements.

4) Work with Systems Integration Engineer in the conceptual, preliminary and final design for complex rail transit projects.

5) Work with a team of engineers to provide systems engineering oversight for rail transit projects involving traction power, propulsion, braking, signaling and train control equipment, vehicle communication systems, and third rail and/or OCS poles.

6) Responsible for providing technical direction and assuring the accuracy of the work produced by various vendor design team and contractors, including plans, specifications, and estimates.

7) Discerns technical problems, plans solution paths, and coordinates tasks with other engineers of various disciplines and suppliers for efficient resolution.

8) Coordinates technical activities with the project management groups.

9) Interfacing with the others to ensure proper coordination of the systems aspects of the project.

10) Ensures compliance of systems design with all applicable codes and regulations.

11) Evaluates and may generate, block diagrams, interface drawings, state diagrams, electrical schematics, test procedures, review verification test reports, and other technical documents as required.

12) Supports other departments within the company concerning engineering matters.

13) Help with special projects as assigned by Engineering Managers.

Job Requirements

* Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related fields required; Master"s degree a plus.

* Practical knowledge in both electrical, mechanical & SW engineering.

* 3 years of experience working as Electrical Engineer; experience working in rail industry preferred.

* Knowledge in rail vehicles and its operation, test, or maintenance preferred.

* Practical experiences in using the federal regulations and other official standards (e.g. AAR, APTA, IEEE, ASME, EN, MIL, etc.) for the U.S. rail market a plus.

* A team player with a strong determination to complete projects which may span several years.

* Excellent schedule management and task management skills.

* Proactive problem solver on any issue, both technical and non-technical.

* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

* Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suire, CAD or related engineering software.

* Ability to commute to either El Segundo or Palmdale as needed.

* Ability to travel to various domestic and international destinations.

Contact: Renee Wade (renee@railpersonnel.com)