Dear Readers
Our Job of the Week this week is in Sydney, Australia where we are looking for a Systems Engineer to work for a company that develops communication and information systems for air traffic management and public safety and transport.
We are also looking for Australia based candidates with strong Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) experience to work for a company in Melbourne. If interested, please send your CV to renee@railpersonnel.com.
Best Regards
Rail Personnel
Rail News
6 July 2023. United Kingdom. Luton DART passengers saving years of journey time
More than 650,000 passengers have already saved themselves more than 10 years of total journey time during the first 100 days of operation of the Luton DART. The Direct Air-Rail Transit system, which whisks travellers between Luton Airport Parkway Station and the airport terminal in under four minutes, opened on 27 March and reached its 100-day milestone yesterday (July 5).
Source: Rail UK
6 July 2023. United States. Wabtec Wins Component Order for VDV Tram-Train Project
Wabtec Corporation (Wabtec) on July 6 announced that it has won a contract to supply passenger information systems (PIS) and pantographs for up to 504 Stadler cars as part of the VDV Tram-Train project. According to Wabtec, which is responsible for the design, manufacturing and delivery of the advanced PIS and pantograph systems, the order will “enhance the passenger experience and power the new train cars for the transit consortium” led jointly by six transportation companies from Germany and Austria.
Source: Railway Age
6 July 2023. Japan. Driver-only EMUs unveiled in Hokkaido
JR Hokkaido has unveiled its first Series 737 EMUs, which are the railway’s first to be designed for driver-only operation. Built at Hitachi’s Kasado works, the 13-two-car EMUs are intended to replace the KiHa 143 diesel railcars which have been operating local services on an electrified section of the Muroran Main Line since the withdrawal of older Series 711 EMUs in 2012.
Source: Metro Report International
An inquiry into passenger rail has put four new North Island routes on the table, from Wellington to Auckland and the East Coast. The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has recommended the government launch scoping studies for four rail services; Auckland to Wellington, Auckland to Tauranga, Napier to Wellington and an extension of the Capital Connection from Palmerston North to Feilding.
Source: RNZ
Hitachi Rail is piloting its new ‘Over and Back’ testing solution in the delivery of a new ETCS digital signalling system for South-East Queensland’s Cross River Rail project. The ‘Over and Back’ solution will enable seamless switching between existing interlocking and new ETCS digital signalling systems to reduce testing time on Queensland Rail’s network.
Source: Railway-News
5 July 2023. United Kingdom. HS2 Advances Plan to Extend High-Speed Network to Manchester
HS2 Ltd has announced that a second set of proposed changes to the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill has been introduced to Parliament. The submission of Additional Provision 2 (AP2) marks a key milestone in the parliamentary process for extending the HS2 network to Manchester. The High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill was submitted to Parliament in January 2022, and the first proposed changes under Additional Provision 1 (AP1) were introduced six months later.
Source: Railway-News
4 July 2023. Canada. First hydrogen train in the Americas tested in Quebec
In Quebec, Canada, one hundred passengers boarded Alstom’s Coradia iLint for the first green hydrogen-powered train journey ever on the North American continent. Earlier this month, the train completed a 90-kilometre journey through the scenic Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve with zero direct emissions. This inaugural run linked the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency in Quebec City with Baie-Saint-Paul.
Source: RailTech.com
4 July 2023. Australia. Martinus Rail to deliver $403.5M Inland Rail works
Martinus Rail has been awarded a $403.5 million contract to design and deliver Inland Rail enhancement works on the 183km section of track between Albury to Illabo, and the 170km of track between Stockinbingal to Parkes. These works include enhancements to station precincts in Albury, Wagga Wagga and Forbes, bridge upgrades, track lowering and slews, and an additional crossing loop at Daroobalgie to create the height and width clearances required for doubled-stacked freight trains.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
4 July 2023. Australia. Downer signs $4.6B train manufacturing contract
Downer Group has officially signed a $4.6 billion contract to design and manufacture trains for the State Government’s $7.1 billion Queensland Train Manufacturing Program. This investment is set to support 800 construction and manufacturing jobs. Downer is now tasked with the manufacture of 65 passenger trains at a state-owned purpose-built facility at Torbanlea. The first train is set to be delivered in 2026, with all 65 on track for 2032.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
3 July 2023. United States. First section of Honolulu metro opens at last
Revenue services on the first phase of Honolulu’s Skyline-branded light metro line started on June 30 with an opening ceremony held at Aloha Stadium at 14.00. Passengers possessing a valid HOLO public transport smartcard can travel for free until July 4. The first section of the elevated metro line serves nine stations on a 17·7 km route between East Kapolei and Aloha Stadium in the western and northern suburbs. The end-to-end journey time is 22 min.
Source: Metro Report International
2 July 2023. India. KEC JV Begins Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2’s Track-Work
Vijay Nirman Company – KEC International – Emrail JV last week began pouring concrete to install standard gauge rails for the Ahmedabad Metro Phase 2 project. This new 28.254 km phase will see Ahmedabad’s north-south Red Line getting extended by 22.838 km from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir via 20 new stations with a 5.416 km spur from GNLU to GIFT City which includes 2 new stations.
Source: The Metro Rail Guy
Job of the Week
Systems Engineer, Sydney, Australia
Job ID#: 13760
Discipline: IT
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client is seeking a Systems Engineer to provide ongoing support with communications and information technology solutions for mission critical systems in Public Transport, and Maritime operations.
Our client is the leading international supplier of communication and information systems for control centres with safety-critical tasks. These 'Control Centre Solutions' are developed and distributed by the client in the business segments Air Traffic Management (civil and military air traffic control, air defence) and Public Safety & Transport (police, fire and rescue services, emergency medical services, maritime organisations, and railways).
The company was established in 2004 and delivers and supports communication and information management projects for air traffic management, defence, public safety and public transport organisations across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the South Pacific Islands. They employ around 130 highly skilled specialists in Australia at its premises in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
This role is based in Sydney, Australia.
This is a hands-on role which requires the system engineer to have experience with building and managing software systems on database platforms. Knowledge of communications and information technology for mission critical systems as well as current experience in the Australian Railway, and / or Maritime sector are desirable, but not essential.
The Systems Engineer is responsible for implementing technical solutions and is the customers" primary contact for business requirements and technical issues throughout the entire project lifecycle including ongoing support. The Systems Engineer supports both Project and Service Managers and Solution Architects in successful project and support execution in line with the company and customer processes.
Main Tasks
* Establish technical knowledge of the company's existing solutions and processes
* Support non-functional requirements analysis and engineering design
* Technical coordination and handling of work packages in test beds and well as customer environments, including installation, integration, and system acceptance
* Testing, defect identification, and supporting root cause analysis during integration of software into customer environments.
* Creation of technical documentation of systems and interface specifications.
* 2nd and 3rd Level Support, with on-call duty when required.
* Support the local business development team in pre-sales efforts, assisting with technical presentations, setting up of sandboxes and demo environments, designing solutions, and preparing technical inputs for proposals.
* Prepare and support technical trainings.
Job Requirements
* A relevant bachelor's degree, preferably in Engineering, Software, Information Technology, or a related discipline.
* Systems Engineering experience working in mission-critical environments with a focus on safety and IT security desirable.
* Good systems, process, and domain knowledge from within a relevant industry would be ideal.
* Extensive installation, configuration, and operations experience with Linux, Docker, and Apache.
* Experience with the installation and setup of Oracle databases, database scripting, data defect analysis, with focus on Oracle tool set (SQLPLUS and SQL-Developer)
* Extensive Windows administration knowledge, including scripting and workstation customization.
* Comprehensive understanding of virtualisation technologies.
* Experience with cloud hosting and georedundancy solutions (AWS, Azure, GCP)
* Experience with virtual and physical networks (including firewalls, routers, and switches).
* Effective problem-solving skills with a "can-do" attitude.
* Commitment to quality and improvement with a good understanding of Engineering standards.
* Experience in requirements management, traceability processes, and test engineering.
* Responsive customer service-oriented approach with a good understanding of SLAs and KPIs, especially around incident, problem and change management.
* Willingness to work directly with end users during test execution and training delivery which may require working remotely at times.
* Ability to work with others and demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with contractors, vendors, clients, consultants, and staff.
Contact: David Hyland (davidh@railpersonnel.com)
