Dear Readers,
Registration for the MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition 2024, organized by UITP and RTA, has officially opened. In Dubai from February 28 to March 1, 2024, this year's theme, "Sustainable Mobility and Wellbeing", exemplifies an unwavering commitment to shaping a greener future for urban mobility. Join this most attended event with high-level public transport officials across the region and beyond.
Register by 15 January 2024 to get the best rates!
Visit: https://www.menatransport.org/website/3387/registration/
Our Job of the Week this week is in India where we are looking for an Application Engineer to work in New Delhi for a Train Control and Management System (TCMS) group.
Best Regards,
Rail Personnel
Rail News
22 November 2023. Germany. DB to build Germany’s longest rail tunnel to the Czech Republic
Deutsche Bahn (DB) will build Germany’s longest railway tunnel in the Eastern Ore Mountains of Saxony, announced the German news agency dpa on Monday. DB is scheduled to break ground in 2032, and construction of this 30-kilometre tunnel, connecting Germany to the Czech Republic, is estimated to take 12 years. This tunnel would increase the current capacity of the existing Elbe Valley route for both passenger and freight transport via rail, offering a flood-proof alternative.
Source: RailTech.com
22 November 2023. France. Alstom to install next generation CBTC signalling system on Paris network
Alstom has secured a framework contract worth nearly 300 million euros to develop and deploy the NExTEO signalling system on the hybrid rail and rapid transit network, RER B and RER D lines in the Île-de-France region of France. The new NExTEO solution is a CBTC (Communication-Based Train Control) signalling system that forms a wider plan to modernize and optimize the infrastructure of the two express lines that serve the wider Paris region as well as ensuring greater reliability across the two lines that serve over 300 million passengers annually.
Source: Rail Technology Magazine
The previously mothballed rail line, which runs between Okehampton and Exeter, was restored in just nine months and delivered £10m under budget, opening two years ago to the day today. Since then, more than 550,000 passenger journeys have been made on the line, far exceeding expectations. In partnership with GWR and local rail support group Okerail, the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership (DCRP) held a special birthday party along with cake to celebrate the positive impact the reopening has had on the local community.
Source: Rail UK
21 November 2023. United Kingdom. Gatwick Airport unveils its revamped station
London’s Gatwick Airport has reopened its £250 million refurbished station, which is expected to double the area for the millions of travelers that use it each year while easing travel across the airport and enhancing accessibility. The first passengers used the station on the 05:48 Thameslink Bedford to Brighton route on 21 November 2023. The “bigger and brighter” station, according to Network Rail, will have a new second concourse and airport entry, as well as eight new escalators and five lifts.
Source: Railway Technology
20 November 2023. India. ABB forms strategic partnership with Titagarh for metro projects in India
ABB and Titagarh Rail Systems have formed a strategic partnership to supply propulsion systems for metro rolling stock projects in India, the company announced through an exchange filing.
The partnership aligned with the Indian government's "Make in India" and "Atmanirbhar Bharat" initiatives has already had an early success by winning orders to design and supply equipment for metro coaches for Gujarat, it said. Titagarh specializes in the design, manufacture, supply, commissioning, and servicing of various passenger rolling stock and metro coaches for Indian and international markets.
Source: Business Standard
20 November 2023. Italy. FS introduces a new “night train-like hotel” from Rome to the Dolomites
Italian railways FS will launch a new night train from Rome to the capital of the Dolomites Cortina d’Ampezzo next month. From 15 December, it will welcome passengers aboard the newly refurbished night train Espresso Cadore this winter season, for which the tickets went on sale this week. FS calls the night train from Rome to the Dolomites a “much-awaited service that aims to attract more and more tourists by encouraging them to choose night trains for their holidays”. The Rome – Cortina connection will operate every weekend between 15 December 2023 and 25 February 2024, with some additional runs during the Christmas period 18 December – 3 January.
Source: RailTech.com
20 November 2023. Canada. Alstom Delivers First Flexity Tram to Toronto
Alstom has delivered the first of 60 new Flexity trams to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). This is part of a 275 million EUR (396 million CAD) order that was placed in 2021. The remainder of the vehicles will be delivered between now and early 2025. The new low-floor, zero-emission Flexity light-rail vehicles (LRV) are being produced by Alstom in Canada and will join a fleet of 204 Alstom trams that are already operational in Toronto. These new vehicles have been designed to enhance the travel experience and meet the demands of population growth in the Greater Toronto Area.
Source: Railway-News
17 November 2023. Australia. Tunnels Take Shape Beneath New Western Sydney Airport
Sydney Metro has provided an update on its tunnel boring machines (TBM) constructing the new 23-kilometre Western Sydney Airport (WSI) metro alignment in Greater Western Sydney. The TBMs, affectionately christened Eileen and Peggy, have been building two 5.5-kilometre southern tunnels from the airport’s Business area to its Aerotropolis. They are currently 1.8 and 1.5 kilometers into their construction, respectively. Boring began in April of 2023, and is expected to conclude in mid-2024.
Source: Railway-News
17 November 2023. Taiwan. Taipei metro ticketing enhancements
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp has appointed Thales and local partner MiTAC Information Technology Corp to upgrade the metro’s fare collection systems to accept multiple electronic payment options at the ticket gates at 120 stations. The project announced by Thales on November 16 supports the city council’s policy of encouraging electronic payments and will provide additional options for 2 million passengers/day. Deployment is expected by 2025. The current payment options are a contactless token purchased at a vending machine or ticket office, or Easycard, iCash, and iPass contactless stored value cards.
Source: Metro Report International
Job of the Week
Application Engineer, New Delhi, India
Job ID#: 13794
Discipline: Electrical
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client is looking for an Application Engineer. This role is based in New Delhi, India.
Our client is the sister concern of a niche business of Train Control and Management System (TCMS) solution for Mainline and Metro trains. This group offers products complying with international general (EN) and technical (UIC) standards; it includes information systems for passengers, IP surveillance and audio systems, TCN communication, communication infrastructure and on-board control systems.
Role and Responsibilities:
* Sound knowledge in working with PLC programming/controllers preferably using IEC 61131 and HMI for railway applications
* Hands on experience in commissioning/troubleshooting of Train Communication Network (TCN) equipment like WTB Gateway, MVB modules, ETB Switch, etc.
* Sound knowledge of Locomotive systems / sub-systems such as Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), Traction Converter, Auxiliary Converter, Driver Display Unit, etc.
* Programming using Embedded C, C++, Qt using Linux, Functional Block Diagram (FBD)
* Strong digital electronics concepts
* Familiar with communication protocols for field bus systems such as RS485, CAN, Ethernet or similar
* Provide on-site and remote technical support to customers and assist during integration of products to the customers / customer system(s)
* Provide support to customers for troubleshooting, warranty and post warranty claims
* Collect and consolidate customer technical requirements, discuss with engineering team for new projects
* Provide quick response to key customer requests on technical and application support, propose the best technical solution, based on our portfolio in order to fully meet customer goals
* Co-ordinate with overseas technology providers for hardware and software faults
* Organize customer trainings
* Travel to visit customers
Job Requirements:
* University degree with major in Electrical / Electronic Engineering or similar
* Experience in HW design (schematics and PCB layout) will be a plus
* Experience in industrial automation will be a strong plus
* Good interpersonal and communication skills, team player
* Fluent in English
* Independent, proactive way of working
Contact: Rajni Tewani (rajni@railpersonnel.com)
