Dear Readers
The RISSB Rail Safety Conference will take place at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Australia from 30th April to 1st May 2024.
Bringing together operators, manufacturers, contractors and government stakeholders, RISSB Rail Safety 2024 will delve into the latest advances in technology and innovation to share case studies and project updates from successful rail safety projects in Australasia and the world.
Save the date in your calendars now for our gathering in April 2024. Join us at the only rail safety conference in Australia, where you can leverage the collective insights of our esteemed industry experts.
For more information and to register to attend, visit: https://www.informa.com.au/event/conference/transport-logistics/rissb-rail-safety-conference/
Best Regards
Rail Personnel
Rail News
A Thales and VolkerRail consortium is one of six named on Network Rail’s Train Control Systems Framework, aimed to revolutionise signalling across Britain. From Carlisle to Brighton, this 10 year signalling plan will change the face of Britain’s railway, with modern equipment bringing greater reliability across the country with a mixture of traditional signalling and digital control. The Train Control Systems Framework, split into two lots for the provision of conventional and digital signalling services, will run from 2024 until 2034 and is worth £4bn.
Source: Rail UK
10 April 2024. Canada. Ontario Line electrification contract awarded
NGE Group’s TSO subsidiary is to design and supply 1·5 kV overhead electrification for Toronto’s Ontario Line metro project. The contract has been awarded by Hitachi Rail as part of the Connect 6ix consortium, which was awarded the Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations & Maintenance contract for the Ontario Line. TSO said the 15·6 route-km line would require 32 track-km of overhead for the open-air route and depot, and 17 track-km of rigid overhead in the twin bore-tunnels.
Source: Metro Report International
9 April 2024. Malaysia. Malaysian government takes over Penang light rail project
Responsibility for the Mutiara Light Rail Transit project has been transferred from the state of Penang to the federal government, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke has announced. The project is to be developed and managed by government-owned MRT Corp. It is to be implemented through the open tendering of three main contracts.
Source: Metro Report International
9 April 2024. Australia. Melbourne Metro testing turn-up-and-go
With the testing of turn-up-and-go services well underway, Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel is set to open in 2025, a year ahead of schedule. Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan, and Transport Infrastructure Minister, Danny Pearson, visited State Library station to mark this critical phase of the project’s complex testing program that will create capacity for trains to run constantly from the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines through the Metro Tunnel to the Sunbury line.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
8 April 2024. Australia. High-Capacity Signalling project to boost Perth’s passenger rail network
AD Alliance, comprising Alstom Transport Australia Pty Ltd and DT Infrastructure Pty Ltd, has been chosen to oversee Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority’s High-Capacity Signalling (HCS) project. The announcement of AD Alliance as the preferred proponent to design, supply, build and maintain the project means that contract negotiations can now begin. The HCS project will significantly upgrade the existing signalling and train control systems on Perth’s passenger rail network, greatly increasing capacity.
Source: Rail Technology Magazine
5 April 2024. United States. LA Metro Completes Tunnelling for D Line Subway Extension
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has completed tunnelling for the D Line Subway Extension Project. Over the last five years, this infrastructure project has added nine miles to the LA Metro D line connecting downtown LA with West LA. Karen Bass, L.A. City Mayor and Metro Board Chair said: “This safe completion of tunnelling through this part of Los Angeles is a milestone in Metro’s work to expand fast and reliable public transit across the region. When completed, the D Line extension will make Metro transit available to 53,300 more weekday riders travelling between Downtown Los Angeles and the Westside. Thank you to all of the construction workers who have given their time and talent to successfully complete the tunnelling.”
Source: Railway-News
5 April 2024. United States. AECOM, Jacobs to oversee Frederick Douglass tunnel project for Amtrak
The rail company’s in-house capital delivery team will work alongside infrastructure partners on the tunnel, its single largest capital project. he $6bn Frederick Douglass Tunnel project in Maryland, US will be overseen by a joint venture of AECOM and Jacobs after US rail company Amtrak signed its first Delivery Partner contract with the infrastructure business. The contract means that the “ADVANCE” joint venture will establish an integrated programme management team alongside Amtrak’s in-house team to oversee the design, construction management, and contract management for the project.
Source: Railway Technology
4 April 2024. Egypt. Egypt’s high-speed project enlists British Steel
The UK company will ship 9,500t of rail to the Port of Alexandria between April and June. Egypt’s high-speed rail project has chosen British Steel to supply the track for a section of the line connecting Alexandria to the Mediterranean coast, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea. The multi-million-pound contract will see the Scunthorpe-based company deliver 9,500t of track to the port of Alexandria for the 660km section of the network, which will carry passengers and freight trains up to 250kmph as the country’s first fully electrified mainline and freight network.
Source: Railway Technology