The first Newswire for 2013 will be published on Wednesday January 16 and will include a wrap up of what the Australian rail industry can expect over the coming 12 months.
A big thank you to all our readers, and the rail industry, for your support throughout 2012.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a relaxing holiday break.
 
New MD for rail consultancy Interfleet Technology
International rail consultancy Interfleet Technology has announced the appointment of a new Managing Director, following the retirement of incumbent MD David Rollin after almost 20 years at the helm.
New MD Richard George will take up the position at the end of February 2013, fresh from his recent role as Director of Transport at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOGOC), where he was responsible for the delivery of the hugely successful transport logistics associated with the Games.
Present MD David Rollin took up his position at Interfleet Technology in 1994 the management buy-out of the company from the former British Rail organisation following in 1996.
The company says Rollins’s time at Interfleet has enabled it to grow into an international industry frontrunner, which has amassed many achievements during his tenure. In handing the reins over to Richard, the company is confident that it is investing in someone who will carry on the great reputation that Interfleet has established worldwide.
The announcement comes a year on from the acquisition of the company by SNC-Lavalin, one of the leading engineering and construction groups in the world and a major player in the ownership of infrastructure, operations and maintenance services, which has the potential to open new opportunities for Interfleet.
TasRail: Major customer contract announcement
In late November TasRail accomplished another milestone with the signing of a new, long term contract with one of its major customers, MMG Rosebery.
The new contract secures current rail freight volumes for up to ten years, and includes logistical support arrangements including bulk handling and storage, and direct ship loading at the Port of Burnie.
TasRail moved around 200,000 tonnes of mineral concentrates for MMG Rosebery last year, operating eight services a week between Primrose and Burnie.
The Rosebery mine has operated continuously since 1936 and produces zinc, lead and copper concentrate and gold. Concentrates are transported to the port of Burnie by rail where they are shipped in bulk carriers to smelters in Hobart, Port Pirie, and internationally.
Chair and board announced for the Moorebank Intermodal Company
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese and Minister for Finance and Deregulation Senator Penny Wong have today announced the establishment of the Moorebank Intermodal Company and the appointment of the Chair and Directors to its Board.
The Moorebank Intermodal Company – which will be a government business enterprise – has been established to optimise private sector development of an open-access Intermodal Terminal (IMT) at Moorebank, in south western Sydney.
Moorebank Intermodal Company will act as landlord and manage tender processes for the design, construction and operations of the IMT, envisaged to commence mid- 2013.
The Government anticipates the Company will be operational from January 2013. Once the project is operating successfully and subject to market demands, the Government expects to fully privatise the facility.
Dr Kerry Schott – Chair Dr Schott has 15 years investment banking experience, including as Managing Director of Deutsche Bank and Executive Vice President of Bankers Trust Australia. Dr Schott is currently a: Director of NBN Co Limited Director of NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp) and a member of the Infrastructure Australia Board, Whitlam Institute and State Contracts Control Board.
Directors Ms Claire Filson has strong commercial and financial skills with extensive experience working with audit and risk committees. Ms Filson’s current affiliations are: Director of Port of Hastings Development Authority and Director of Victoria Pharmacy Authority.
RTSA Railway Engineering Awards – Call for nominations
The Railway Technical Society of Australia (RTSA) has put out a Call for nominations for three of its prestigious annual Railway Engineering Awards for 2013:
These three awards rely on the enthusiastic support of the rail industry and the RTSA looks forward to receiving a host of nominations by the time that applications close on Friday 22 February 2013.
For further details about these Awards, including copies of the nomination forms, please refer to the RTSA website 
 
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The Museum was initially founded by a small group of dedicated volunteers in 1963 on a small site at Mile End in suburban Adelaide to preserve the heritage of the South Australian and Commonwealth Railways.
As the Museum’s collection of historic exhibits grew, including a large number of static main line steam locomotives, the limitations of the site at Mile End became apparent over a number of years.
In 1988, with the aid of a Federal Government Bicentennial Commemorative Grant, the move was made to the current location at Port Adelaide where the exhibits were able to be placed undercover for the first time in a pavilion built on part of the site of the former Port Dock railway station and goods yard.
In 2001 a second pavilion was added using funds obtained through the Federation Grant Scheme and at around the same time the Museum changed its name to the National Railway Museum with the encouragement of former Deputy Prime Minister and well known rail enthusiast, Tim Fischer.
The Museum is largely self funded and apart from two paid staff is entirely volunteer run with over 160 active volunteers currently involved in a range of activities from staffing the Museum bookshop, through to locomotive restoration and track laying.
As part of its 50th anniversary Celebrations a programme of monthly special events has been planned including a Behind the Scenes and Drivers Experiences (February), the launch of the fully restored Bluebird railcar ‘Kestrel (March), a Railway Antiques and Memorabilia Sale (May) and a Formal 50th Anniversary Dinner (December).
A major focus of the Celebrations will be the ‘Rail in Australia – Yesterday and Today’ Art and Photography Exhibition to be held from 5th to 19th May 2013 and which has already attracted major sponsorship from rail operators Great Southern Rail and Genesee & Wyoming Australia.
National Rail Museum Executive Officer Bob Sampson said, “The support from our sponsors is vital to the success of the exhibition and to our Anniversary celebrations and we still have a number of excellent sponsorship opportunities available.
For further information on sponsorship contact Bob Sampson exec@natrailmuseum.org.au or on 0417 800 224
50th Anniversary Event information and submission forms for the art exhibition can be found at the NRM web site
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The agreement includes a long-term sub-lease that will see Toll commit to a substantial capital investment in new warehouse facilities, and a long-term freight haulage agreement that will see Toll increase its usage of rail transport.
TasRail’s Chief Executive, Damien White, said the agreement with Toll was a landmark achievement that would provide long term benefits for the Tasmanian transport industry.
“This is a great outcome for Tasmania”, Mr White said. “Not surprisingly it has taken considerable time for the parties to work through what have been complex negotiations, but the outcome has now formalised the long-standing relationship between Toll and the rail industry in Tasmania.”
“Toll has confirmed its growing confidence in the future of rail, and by its commitment to the Brighton Hub it has ensured the full potential of the facility can now be realised”, Mr White said.
The design of the Brighton Transport Hub will help TasRail further increase freight volumes due to the terminal facilitating longer trains with reduced shunting and a more efficient interface with customers – large and small. It will become a focal point for the consolidation and deconsolidation of freight, significantly changing the way freight is moved between the North and South of the State.
TasRail will now focus on finalising plans for its relocation from Macquarie Point (Hobart), with the transition to full operations at the Brighton Transport Hub subject to the construction of Toll’s warehouse and freight handling facilities.
Speaking at today’s announcement, Toll Domestic Forwarding Divisional Director Paul Ebsworth said the move further cements Toll’s standing as Tasmania’s largest provider of transport and logistics.
“We have been a supporter of the development of the Brighton precinct for many years, which is why we originally purchased the land more than 10 years ago. We see this as a long-term investment in Tasmania’s freight future, which has obvious flow-on economic benefits for the state.
“Over the past few years, as rail has become more reliable, we have been able to increase the amount of freight we can carry via rail, and we plan to continue to do so as the service improves,” Mr Ebsworth said.
The Brighton Transport Hub Project is a $79 million Tasmanian Government funded project and will involve the construction of a modern road-rail facility and freight distribution hub at Brighton adjacent to the Federally funded $164m Brighton Bypass.
The start of work of the project to separate the conflict between freight movements and suburban passenger services was brought forward to early next year to coincide with the other track upgrading works associated with the upgrading and electrification of the Noarlunga suburban line and remodeling of the Adelaide Station rail yards.
Recommended by Infrastructure Australia, the project will separate the existing ARTC main line and Adelaide Metro Belair passenger line from the Noarlunga passenger lines. Construction of a rail underpass near Victoria Street will enable the Noarlunga line to be lowered below ground level with the freight and Belair lines above. The project will also involve upgrade to signalling and sections of track and the reconstruction of the Leader Street, Victoria Street and East Avenue rail crossings.
The Goodwood Junction upgrade is the first stage in a joint Federal and State-funded initiative totalling $443 million, which also includes preliminary grade separation works at Torrens Junction in North Adelaide.
When complete in September 2013, the Goodwood underpass will:
&bull reduce train travel times for both freight and passenger services
&bull reduce traffic waiting times at Cross Road, Leader and Victoria Street rail crossings
&bull improve safety.
South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Patrick Conlon said the underpass was a vital step towards building a system that will deliver customers fast, frequent and more environmentally-friendly public transport.
"By undertaking these works now, we can also avoid future increases in delays for traffic, as more frequent passenger trains will commence when the electrified Seaford Rail Extension opens,” said Mr Conlon.
“Currently, the freight trains decelerate and travel at reduced speed (down to 20 km/h) through the adjacent road level crossings, which can cause considerable delays to road traffic – up to five minutes each time.
“Grade separation will mean freight train transit times are reduced and delays will be minimised at the Leader Street and Victoria Street level crossings for road users waiting for trains to clear.
Construction will begin early next year as part of a coordinated package of rail works to be undertaken during the month-long Adelaide Railway Station closure and the longer-term closures of the Noarlunga and Belair lines from Wednesday, 2 January.
Bus substitute services will be available for Adelaide Metro customers during this time with these services free of charge from 2 January to 3 February.
Initial works at Goodwood are expected to be completed by July 2013, weather permitting, to coincide with the return of passenger train services on the Belair line. All other works will be completed in September.
For more information, go to: http://www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/RR/rail_revitalisation/goodwood_junction
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The estimated $1.6bn, 12 kilometre light rail project will link Circular Quay and Central via George Street, the Moore Park sporting and entertainment precinct including the Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium, Randwick Racecourse, the University of NSW and Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick.
Light rail will be built in parallel with the implementation of a redesigned bus network to significantly reduce the number of buses clogging the CBD during the peak.
The Government says around 40% of George Street will be pedestrianised, between Bathurst Street and Hunter Street, for light rail – meaning 60% of George Street will still be accessible to private vehicles.
“This is a once-in-a-generation project to revitalise the centre of Sydney by reducing congestion and offering a fast, attractive public transport option to key locations,” NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell said.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said light rail forms part of an integrated transport solution to fix congestion in the CBD which includes a redesigned bus network and train improvements outlined in Sydney’s Rail Future.
“Congestion on roads in the Sydney CBD and surrounding areas will only get worse as the number of jobs in the city grows and the population increases – we have to act and in a significant way,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“With the introduction of light rail and the redesigned bus network announced today, we will be able to significantly reduce the number of buses clogging the city’s streets and provide fast and reliable links for people to key destinations like the Prince of Wales Hospital, University of NSW, SCG, Allianz Stadium, Moore Park, Central and Circular Quay,” she said.
Bus improvements to be rolled out include improved bus interchanges in the city, more cross-city Metro style routes, reconfigured bus stops and higher priority for buses to move people through the city faster.
Key benefits of light rail and the redesigned bus network include:
Detailed work will now be undertaken to determine the final timetable for construction, which early analysis suggests will take five or six years. Work is expected to begin in 2014. It will be funded from the transport budget, third party contributions and a PPP arrangement, subject to testing of the business case.
Work continues on the 5.6 kilometre Inner West Light Rail Extension from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill, with construction on track to be completed in 2014.
The milestone was commemorated by NSW Minister for Roads and Ports, Duncan Gay MLC who unveiled the foundation plaque at a launch event last week attended by the members of the NSW Government, Cessnock City Council, Greta Public School, the Hunter Valley community, the local Indigenous community and key coal producers from the region.
Featuring ground breaking design and innovation, the Greta Train Support Facility will support PN’s coal haulage operations and increase the efficiency of its services in the Hunter Valley, with a range of functions performed onsite, including the refuelling of trains, routine train inspections and wagon maintenance work. As one of the largest coal haulage operators in the region, the facility is also expected to provide significant capacity benefits to the broader Hunter Valley Coal Chain.
Pacific National Coal Director, Mr David Irwin said, “The opening of our Greta Train Support Facility is a significant milestone in ensuring the continued growth and liberation of capacity in the Hunter Valley coal chain.
“Capable of maintaining and provisioning up to 20 train consists per day, the facility will service the existing traffic passing from Newcastle and ensure we continue to deliver efficient, effective and sustainable coal haulage services.
“So far, the Greta facility has injected more than $100 million into the Hunter Valley economy and created up to 550 full time jobs during the 16 month construction period, with at least 30 new local jobs once the site is operational in 2013.”
Located between the existing railway line and the Hunter Expressway (the F3 Branxton extension), planning for the Greta Train Support Facility commenced in 2008 and included extensive consultation with key stakeholders and community to ensure minimisation of potential environmental, noise and land impacts.
Over half of the 49.3 hectare site has been preserved for native flora and fauna rehabilitation and conservation, and PN Coal has also gone to great lengths to ensure the protection of the site’s European heritage and as well as Indigenous artefacts recovered throughout the construction process.
The facility includes:
Asciano Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mr John Mullen, said, “With coal exports expected to grow strongly within the region, the successful launch of our productivity enhancing Greta Train Support Facility is a testament to our New South Wales workforce and management team, and reinforces our ability to deliver on our coal strategy.”
After several years of poor harvest, the 2010/11 Victorian grain harvest was a record at 7.1 million tonnes. This placed significant pressure on the grain supply chain, particularly for exports, with around 30% of that harvest still in storage in October 2011.
As a result this pressure the Government established a Grain Logistics Taskforce (Taskforce) in August 2011 to recommend improvements to the efficiency and capacity of Victoria’s grain storage and handling system including the rail and road networks.
The Taskforce presented its report to the Minister for Ports in December 2011. Since then, the government has implemented a number of the recommendations of the Taskforce, and says it is making progress on many more.
The Department of Transport (DoT) has worked with VicRoads and V/Line to review the recommendations in the Taskforce report and to provide advice to government regarding their implementation.
At the request of the Minister for Ports, the Taskforce reconvened in July and October 2012 to review the report’s recommendations and update their advice with regard to any current issues for the coming harvest.
The Taskforce considered that the grain supply chain is currently performing well compared to this time last year and that progress has been made in a number of areas, by both industry and government, to improve the smooth functioning of the supply chain. It is anticipated they will continue to meet at six monthly intervals or as needed. It will meet again in February 2013.
The original report recommended that the DoT work with track managers, rail operators and grain companies to review and assess the merits of funding the rail infrastructure issues raised.
The Government says the DoT and V/Line have considered the infrastructure proposals put forward by Pacific National and GrainCorp in the Taskforce Report.
A number of ‘quick wins’ were identified and have been implemented including the reopening of the Dimboola to Rainbow railway line, improved safe working or operational arrangements at a number of locations, and work by the DoT to facilitate alternative freight train operating arrangements during the construction of the Regional Rail Link.
It says a number of other proposed infrastructure improvements which would need to be funded require further evidence to support the development of a business case and further discussion with rail operators and customers.
When the Taskforce met again in July 2012, they agreed to establish a rail sub-group to continue to focus on ways in which the performance of the rail network and of rail operators can be further improved. The Subgroup met in September 2012 to identify priorities for action arising from the Taskforce report.
The upgrade of the Geelong Grain Loop and associated works to improve access to the Loop is one immediate priority which is now being actioned in conjunction with the grain industry, V/Line and the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
Managing Director of RED Strategic Planning and former CEO of Victorian Freight and Logistics Council, Rose Elphick acknowledges that the investment of GrainCorp in Geelong is a positive step and indicates preparedness of the industry to invest in infrastructure to service customer demand, but she says that most of the Government’s response on rail only amounts to ‘in principle support’ of the Taskforce recommendations.
“In reality there is little funding available for investment left after passenger priorities, and the majority of investment has been to facilitate passenger schedule improvements and has incidentally improved the shared infrastructure for freight on the V/Line network.”
“This year’s harvest is considered a return to average. The difference this year is greater preparedness with up country storage bunkers and on-farm silos and probably greater availability of road transport due to slower activity in the resources sector.”
“What would really help is a mass management scheme in Victoria and improved permit enforcement activities so that local roads are used strategically and there is less widespread wear from heavy trucks.”
An initial and high level assessment has been undertaken of increasing axle loading to 21 tonnes for three Victorian lines that connect to the ARTC network in line with the overall Taskforce recommendation to lift axle loads, but the Government says more detailed work is needed to prepare a business case for future funding rounds.
“The rail situation is frustrating. Maintenance allocations need to be focused on speed and axle loadings, as much of the freight network is subject to weight and speed limits. These erode the benefits of port investment and limit rail delivery cycles,” Elphick says.
“Some upgrades that take into account future standard gauge conversion have taken place, but there has been no actual conversion except in the NE with ARTC,” she concluded.
The Victorian Government’s response to the Grain Logistics Taskforce Report can be found HERE 
Grain Logistics 2013
16th – 17th March 2013 | Novotel Melbourne on Collins, Melbourne
www.informa.com.au/grainlogistics
 
 
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The NSW Government says its Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy is aimed at transforming and revitalising Newcastle’s city centre, boosting economic activity, and making Newcastle a more vibrant place for locals and visitors, thus reinforcing its role as a 21st century regional centre. It says the strategy contains a range of initiatives and an implementation plan to help drive urban renewal and improve links between the city centre and its waterfront.
However, under the Government’s new vision for Newcastle it envisages that the current rail line to the Newcastle city centre will be truncated at Wickham and services replaced by buses between Wickham and the CBD.
The NSW Government has committed $120m towards a new bus/rail interchange to be built at Wickham, west of Stewart Avenue.
Somewhat bizzarely it claims an enforced change for commuters onto the new bus services from the new interchange “will ensure smoother journeys to the city centre and to other areas within Newcastle for professional, commercial, educational and social purposes.”
The State Government estimates the changes are expected to take three to five years to implement and will require an additional $100m in funding that it is currently seeking from the Federal Government.
Property developers and some locals have long been in favour of removal of the rail line from the CBD claiming that it will allow better connections between the city centre and the waterfront thereby providing a stronger basis for renewal initiatives.
The current Newcastle Central station is used by terminating electric interurban CityRail services from Sydney and the Central Coast along with local diesel railcar services to Maitland and the Hunter Valley.
The final NSW Transport Master Plan, which ironically was released the day before the Newcastle announcement, dodges the issue on Newcastle’s rail future by passing the buck to the Department of Infrastructure and Planning.
“Any decision about the Newcastle Rail Line will reflect land use planning for the revitalisation of the Newcastle City Centre. The Department of Planning and Infrastructure is preparing land use plans for Newcastle and the Lower Hunter which will assess the rail corridor as part of the future transport solutions for the region,” the report reads.
This has been reflected in Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian’s refusal to comment on what is a key public transport issue for the State’s second largest city and referring all questions to Planning Minister, Brad Hazzard.
The Transport Master Plan goes on to state, “Fast connections to and through Sydney will be increasingly important to firms in cities such as Newcastle and Wollongong…"
“They will need faster and more efficient transport links to Sydney, better public transport connections and less congestion on major roads.”
“Customers in Newcastle, Wollongong and the Central Coast are likely to need more frequent train services, especially during the evenings and on weekends. Better rail connections to Sydney also attract more visitors to these regional cities and their surrounding regions.”
A key part of the Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy is for a university campus in the city centre at Civic with 8,000 students and 1,000 staff, yet the plan advocates the ripping out the existing, adjacent ‘mass transit’ system and replacing it with buses on what the Master Transport Plan says are already congested roads.
The Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy is being exhibited for public comment until 17 March 2013. Community information forums will be held during the exhibition period to allow the community to speak with departmental and council planners.
More information on the Newcastle Urban Renewal Strategy can be viewed HERE
The NSW Transport Master Plan can be downloaded HERE
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This is the third annual snapshot of Australia’s eighteen major cities with populations above 100,000 and Albanese says it is a unique document and that he believes no other nation has anything quite like it.
The first two reports have been collectively downloaded two million times.
Minister Albanese said the report shows that our cities have to be more productive and highlights rail as a key factor in achieving that outcome
“The industrial structure of our cities is changing and In terms of economic functions, our cities are shrinking in on themselves,” he said.
“The forces driving the spread of our cities since the war, predominantly manufacturing, are being replaced by knowledge industries – the banking, legal, insurance and myriad of other business services.
“Yet, whereas manufacturing plants were traditionally located on the city fringe or in industrial zones, the job-rich knowledge industries tend to concentrate in the heart of our cities.
“Chapter Tree (of the report) tells us that national productivity growth is slowing and that efficient transport is the key to arrest this decline."
As the State of Australian Cities reports, this trend is seeing more and more workers commuting into our city centres, yet at the same time housing growth continues to creep outwards, making the journey to these jobs increasingly difficult.
Narrowing the distance between where people live and where they work needs to be at the forefront of urban planning in coming years,” Albanese said.
Looking at public transport usage the report found that morning travel peak has increased and sharpened in the last 30 years, greatly increasing the pressure on transport networks. This appears to be driven in part by an increase in discretionary travel in the morning peak period.
The high morning peak load has significant implications for the capacity of urban transport infrastructure. If it was possible to spread this peak it would enable much more efficient use of transport infrastructure, which during other parts of the day operates at well below capacity. This could also remove or delay costly augmentation to transport infrastructure.
The transport mode doing the heavy lifting for high agglomeration industries is rail. The report says our rail networks are largely legacy systems that were built with substantial extra capacity and have been in the past capable of absorbing significant increases in loading without major additional capital costs.
It is now clear, especially in Sydney and Melbourne that much of this surplus capacity has been taken up in recent years with population growth and mode switching. This indicates that productivity rates in cities will be increasingly constrained by the capacity of mass transit systems, particularly rail.
The report makes significant mention on the issue of farebox cost recovery saying that in Australian urban mass transit systems this is already well below international best practice and continues to decline. This raises questions about the sustainability of their current financial structures and the scope for further investment in mass transport infrastructure and services.
Asian rail operators generally capture the value of the rail line through property development in the same manner as the pioneering British and American rail did. Even by comparison with low-density cities such as Washington DC and San Francisco, Australian operational cost recovery is low.
The current financial model also means that the economic benefits of concentrating jobs in city centres comes at a significant cost to the rest of the economy through the subsidization from state and territory revenue of the mass transit system servicing it.
It is also evident that capitalising public transport subsidies into the land value surrounding mass transit systems can cause increasing social inequity. Higher land costs mean that those on lower incomes must live further away from public transport while those on higher incomes can afford to live within a convenient distance and can also benefit from highly subsidised fares.
Using Sydney’s public transit system as an example shows that the proportion of operating costs recovered in fares has been declining across all modes. The shortfall in the 2010/11 year exceeded $3bn in operating costs alone.
A preliminary analysis by BITRE of cities indicates that Sydney’s mass transit system recovers 24% of its operating costs through the fare box and Melbourne does better at 31%, while Perth does best of all at 38%. For Canberra’s bus only system, however, users pay only 17% of operating costs.
The report concludes that urban mass transit systems must become more sustainable by better cost recovery through the fare box and/or the capital value of the surrounding land. If not, the flow on effects to national productivity could be considerable.
Albanese says, “The changing industrial structure of our cities means our transport networks are increasingly being called upon to carry large numbers of people into concentrated city centres within a very limited time period.
“The only mode capable of doing this is rail because of the numbers it can carry. One single rail line operating at peak efficiency carries the same number of people as a ten lane freeway.
“We must address capacity on our rail systems, particularly for trains heading into our urban centres. This means being smarter about the way we capture the value of land created by public transport corridors, and use that to drive further investment,” he said.
The full report can be downloaded from the Department of Infrastructure and Transport web site
 
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