Metros ‘great news’ for railway professionals

By Martin Baggott

This is great news for the existing and incoming railway professionals of all kinds but especially the electronic/electrical and rollingstock professionals, as most of the technology will be new to the Australian scene and provides opportunity for new learning and experience.
In terms of benefits to the industry workforce, the new technology of train control systems, driverless trains and platform screen doors will provide great opportunities to learn exactly how important Asset Management and RAMS systems are. These systems of management are vital when a service delivery equivalent to the world’s most modern Metros is targeted.
One cannot get away with half-baked asset management systems when service reliability of 99.8 per cent is targeted. Nor can one get away with responses to incidents that are restricted by current employment practices. New industrial arrangements will be required. Losing a minute on a Metro system is unacceptable. So technology will need to be ultra-reliable and response to incidents will need to be instantaneous.
It’s a very refreshing step in the way Australian railways will operate and we, Australia’s railway professionals, look forward to it.
In Melbourne, the Hong Kong based group MTM, who have recently secured the next eight year franchise for the operation of the Melbourne train network will no doubt be wishing to emulate the high service quality of their host city. The Hong Kong service includes over 99.5 per cent reliability and close to perfect availability. Their customer service, human to human experience is also one of the best in the world.
The future ahead for the Melbourne rail network will require significant investment and MTM have used the Metro experience as one to be targeted. Even the name on the trains will be “Metro”. New radio communications and signalling as well as basics such as air conditioning have been touted by the group and Victorian Government. Bring it on!
There’s a number of opportunities for railway professionals which include electronic train control systems, high performance traction packages, fast loading/unloading design, and better station ambience coupled with Melbourne’s new contactless ticketing system.
RTSA in Australia has already been privy to a taste of the Hong Kong Metro experience when Andrew McCusker, MTR’s operations director, was our Eminent Speaker at the CORE conference in Perth last year. He is responsible for moving 3.5 million passengers per day and understands the value of reliable systems and customer service that includes the amazing on-time reliability and availability above 99.5 per cent.
He subsequently visited our other Chapters. His message was clear. Service, service, service. That requires energetic responsive thinking, decisions backed up by decisive action and funding.
In Sydney, the new Metro Authority has the two Metros underway, CBD and West. This is a city changing agenda and it is also a skills changing agenda. This will impact all railway professionals within Australia, not only those directly involved in the project but to others who will be influenced in their own endeavours in their own cities. The peer pressure between capital cities, both politically and in engineering excellence will prompt initiatives throughout the industry.
As railway professionals, we look forward to the industry being looked upon as the travel mode of first choice with heightened reputation and one where young people aspire to work in the industry.
Metro technology and operation will provide a significant boost to the career development opportunities for railway professionals by broadening the application of technology and introducing new technologies to the sector.
In response to this interest by authorities in Metros, for those 36 to be lucky enough to shortly be taking off on this year's Study Tour on Railway Engineering (STORE) trip, a smorgasbord of Asian city Metros will be visited to experience the very latest in this field. The Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA) is proud to be sponsoring 10 young professionals on this trip of a lifetime. The trip follows a very successful one day workshop held by the NSW Chapter in November last year where we were lucky enough to have a number of international and Australian speakers talk about their experiences with Metros, their construction and their operation.

Martin Baggott is executive chairman of RTSA and GHD’s business stream leader for rail. His 30 years of experience combines senior management roles in the operation and maintenance of railways and spans track infrastructure, railway operations and commercial feasibility. He has successfully contributed to the matters associated with access regulation in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, and over the past seven years has focused on capital and maintenance expenditure and conditions of access.

The Railway Technical Society of Australasia (RTSA) is a joint Technical Society of Engineers Australia and IPENZ New Zealand and was established in 1997 to promote the cooperation of academic, industrial, commercial and governmental organisations in relation to the practice and advancement of railway technology and management.
For more information on the RTSA visit: www.rtsa.com.au