News in Brief – 3-9 March 2010

Don Telford to chair ALC as Backmann steps down
By Sam Collyer
Ivan Backmann has retired as chairman of the Australian Logistics Council, with former Pacific National chief Don Telford to move into the role.
Backmann was appointed to the position in 2003 about 12 months after the council was founded.
The then deputy prime minister and transport minister John Anderson had been the ALC’s inaugural chairman for the first year of its existence.
Backmann has been working in transport and logistics for more than 30 years, having held senior executive roles with Mayne Nickless, Linfox and K&S.
Telford retired as Asciano's chief operating officer at the end of 2009, having earlier worked in senior roles with Toll, Mayne Nickless, TNT and PN.
Source: Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au

NSW’s first school-based rail infrastructure traineeship
A national rail training organisation in cooperation with an Illawarra rail infrastructure maintenance and renewal company has started the first school-based rail infrastructure traineeship in New South Wales.
The traineeship was initiated by the Centre for Excellence in Rail Training in conjunction with Railcon.
The training plan allows high school students to complete their HSC and apply skills in the work place to gain a Certificate II in Rail Infrastructure.
“The rail industry like other industries is trying to attract people to the industry as well as ensuring they are competent and safe,” CERT national manager Mark Haigh said.
“School based traineeships are an excellent conduit and a process that CERT will be marketing to other large players in the rail industry.”

Researchers to solve transport problems
By Sineva Toevai
National ICT Australia (NICTA) will join forces with the German software and systems developer, Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE), to research and solve difficult transport and logistics problems.
NICTA senior researcher Mark Staples will head the $11m operation, named the Fraunhofer Project Group on Transport and Logistics, at the technology company’s Sydney laboratory.
“Australia must be part of the global innovation system to build competitive advantage in technology and the broader economy and this is a major step in that direction,” NICTA chief executive David Skellern said.
NICTA,set up in 2002 to develop technologies, has five laboratories across Australia.
Source: Lloyd’s List Daily Commercial News – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au

Cambodia receives international & Australian support for rail repair
Cambodia has reportedly received an additional $42m loan from the Asian Development Bank and a $21.5m grant from the Australian Government to rebuild its railway network. The current project, to reconstruct Cambodia’s 600km rail network  to connect with Thailand’s railway as well as Malaysia and Singapore’s through this, is expected to fbe completed by 2013.
The project is also funded by $13m from the OPEC Fund for International Development, with Malaysia contributing 106km of track worth $2.8bn, it was reported.

University signs deal with MTR
Melbourne's Monash University has reportedly signed a four-year contract worth more than $1m with MTR Corporation to provide knowledge, procedures and software tools for its Hong Kong rail network. Monash's Institute of Railway Technology (IRT) will provide strategic rail management and maintenance consultancy to MTR to optimise its wheel and rail maintenance practices, it was reported.

Melbourne Metro boss wants to double patronage
The chief executive of Melbourne's new train operator has reportedly told an inquiry that Metro wants to double patronage on the city's rail network over the next eight years. Metro boss Andrew Lezala also said recent government investment in new trains would only satisfy growth until 2015; Metro would begin discussions with the government next year to ensure new rolling stock was in place beyond that date.