News in Brief

Chinaâs future rail reform revealed NWRL driverless train plans revealed Rail access deal between Fortescue, Atlas looms Esperance shortlists five organisations to build new bulk facility Thailand approves $67.6bn plan Asia-Europe rail regime gets 37 signatures China’s future rail reform revealedChina’s transport ministry pledged last week to further push forward the transformation of its operations as emphasised during the recently-concluded annual &quottwo sessions,&quot in an effort to promote service quality, according to Chinese paper Global Times.The ministry also noted that the market will have a bigger say in determining railway ticket prices as reforms proceed.The newly reorganized Ministry of Transport (MOT) aims to streamline administration and advance the construction of a comprehensive transportation system incorporating railways.“At the moment, the ministry is still in charge of 65 administrative project assessments and approvals, and we have started researching which should be cancelled &hellip and which can be transferred to local authorities,” said He Jianzhong, a spokesperson for the ministry.NWRL driverless train plans revealedThe Australian Financial Review says the NSW government has investigated running driverless trains on the $8.5bn North West Rail Link.Documents obtained by the AFR under freedom of information laws show the Coalition told the private sector last year that trains on the 23&thinspkilometre line to Sydney’s growing Hills District could be run automatically.It is a revelation that could spark tensions with transport unions over potential job cuts.London Mayor Boris Johnson is pushing for driverless trains on the city’s underground rail network to cut fares and smash the city’s powerful transport unions, and the NSW government’s plans could be of a similar vein.A report prepared for cabinet by the government department, Transport for NSW, reveals the O’Farrell government met last year with companies behind the driverless Dubai Metro and Canada Line trains, which are run remotely from a central control room.Rail access deal between Fortescue, Atlas loomsA rail access deal between Fortescue Metals Group and Atlas Iron appears to be firming, local paper WA Today says.A deal to transport its iron ore on Fortescue’s railway line will be struck within three months, according to analysts.That timeline coincides with the schedule that Fortescue has outlined for the sale of a minority stake in its rail and port assets.Esperance shortlists five organisations to build new bulk facilityEsperance port has short-listed five organisations to tender for building a new multi-user iron ore facility after submissions closed last week.Port chief executive Shayne Flanagan said 36 businesses had registered interest to develop and operate the new infrastructure.“This is a major project, and we were aware that only a handful of companies and consortia would be able to meet the registration requirements,” Flanagan said.“That included indicating that they understand and can manage the project risks, which include a take-or-pay arrangement with potential users of the new infrastructure, provide or secure debt and equity finance for the construction of the facility and its ongoing operations and reach financial closure for the project.“They also had to show that they had experience in designing, constructing and operating port facilities.”He said the next step would be to reduce the shortlist to three and they would have until the third quarter of this year to finalise the tenders. A contract should be awarded by the end of the year.The port was chosen to help expand the Yilgarn iron ore region of Western Australia because of its proximity and its ability to handle capesize vessels.Thailand approves $67.6bn planConstruction of four standard-gauge dedicated passenger lines and the doubling of 3000km of metre-gauge lines is at the heart of a US$67.6bn Thailand infrastructure investment bill approved by cabinet ministers in Bangkok on March 20.Rail infrastructure is to receive the lion’s share of the planned capital outlay, with money also allocated to port construction, logistics developments and roads.Projects receiving funding allocation include a further 10 urban rail corridors in and around the capital, adding 410 km to Bangkok’s metro and suburban rail network.Following approval by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her cabinet, the bill will now go before parliament for final ratification.Asia-Europe rail regime gets 37 signaturesNearly 40 countries have signed a joint declaration expressing willingness to create a common legal regime for rail traffic across Asia and Europe.37 countries have signed the declaration, aiming to establish “a unified set of transparent and predictable’ legal conditions for international rail freight transport ‘from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” equivalent to the regimes for competing road, air and water transport.Ministers at the signing said “further steps should be taken to facilitate the conclusion of Euro-Asian rail transport contracts.”Operators, associations and other stakeholders have been invited to co-operate in the development of the planned regime, to be called GTC EurAsia, which is supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.Kaniva bridge upgrade contract awardedThe upgrade of the bridge over the rail line at Kaniva, Victoria, along the Western Highway will begin soon, following the awarding of the contract to Cut and Fill.Federal minister for infrastructure and transport Anthony Albanese said the $2.6m project will strengthen the bridge’s deck and install new safety barriers and guard fences.“As well as making the Highway safer for all users, this project will strengthen the bridge to make sure truck drivers can continue to use this direct route between Melbourne and the State’s western region,” he said.“Every day, more than 1,000 trucks use the Kaniva rail bridge.“This project is part of the unprecedented $500m&nbsp we’re investing in the Highway, which is more than four times what our predecessors spent during their entire twelve years in office.”Fortescue, ComOps agree to workforce management dealAustralian workforce management solutions provider ComOps has secured a contract with Fortescue Metals Group to deploy Microster, their workforce optimisation software with embedded fatigue risk management, among its rail operations.Currently Fortescue’s rail operations use a series of spread sheets to manage the long and short term rostering of drivers and operators, a manual and very labour intensive process, ComOps said.Frequent last minute changes to the roster need to be made quickly, take into account business rules and can result in complicated changes to ensure that the roster complies with legislative rules. The current process also lacks reporting and visibility into labour related spend, it added.ComOps was selected after an extensive tender process.Queensland Rail begins new rail crossings campaign stageThe next phase of Queensland Rail’s Crosses campaign was rolled out late in March with a new billboard displayed across a train as a reminder to stay safe near level crossings.The state’s minister for transport and main roads Scott Emerson said the billboard advertising the confronting level crossing safety campaign would travel on the south east Queensland rail network for the next month.“The campaign focuses on white crosses as a stark reminder of how people gamble with their lives by playing Russian roulette with trains at level crossings,” Emerson said.“Before the Crosses campaign was launched in June last year, there was a nine per cent spike in incidents.“We have seen this turn around significantly with a reduction of more than 32 per cent in near miss incidents in the second half of 2012, when compared to the same period the previous year.”

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