Australasia – Page 4
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In depthAustralia: Bankstown Line conversion takes shape
Work is forging ahead to convert a 13 km section of the Sydney Trains suburban network to form part of the city’s automated metro. Nick Kingsley asked Sydney Metro Project Director Hugh Lawson to explain.
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NewsAurizon agrees East Coast Rail sale
AUSTRALIA: Aurizon has signed a binding agreement to sell its East Coast Rail coal haulage business to Magnetic Rail Group. Completion is expected in early 2023. Aurizon undertook to divest ECR as part of regulatory approval for its acquisition of One Rail Australia. The takeover was ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Parramatta light rail vehicle delivered
AUSTRALIA: The first tram for the Parramatta light rail line which is currently under construction in western Sydney was delivered to Port Kembla on December 10. CAF is supplying 13 seven-section 45·4 m long light rail vehicles with a capacity of 425 passengers. The trams will ...
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NewsFirst contract let covering Inland Rail civil works in Victoria
AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp announced on October 31 that it had awarded a contract worth approximately A$200m for McConnell Dowell to start civil works on the first Inland Rail sites in Victoria.
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NewsAustralian National Rail Manufacturing Plan funded
AUSTRALIA: The 2022-23 federal budget includes A$14·2m over four years to establish a National Rail Manufacturing Plan ‘to ensure more trains are built in Australia, support skilled manufacturing and expand the local rail industry’. An Office of National Rail Industry Co-ordination will be formed within the ...
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Metro Report InternationalApprentices needed to keep largest tram network moving
AUSTRALIA: Applications have opened for a four-year apprenticeship programme which Melbourne operator Yarra Trams uses to train people to manage and maintain the 500 km of overhead electrification on the world’s largest tram network. During the first two years, apprentices will work on de-energised infrastructure alongside ...
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Metro Report InternationalNational public transport ticketing contract awarded
NEW ZEALAND: Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency has awarded Cubic Transportation Systems the National Ticketing Solution contract to supply an account-based ticketing platform for rail, bus and ferry services. Local transport authorities will decide on travel products and fares for their regions and control the ...
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NewsPerth’s Airport Line rail link opens
AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has opened the 8·5 km Airport Line connecting Perth’s eastern suburbs with the central business district via the international airport.
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In depthSmart Stations: Modular approach reshapes fit-out process
London’s Elizabeth Line and Brisbane’s Cross-River Rail Link are two major schemes where station design and fit-out is being influenced by trends towards modularity, repeatability and off-site production, as Julian Maynard of Maynard Design Group explains to Nick Kingsley.
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NewsMelbourne Airport Rail contract preferred bidder selected
AUSTRALIA: The Sunshine Systems Alliance consortium has been selected as preferred bidder to undertake works around Sunshine and Albion stations as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail scheme.
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Metro Report InternationalAuckland light rail development contract awards
NEW ZEALAND: Contracts are being awarded for further planning and development of the proposed Auckland light rail project. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council have selected an alliance of Aurecon and Arup as preferred bidder for the next phase of planning and ...
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Rail Business UKFirstClass opportunity to target the global market at InnoTrans
INNOTRANS: FirstClass Safety & Control is at InnoTrans for the first time as part of what director Mark Meyrick says is its strategy ‘to become the world leader in rail depot safety control systems’. The UK company was formed through a management buy-out of the control ...
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NewsInvestors acquire Australian rolling stock leasing company
AUSTRALIA: A 50:50 consortium of DIF Capital Partners and Amber Infrastructure Group has agreed to acquire locomotive and wagon leasing and maintenance company Rail First from Anchorage Capital Partners. The transaction announced on September 5 is expected to close by the end of October, subject to ...
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NewsKiwiRail awards national traffic management system contract
NEW ZEALAND: KiwiRail has awarded Alstom a ‘once-in-a-generation’ contract to deploy an integrated traffic management system for the national rail network. Replacing the existing traffic control technology with the ‘state-of-the-art’ Iconis integrated system will bring a ‘step-change in the way Kiwi Rail will operate its network’, ...
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NewsVictoria orders more DMUs
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Department of Transport has exercised an option to purchase a further 12 three-car Alstom VLocity diesel multiple-units. These will be used on V/Line services on the 1 600 mm gauge routes from Melbourne to Shepparton and Warrnambool. The firm order announced by Alstom on ...
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NewsThree consortia shortlisted to build Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop
AUSTRALIA: Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority has shortlisted three international consortia for tunnelling work on the eastern section of Melbourne’s orbital railproject. The SRL East package covers 26 km of twin bore tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill serving six underground stations. ...
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NewsFirst students complete Inland Rail Skills Academy Foundation Course
AUSTRALIA: The first students has successfully completed the Inland Rail Skills Academy Foundation Course in Boggabilla, New South Wales. This covered construction skills, literacy, numeracy, financial and digital literacy and career preparation skills. The students can now apply for positions with contractors such as Freight Connect, ...
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NewsDriverless heavy haul railway expanded to serve automated iron ore mine
AUSTRALIA: A 166 km branch has been built to connect Rio Tinto’s new Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the Pilbara to its 1 700 km heavy haul network, which is operated using AutoHaul driverless trains. The first loaded train ran in June, with production scheduled to ...
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Metro Report InternationalCanberra battery tram order
AUSTRALIA: CAF has been awarded a contract supply five battery-equipped light rail vehicles to Canberra from 2024. It will also retrofit the city’s 14 existing five-section Urbos 100 vehicles with batteries, so that the entire fleet will be able to operate on the catenary-free extension to ...
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NewsSolar powered signalling installed
AUSTRALIA: Solar powered signalling has been installed on a passing loop at Coolleearlee in New South Wales on the Narromine to North Star section of the Inland Rail project. A battery back-up can provide for 10 days of operation. Australian Rail Track Corp said solar power ...