AUSTRALIA: Australian Rail Track Corp has awarded 4Tel a contract to deploy theTrain Management & Control System, a computer-based electronic authority system, on 1 276 km of track across the Nullarbor Plain between Tarcoola in South Australia and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
Commissioning is scheduled for late 2026.
TMACS uses virtual block technology to provide vital voice and electronic movement authorities directly from network control to train drivers. It issues electronic permit-to-work authorities to track workers, integrating with ARTC’s eTAP work-on-track mobile app used by track vehicles and track workers.
Brad Moorhouse, Group Executive Safety & Systems at ARTC, said the Tarcoola to Kalgoorlie rollout would ‘deliver smarter train control technology to a key freight corridor, reducing reliance on manual systems and introducing smarter, engineering-based safety measures.’
TMACS software is currently used on more than 5 000 km of remote and regional track across New South Wales.
‘TMACS has been proven in continuous and safe use since the initial version was deployed in 2001’, said 4Tel CEO Tony Crosby on June 12. ‘Train drivers, track vehicles and track workers will all benefit from the increased risk controls that will be applied to this corridor, including electronic authorities, out-of-authority alerts and proximity alerts.’
