GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY

$28 million Hunter track upgrade complete

The $28 million duplication of the rail line between St Heliers and Muswellbrook is now complete. Anthony Albanese, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development said the St Heliers to Muswellbrook upgrade duplicated two kilometres of track extending south east of Muswellbrook. Trains will be able to use the new section of the track immediately. Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) CEO David Marchant explained that increasing capacity on the rail line is essential for keeping ahead of market demand. "The ongoing upgrade of the corridor with new signals, passing loops and bridge replacements is part of ARTC's strategy to stay ahead of future export capacity.” The St Heliers to Muswellbrook project included construction of three 'under-bridges', track realignment at the Muswellbrook Yard and bi-directional signalling.

Transport Data Centre News July 2009

The July edition includes articles on the following:

• 2006 Journey to Work (JTW) timetables
• Household travel survey
• Updated freight model movement
• NSW Transport Facts and Australian Transport Facts 2009
• Australasian Transport Research Forum (ARTF) 2009.

PTSV releases new rail and bus statistics

Public Transport Safety Victoria (PTSV) has released the June update for the Statistics @ a Glance report. Bus and rail safety occurrence statistics have been updated with data that has been adjusted to reflect new information that has come to light during the last reporting period.

Installation of boom gates starts in SA

The installation of boom gates and other safety measures at priority level rail crossings in South Australia has begun. Work has now started in the north of Adelaide with Penfield Road, Virginia receiving an upgrade from stop signs to lights and boom gate plus new road work. Hayman Road, Two Wells will receive an upgrade from stop signs to lights and boom gate plus new road work. The projects are being delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).

Seaford rail extension moves forward

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, and South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Patrick Conlon, announced that two major contracts have been awarded for pre-construction work on the Seaford rail extension. The extension of the dual track rail line from Noarlunga to Seaford will include stations and a bus/train interchange at the Seaford rail terminus, as well as park and ride facilities at Seaford Meadows, a new 1.2 kilometre elevated bridge over the Onkaparinga River and River Road as well as a rail bridge over Old Honeypot Road. Construction of the extension is expected to start mid 2010 with electric train services to be operating in 2013, in line with the completion of electrification of the Noarlunga line.

INDUSTRY

ARA fortnightly update

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has released its latest fortnightly update. This issue includes:

• Discussion paper on the proposed amendment of the Rail Safety (Drug and Alcohol testing) Regulation 2008
• Submission on inquiry into the telecommunications legislation amendment
• National greenhouse and reporting obligations
• Train protection & control system interoperability workshops
• ARA environmental workshops
• Rail Industry Awards for Excellence
• ARA Members’ Dinner - Perth 7 September 2009
• AusRAIL Plus 2009 17 - 19 November 2009.

Rail traffic continues to reflect the down economy

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) says that for the week ending 8 August, 2009, that US Railroads reported originating 274,633 cars, down 16 percent compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, car loadings were down 14.1 percent in the West and 18.8 percent in the East.

US$100,000 grant for railroad engineering degree program

The Norfolk Southern Foundation has given US$100,000 to Pennsylvania State Altoona to assist in the development of a four-year Rail and Transit Engineering (RTE) degree program. This innovative Bachelor of Science program will include existing Pennsylvania State civil engineering courses, coupled with new customised courses in rail business, mechanical systems, track, operations, communications, and regulation.

AAR urges FRA to stick to congressional scope of PTC mandate

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) urged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to faithfully follow the congressional statutory mandate requiring railroads to implement Positive Train Control (PTC) technologies across certain portions of the national freight rail network. In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring the nation’s freight railroads by 31 December, 2015 to implement PTC on certain main line tracks used for transporting passengers or toxic chemicals. AAR Senior Vice President Safety and Operations, Robert VanderClute said “by proposing substantial expenditures beyond what Congress is requiring, the proposed regulations would undermine the ability of the railroads to continue to provide the public benefits of rail.”

ACCIDENTS

Train and minivan collide in Romania, 13 dead

Thirteen people died and three others were injured on 15 August when a train collided with a minivan at a railway crossing near Iasi, in northeastern Romania. There were no barriers at the crossing, Health Ministry official Rayed Arafat said. The Regiotrans Railway company's director, Florin Hadarean, said the minivan's driver missed the signal showing that a train was approaching. No one on board was injured.

Report released into container train incident at Basingstoke station

On 19 December 2008, a shipping container struck the canopy above platform one at Basingstoke station at about 40 km/h as the train passed through. The canopy was damaged over a length of 130m, and pieces of wood were scattered along the platform. The immediate cause of the incident was that the combination of the container and the type of wagon it had been loaded onto was too high for the route on which the train was travelling, allowing the left-hand top corner of the container to strike the canopy. As a consequence of this accident, the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) has made three recommendations which include a review of the activities at its terminals, examination of the feasibility of revising the container storage and handling arrangements at Wakefield Europort to reduce the likelihood of confusion between different box sizes, and requesting that the computer system that controls container movements be revised to highlight alert messages that may be safety critical.