GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY

Premier Rees announces more rail services to benefit Queanbeyan

NSW Premier Rees visited Queanbeyan on 18 September announcing additional rail services between Sydney and Canberra. “From 6 December this year we will be re-introducing daily midday services in each direction. The new timetable will create an additional eight services a week between Sydney and Canberra, four in each direction”, Mr Rees said.

Tracklaying complete on new Gold Coast rail line

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan and Member for Burleigh Christine Smith announced another major milestone in the Queensland Government’s Robina to Varsity Lakes rail extension project with the completion of the new 4.1 kilometre dual rail track. Ms Nolan said that the laying of the track between Robina and the new station at Varsity Lakes was now complete.

Rail upgrades begin at the Port

A $20 million refit of the historic Port Adelaide viaduct and the first stage of a $12 million upgrade of Port Adelaide railway station is scheduled to begin within the next two months following completion of design work and required approval processes. The project will also include an upgrade of the Jervois Street bridge and upgrades to level crossings at Cheltenham Parade, Fussell Place, Wirra Drive, Fletcher Street, Strathfield Terrace and Golf Course Road. The Government announced that Baulderstone Pty Ltd and Transfield Services Joint Venture had won the bid as the successful consortium for the project.

INDUSTRY

AAR reports rail traffic down during Labor Day holiday week

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported that freight traffic on US Railroads was down during the Labor Day holiday week compared to the same week last year. The comparison week from last year, however, did not include the Labor Day holiday. For the week ended 12 September 2009, US Railroads reported originating 263,349 cars, down 19.8% compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 18.4% in the West and 21.8% in the East. Intermodal traffic of 175,813 trailers or containers on US Railroads was down 25.8% from the same week last year. Container volume fell 20.9% and trailer volume dropped 43.9%.

UIC conference presents best rail energy saving solutions for the future

The Energy Efficiency Days 2009 Conference will provide insights into the latest developments in railway energy efficiency, international energy and climate change trends, financing of energy efficiency programs, energy management systems, fuel cell and hybrid propulsion. This joint conference will comprise the Railenergy intermediate conference, the 4th International Union of Railways (UIC) Energy Efficiency Conference and the TRAINER final conference. For practical hands on experience, technical visits will be organised to a production site and a French National Railway (SNCF) maintenance workshop.

ACCIDENTS

Failure of rail's keep caused Manchester derailment

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into the derailment of a Manchester Metrolink Tram at St Peter’s Square 29 June 2008. The middle bogie of a tram derailed and travelled 90 metres before coming to rest having partially mounted a pavement. A number of passengers suffered minor injuries. The immediate cause of the derailment was failure of the rail’s keep, allowing the wheels to move outside their guided path, and eventually to derail.

NTSB identifies signal failure in fatal DC Metrorail collision

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued nine safety recommendations, six of which are urgent, to address concerns about the safety of train control systems that use audio frequency track circuits. The recommendations are the result of NTSB's ongoing investigation into the collision between two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains on the Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington, D.C., on 22 June 2009. Although the NTSB's investigation is not yet complete and no determination of probable cause has been reached, the NTSB is concerned about the safety of train control system circuitry used in comparable rail and transit operations in other parts of the country.