Mass Transit Running on Empty - Is Covid-19 The End For The Urban Passenger Rail Market?

COVID-19 is responsible for the largest global decline in ridership on urban rail systems that has ever occurred.  Shutdowns, social distancing and economic recession have created cities where urban mass transit systems are empty generating significant financial stress for the passenger rail industry in all cities.  The two most important questions in urban rail today are: when will it end? and will ridership return?   

Next week's webinar presenter, Graham Currie, Professor of Public Transport, Director Public Transport Research Group, Monash University Australia will be discussing:

• How previous pandemics have affected rail ridership
• How radical shifts in working from home act to influence travel in practice
• How Covid-19 has influenced travel volume, the timing of trips and mode shift
• How the CBD markets for rail have been notably affected more than other parts of the city
• Forecasts for rail usage post COVID-19 when the pandemic is over.

Join us at 12PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Tuesday, 6 October 2020 to hear about what will happen to travel when COVID-19 is finished.

Just click on the blue 'Register Now' button to reserve your place. 

Network Rule Harmonisation Project Moving Forward

RISSB is making great progress working with industry in the harmonisation of a new industry-wide Network Communication Rule.  

Initially, RISSB undertook a gap analysis to better understand how Communication Rules differ across Australia, what could be done to address discrepancies, and to identify key challenges to harmonisation.

Subsequently, a working group was formed (under the auspices of a cross-industry National Rules Industry Reference Group) to work through and draft a new detailed Rule. This phase of the project is progressing well and RISSB expects a the draft Rule to be made available to participating organisations in October 2020.

Once complete, it is intended that (and participating organisations have agreed that) the Communication Rule will be effectively self-mandated, i.e. incorporated into participating organisations' rulebooks verbatim without modification.

Chief Medical Officers To Meet To Discuss Improvements To The AHP Scheme  

The Chief Medical Officers Council will meet on 6 October to explore a number of improvements to the current AHP scheme including reviewing current forms being used (fit slip and disclosure form), exploring changes to the application of national blocks (what medical issues should lead to a national block), the appeals process and the future automation of processes.

Horizons 2.0 Finale - Virtual Forum          

The final forum for the Horizons 2.0 Program will be virtual and will be held on 26th and 27th October. The program will include presentations by participants on their “innovation for rail” along with a number of workshops and presentations by industry leaders. This will conclude the Horizons 2.0 Program for the 49 participants who will receive their certificates following the forum.

AS 7460 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drones) – Operational Requirements

AS 7531 Lighting and Visibility

AS 7450 Rail Systems Interoperability

The nominations have closed to join the Development Group that will be reviewing this important Standard. Over 20 people nominated, with a great mix of suppliers, operators and general interest people. These applications are being worked through currently, and once complete, all applicants will be contacted by the Standards Development Manager.

Board Approved Publications

AS 7658 Level Crossings and AS 7664 Railway signal cable routes, pits, and foundations were both approved for publication by the RISSB Board on the 22nd September. These resources should be available to download in the coming weeks.

Train Control Systems Standing Committee Update

The Standing Committee met last week to discuss a range of topics, including refining the scope for AS 7659 Point Locking and Point Detection and amendments to AS 7715 Train Detection.

Projects On Parade

Each week we'll showcase a publication in our 2020 / 2021 work plan that we will  be progressing in the coming year.

Publication Type 
Guideline

Publication Name 
Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) Guideline for the Australian Rail Industry. 

Overview
The Australian rail industry lacks a dedicated Standard for Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) and relies on the use of the European CENELEC/IEC Standards suite. This includes EN 50126 Standards, which address the combined topic of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (i.e. RAM + S). Alternatively, in Europe, Australia and internationally there are also a mix of more generic Standards relevant to Reliability (R), Availability (A) and Maintainability (M) in a general environment.

This Guideline is relevant to all organisations responsible for the identification, control, and reporting of RAM-related risks and provides a recommended approach to developing, managing, and delivering a customised RAM program for all of the railway. 

Standards Development Manager 
Sudha Niles
sniles@rissb.com.au

RISSB's Rail Safety Conference - 6 Keynote Speakers And 6 Good Reasons To Attend      

• 50+ Expert speakers
• 9 Streams focused on key safety issues
• The ever popular ‘Ask the Regulator’ Panel which will again give attendees the opportunity to engage directly with the executive team from ONRSR.
• Case studies from Metro Trains Melbourne, CMET, TfNSW, Transdev Auckland, City Rail Link Project, Sydney Metro and more
• New virtual site tour - see works underway to deliver Sydney's Central Station Metro project 
• 6 Keynote speakers (including 2 new international keynote speakers!)

This week we added Marc Brazeau President and Chief Executive Officer, Railway Association of Canada and Anson Jack Professor of International Railway Benchmarking, International Director, Birmingham Centre for Rail Research and Education, University of Birmingham (UK) to the program.

Our 4 other keynote speakers are: 

• Captain David Evans, Check and Training Captain QF32, QANTAS 
• Allan Spence, Head of Corporate Passenger and Public Safety, Network Rail (UK) 
• Sue McCarrey, Chief Executive, ONRSR
• Carolyn Walsh, Chair, National Transport Commission 

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To view the comprehensive Rail Safety Conference agenda, please go the conference website. 

Please click on the blue 'Register to Attend' button below this article if you want to secure your spot.