Westinghouse secures $14m Sydney turnkey signalling project
22 May 2009
IRG announced that its subsidiary Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia (WRSA) has won a A$14m turnkey signalling contract from the Australian Rail Track Corporation Ltd (ARTC). The contract is central to an ARTC project to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of rail freight services along the North-South Rail Corridor between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.A major bottleneck in the rail freight network currently exists in southern Sydney, where freight trains share existing rail lines with the Sydney metropolitan passenger services operated by RailCorp. During morning and afternoon peak periods, freight services are not permitted to run due to passenger priority. As a result, freight services cannot arrive or depart Sydney at the optimum times.
To alleviate this bottleneck, the ARTC began work on the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL), which will provide a dedicated freight line for a distance of 36km between Macarthur and Sefton in southern Sydney. The SSFL will provide a third track in the rail corridor specifically for freight services, allowing passenger and freight services to operate independently.
Under the contract, WRSA is to supply a turnkey signalling system, including design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning.
One of the main reasons for WRSA?s contract win was the ability to reduce the requirement for signalling technology on the project. Managing Director Phil Ellingworth explains ?ARTC?s tender specified delivery of a conventional interlocking solution using track circuits. WRSA proposed an alternative solution using service-proven signalling elements in an innovative architecture delivering optimal value to meet ARTC?s key operational needs.? ?It was this innovative engineering solution that won WRSA the tender in the end? he added.
The ARTC has been a major client of WRSA for many years and this latest project is one in a series won in recent times. These include: the relocation of the train control system in Victoria to Mile End in Adelaide; North Coast New South Wales level crossing upgrades; the Newport to West Footscray signalling upgrade; and upgrading the crossing loops on the Trans-Australian Railway between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie.