MARCH 2020 Issue number 17
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End of an era at Hua Lamphong After more than a century, Bangkok looks forward to a new rail destiny
FREIGHT How the OBOR and TIR are transforming Europe-China freight travel
TICKETING TECHNOLOGY The different approaches to ticketing across Southeast Asia
Image: Neil Shelley Instagram.com/caffeinebased
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NEWS All the latest developments in Asia Pacific
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MARCH 2020 Issue number 17
www.railprofessional.com
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR RAIL
Image: Neil Shelley Instagram.com/caffeinebased
The end of an era After more than a century, Bangkok looks forward to a new rail destiny
FREIGHT How the OBOR and TIR are transforming Europe-China freight travel
TICKETING TECHNOLOGY The different approaches to ticketing across Southeast Asia
editor’s note
NEWS All the latest developments in Asia Pacific
publisher RAIL PROFESSIONAL LIMITED Hallmark House, Downham Road, Ramsden Heath, Essex CM11 1PU Tel: +44 (0)1268 711811 EditorIAL EDITOR SAM SHERWOOD-HALE editor@railprofessional.com ADVERTISING christian wiles chris@railpro.co.uk BEN WARING ben@railpro.co.uk ADMINISTRATION cherie nugent info@railpro.co.uk KIRSTY CARTER projects@railpro.co.uk GILL DUNN office@railpro.co.uk DESIGN & PRODUCTION MILES JOHNSTONE production@railpro.co.uk Main cover image: Neil Shelley Instagram.com/caffeinebased
Rail Professional welcomes contributions in the form of articles, photographs or letters, preferably by email. Original photographs may be submitted, but, while every care will be exercised, neither the editor nor the publisher take responsibility for loss of, or damage to, material sent. Submission of material to Rail Professional will be taken as permission for it to be published in the magazine. ISSN 2397-8287 © All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owners.
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elcome to the first issue of 2020. It is an exciting year ahead and we start with two editorials from Alstom. Hot off their recent agreement with Bombardier Transportation to purchase the Canadian train manufacturer, Alstom have two pieces in this issue that explore the future of rail technology and related digital technologies. Ling Fang, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Alstom looks at the risk of cyber attacks on trains and cybersecurity cooperation with other industries. Olivier Loison, Managing Director for Alstom’s China & East Asia branch, tackles Bangkok’s legendary traffic woes through the prism of Big Data and multimodal transport possibilities. Staying in Bangkok, our cover photo this issue is of the Thai capital’s historic Hua Lamphong railway station, taken by Neil Shelley. The station celebrated its centenary a few years ago, its vaulted roof and neoclassical design rivalled the stations of Europe at the time it was built between 1910 and 1916. Hua Lamphong has long been Bangkok’s link to the rest of the country and even beyond its borders, carrying passengers on the International Express to Butterworth in Penang, Malaysia. That is all set to change soon though as it will be replaced by Bang Sue Grand Station. The Grand Station will be the new railway hub for Bangkok and Thailand, with all cross-country services running through it as well as several new metro lines. The location also houses the largest rail yard in the whole of Thailand and is the main cargo yard for freight services around the country. In terms of international rail links, Bang Sue will also eventually connect Bangkok to Cambodia – once the trains start running along the recently reconnected, cross-border railway. The focus will be on moving freight, helping to reach Thailand and Cambodia’s stated goal of $15 billion in bilateral trade, but it will also soon be possible to make regular trips from Bangkok to Phnom Penh entirely by train – and your correspondent intends to do so as soon as the opportunity presents itself! This issue of Rail Professional Asia Pacific also features articles on ticketing from Alberto Moreno of Baolau and a piece from Alex Veitch, Head of Multimodal Policy at the UK’s Freight Transport Association explaining how the OBOR and TIR are transforming Europe-China freight travel.
Sam Sherwood-Hale Editor
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor does it accept liability for any printing errors or otherwise which may occur.
Rail Professional
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issue 17 • MARCH 2020
06 News Singapore LTA Awards three civil contracts to construct four stations for the Jurong Region Line, Second stage of ThomsonEast Coast Line (TEL2) about 90 per cent complete, Hyundai Rotem Company Awarded Contract for 62 Jurong Region Line Trains, Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 commenced service on 14th February 2020, Metro Tunnel celebrates five years, Trainee rail engineers head to China
11 Cyber Security Ling Fang, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Alstom explores how digital technology is enabling more advanced performance and delivering benefits to authorities, operators and passengers
12 Urban Transport Olivier Loison, Managing Director, China & East Asia at Alstom, looks at the technology behind the traffic
14 Event RAIL Asia 2020 takes place from 25th to 26th November 2020 at Makkasan Expo Halls Airport Rail Link in Bangkok, Thailand
16 Freight
21 Rolling Stock
Alex Veitch, Head of Multimodal Policy, FTA explains how the OBOR and TIR are transforming Europe-China freight travel and how the global rail industry is reacting to this development
Danish state railways company DSB confirmed it has chosen Talgo to supply eight standard coach formations as a result of an international competitive tendering process
18 Ticketing Technology
22 Business Profile
Alberto Moreno, General Director at registered ticket agency Baolau, compares the different approaches to ticketing across Southeast Asia
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| NEWS
Singapore LTA Awards three civil contracts to construct four stations for the Jurong Region Line Singapore – Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded three civil contracts for the design and construction works of four Jurong Region Line (JRL) stations and their associated viaducts, at a combined contract value of SG$596.0 million. The first JRL contract in this tranche, valued at SG$172.0 million, has been awarded to China Communications Construction Company Limited (Singapore Branch). It comprises the design and construction of Boon Lay station and a 0.8 kilometres viaduct along Jurong West Street 64. It also includes addition and alteration works to the existing Boon Lay station on the East-West Line to provide a seamless connection to the new JRL station. The new station is expected to be completed in 2026. China Communications Construction Company Limited is a company with 15 years of experience, specialising in the design and construction of large-scale rail, road and bridge projects. It has previously completed several rail projects in countries including China and Kenya. The second contract, valued at SG$226.6 million, has been awarded to Sembcorp Design and Construction Pte Ltd. It comprises the design and construction of Gek Poh and Tawas stations and two viaducts at a total length of 1.3km – one along Jurong West Street
75 and another between the two stations. The two stations are expected to be completed in 2026. Sembcorp Design and Construction Pte Ltd has an established track record in Singapore, providing design-and-build construction services such as architectural, civil and structural, mechanical and electrical engineering and quantity surveying. The company is also currently involved in constructing the TEL Marina South Station. The third contract, valued at SG$197.4 million, has been awarded to Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. It comprises the design and construction of Jurong East station and a 0.5 km viaduct at the station. It also includes addition and alteration works to the existing Jurong East station on the North-South and East-West Lines, to integrate it with the new JRL station. The new station is expected to be completed in 2027. Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd. is a Korea-based global contractor with a wide range of experience in providing design and construction services, having completed infrastructure and building projects in Korea and overseas. It is currently involved in the construction of the TEL Outram Park interchange station. Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd. also previously constructed a section of the Marina Coastal Expressway.
Second stage of Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL2) about 90 per cent complete Singapore – The second stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL2) is about 90 per cent complete, and on track to open in the later part of 2020. TEL2 comprises six stations from Springleaf to Caldecott, with two interchange stations at Bright Hill and Caldecott. Bright Hill station will link to the future Cross Island Line, while Caldecott station will link to the existing Circle Line (CCL). The 43-kilometre TEL is Singapore’s sixth MRT line, adding 32 new stations to the existing rail network, with eight interchange stations in total. The line will open in five stages starting from this year to 2024. The first stage of TEL (TEL1), made up of Woodlands North, Woodlands, and Woodlands South MRT stations. About 100,000 households will benefit from TEL1 and TEL2, as they are now within a ten-minute walk from one of the nine stations. These residents will be able to experience travel time savings of up to 50 per cent. For example, a Sin Ming resident travelling to Republic Polytechnic will have his journey time halved, from 50 minutes to 25 minutes. When fully operational in 2024, the TEL is expected to serve approximately 500,000 commuters daily in the initial years, rising to about one million commuters in the longer term. Besides enhancing connectivity between Rail Professional
the northern, central, and eastern parts of Singapore, the TEL will strengthen the resilience of Singapore’s rail network by providing alternative travel routes for commuters on other lines. As the TEL runs parallel to the North-South Line (NSL), it will also help to reduce reliance and crowdedness on the NSL. Springleaf station is located along Upper Thomson Road, between Thong Soon Green and Springleaf Road. LTA took steps before and during the construction of Springleaf stations to minimise impact on nearby shop tenants and residents, including briefing them of the works early on. LTA also worked closely with Singapore PowerGrid to ensure that its cable tunnel which runs through Springleaf station could be constructed without interruptions. The
location of Lentor station is adjacent to the residential areas. Residents of Lentor Estate and Teacher’s Estate can soon look forward to greater accessibility to the city centre via this station. To minimize impact to nearby residences and high-rise developments, top-down construction was adopted for the construction of the station box and entrances. Extensive studies were conducted to identify the network of utility services located within the work zone, to prevent any disruptions that could affect the neighbouring estates. Mayflower Station is located in the mature Ang Mo Kio and Kebun Baru estate. The barrier-free entrances of Mayflower station allow commuters, especially elderly residents, to access the station easily. The station will bring rail connectivity to schools, community amenities and residential developments in the Kebun Baru estate, such as CHIJ St Nicholas Girls School, Mayflower Secondary School, Ang Mo Kio Primary School and the Kebun Baru Community Club. Bright Hill station is located along Sin Ming Avenue. The station’s entrance locations were chosen to serve residents of Sin Ming Garden, Faber Garden and Gardens at Bishan, as well as Ai Tong Primary School. The station provides residents and students future direct connectivity to the city centre as well as the eastern region of Singapore.
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| NEWS
Hyundai Rotem Company Awarded Contract for 62 Jurong Region Line Trains Singapore – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a contract to Hyundai Rotem Company (HRC) for the supply of 62 three-car trains for the Jurong Region Line (JRL), at a contract value of $416.5 million. The contract covers the supply of the new fleet of fully-automated and driverless JRL trains, which will be wholly designed and manufactured by HRC in South Korea. HRC may also provide long-term service support to the future JRL operator as necessary. The first train is expected to arrive in Singapore around mid-2024. JRL is Singapore’s seventh MRT line, serving both existing and future developments in the western part of Singapore. As the line travels through an
already built-up area, each train will be made up of three smaller train cars, so that they are more maneuverable along tighter curves. As a new line, LTA has more latitude to improve the design of JRL trains. To facilitate easy boarding and alighting, each train car will have three wide doors on each side. At a width of 1.5 metres each, these doors are wider than trains on existing MRT lines. In line with efforts to promote a more inclusive and welcoming public transport experience, each train car will also feature space for wheelchair users and strollers. Besides passenger-friendly features, the JRL trains will also be designed with ease of operations and maintenance in mind. This includes equipping the trains with advanced condition monitoring and diagnostic
systems to detect train faults. Some trains will also be equipped with an Automated Track Inspection system to monitor the real-time condition of the running rail for defects. This will enable the future JRL operator to adopt a more preventive and predictive maintenance regime, which is more efficient. HRC will also tap on various existing suppliers of sub-systems (such as train doors) of other trains in Singapore. This allows for greater commonality of spares, and enables more efficient and responsive maintenance support. This is the first time that HRC is supplying new trains for the Singapore market. HRC has over 40 years of experience in train design and manufacturing with a strong presence in South Korea and various international markets. HRC supplies most of the trains for Seoul Metro, and has supplied trains to Hong Kong, Vancouver, Sao Paulo, Istanbul and Athens. HRC has also previously completed projects the mid-life refurbishment for the first-generation fleet of North-South and East-West Line trains in 2006.
Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 commenced service on 14th February 2020 Hong Kong – On 14th February, The Tuen Ma Line (TML) Phase 1, commenced services at three new stations, namely Hin Keng Station, the expanded part of Diamond Hill Station and Kai Tak Station. The MTR Corporation is providing special fare promotions for TML Phase 1. Passengers travelling on the Ma On Shan Line (MOL) will be able to travel to Kai Tak Station in East Kowloon via Hin Keng Station and Diamond Hill Station without the need to interchange. The expanded Diamond Hill Station will become a new interchange station between TML and the Kwun Tong Line, allowing passengers to travel from the New Territories (NT) North and NT East districts to the East Kowloon and Hong Kong Island East districts in a more efficient and convenient manner. Such new routing will help relieve the current peak passenger load between Tai Wai and Kowloon Tong Stations on the East Rail Line. The timing for the full opening of TML would depend on the implementation of the suitable measures at Hung Hom Station extension and its connecting structures, and is expected to take place in 2021. As part of the MTR network, the new line will adopt Rail Professional
the existing distance-based fare structure of the network. For instance, the fare between Kai Tak Station and Central Station for Adult Octopus holders is HK$12.7. Ms Jeny Yeung, Commercial Director of the MTR Corporation said: ‘To promote TML Phase 1, the MTR Corporation will introduce Hin Keng/Kai Tak Station Fare Discount. Adult Octopus holders can save HK$1 when travelling on MTR domestic and crossboundary journeys by entering or exiting at Hin Keng or Kai Tak Stations, whilst other Octopus holders (including children, elderly, persons with disabilities and students) will enjoy a HK$0.5 fare discount. Furthermore, to benefit a wider catchment beyond TML Phase 1, there will be special interchange discounts for passengers connecting to and from the designated stations. The two promotions will last until the full commissioning of the TML.’ Subject to the completion of the negotiation with the Government and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, and the finalisation of relevant legal documentations, the MTR Corporation is expected to be appointed as the operator for TML Phase 1 service.
NEWS |
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99 9 99 9 9 9 Metro Tunnel celebrates five years 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 99 9 9 9 99 9 9 9 9 99 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 99 9 9 9 9 9 99 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9to China Trainee rail engineers head 9 99 9 99 9 9 99 99 Melbourne, Australia - The Metro Tunnel this week marks five years since work began to transform Melbourne’s public transport network – and the milestones keep coming as work advances on worksites between Kensington and South Yarra. Among the highlights of the five years since work began, crews have: • Completed the Early Works package to relocate existing infrastructure and utilities for construction (up to one hundred underground services including telecommunications, gas, water and
• • • • •
power were relocated and protected ahead of major construction) Dug shafts for the future State Library and Town Hall stations at City Square, A’Beckett Street and Franklin Street Made significant progress on all five stations Launched two TBMs from the Arden Station site towards the western tunnel entrance in Kensington Excavated the station cavern for the new State Library Station 36 metres under Swanston Street Built support structures and a roof slab
Vientiane, Laos – 600 Laotian trainees will soon be on their way to China to undergo training for different occupations on the Laos-China Railway. Li Bing Xuang, General Manager of the Laos-China Railway Company, said that the first group of trainees is expected to go to Kunming in Yunnan province in March or April,
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for the tunnel’s eastern entrance at South Yarra, as well as laid 1.8 kilometres of new track to connect the tunnels to the existing Cranbourne/Pakenham lines • Started work on the $16 million Victorian Tunnelling Centre, where local workers will be trained in underground construction and tunnelling • Built six massive temporary acoustic sheds across the city to minimise noise, light and dust for Melburnians as workers construct the new stations and tunnels 24 hours a day beneath city streets.
where they will attend courses for about 15 to 18 months. They will train as mechanics, train drivers and related occupations as well as learn to supervise rail system maintenance, according to a Lao official with the company.
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CYBER SECURITY |
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Cyber security in the new age of rail Ling Fang, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Alstom explores how digital technology is enabling more advanced performance and delivering benefits to authorities, operators and passengers
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e tend to take our personal safety for granted when travelling by rail, whether it’s our daily metro commute or a cross-border journey by high speed rail, and in the context of the millions of kilometres travelled every year accidents are mercifully rare. However, even as the rail transport industry moves to embrace the digitalisation of systems and operations, which will improve physical safety for passengers (among other benefits), a potential new threat is emerging. The deployment of these new technologies inevitably opens the door to risks, threats and the possibility of cyber attacks. The future of rail transport is unquestionably digital. Traditional features provided via electromechanical and/ or analogue electronics are increasingly being implemented with software. Advanced software solutions are allowing operators to have real-time information on train movements and analyse overall performance – ultimately reducing costs by streamlining processes and improving efficiency and reliability. From predictive maintenance to automated signalling, and from driverless operation to enhanced passenger experience, digital technology is enabling more advanced performance and delivering benefits to authorities, operators and passengers. The downside of this exciting future is that trains that increasingly rely on digital technology are complex computer systems and, like any digital system, can be hacked. It must be recognised that the risks are real. Railway transportation is as susceptible to cyber attacks as any other industry. In practical terms, the risks of a cyber attack for railway operators and their stakeholders may be summarized as: • Risks to operations, in terms of quality of service and revenue generation. • Potential risks to the safety of passengers and assets. • The impact on company image and
reputation. Every stakeholder in the development of railway systems – systems integrators, service providers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) – has to make an active contribution to the resilience of the overall railway system and ensure that it has the necessary internal organisation, processes, products and solutions to support this. Ensuring the security of a railway system is significantly different to securing a typical IT infrastructure, since the ultimate goal is the safety and reliability of a mass transportation network. There are practical issues to be borne in mind - the system architecture is distributed across long distances, with a large variety of contexts, from a centralized control room to on-board embedded equipment. Also, the anticipated duration of the rail system as a whole is much longer than the life cycles of the various technologies that
go to make up the overall system. It is also necessary to integrate and secure several generations of technologies, each of which has its own security levels. Additionally, from the perspective of operational demands, it is simply impossible to just halt an entire train network’s operations or access an entire fleet at the drop of a hat, in order to broadcast a new patch for example. To address these issues, it is necessary to implement a Secure Development Life Cycle and a vulnerability management process. This starts with an initial Cybersecurity Risk Assessment. The analysis starts with a risk assessment, in order to identify the main risks and the mitigations to be implemented. During the risk assessment, the context (likelihood of the threat, system vulnerabilities) is defined and the mitigations are allocated to the system components, finding the right balance of continued on page 13 Rail Professional
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| URBAN TRANSPORT
Getting people to places Olivier Loison, Managing Director, China & East Asia at Alstom, looks at the technology behind the traffic
B
angkok is one of the world’s great cities, but not all its attributes are a source of pride. The capital’s traffic congestion is legendary – and it’s not getting any better. In navigation company TomTom’s Traffic Index rankings for 2018, Bangkok came in as the fourth worst in Asia. Reasons for congestion There are several causes for Bangkok’s traffic woes. These include the fact that the city expanded without any land use or transportation planning, low parking charges, and the perception of car ownership as a prestigious status symbol. The most worrying result of the traffic congestion is carbon emissions. On 30th September last year, Bangkok’s Pollution Control Department reported that an unhealthy level of air pollution covered 14 areas of Greater Bangkok. This air pollution problem is encouraging the government as well as long-suffering commuters to place their hopes on a speedy expansion of the city’s mass transit network. The authorities have a proposed goal of connecting all the city’s areas by 2025 via a total of 434.3 kilometres of track, as calculated by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP).
Five more stations opened on the Blue Line in late July 2019, and projects in the pipeline for Bangkok include several colourful-sounding new lines. By 2022, the city’s commuters will be able to ride the Purple, Yellow, Pink and Purple Lines as well as extensions to the Green and Blue Rail Professional
Bangkok’s public transport Bangkok’s current public transport options include the BTS Skytrain and the underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. The MRT network is constantly expanding, as part of Thailand’s Rail Transport Infrastructure Development Strategy 2015-2022. Five more stations opened on the Blue Line in late July 2019, and projects in the pipeline for Bangkok include several colourful-sounding new lines. By 2022, the city’s commuters will be able to ride the Purple, Yellow, Pink and Purple Lines as well as extensions to the Green and Blue. These proposed solutions are Bangkok’s answer to the similar challenges faced by any major metropolis – quite simply, how to get people to the places they need to go. As
research by McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment notes, the world’s cities are facing an urgent set of challenges when it comes to ensuring that fundamental right of urban living: getting around. The challenge of getting around Urban transport is more than just getting from ‘A’ to ‘B’ – it is a vital part of the living, beating heart of the city. The McKinsey study says that one hallmark of great cities is constant movement, but sometimes that movement falters, and with it the dynamism that defines them. Polluted air plus the economic costs and personal stress associated with traffic jams combine to make it imperative for city authorities to solve the transport challenge. Subway, bus or even tram networks
URBAN TRANSPORT |
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continued from page 11
protection level, operational constraints, time to market and to deploy, and – naturally – cost. It is also necessary to harden equipment and services with protective measures against cyber hacking and put in place reliable mechanisms to detect cyber intrusions. Finally, Security Testing and Security Assurance will ensure that the selected security measures are correctly implemented. Rail networks are operating in a rapidly changing context and it cannot be assumed that security measures, once implemented, will be effective for all time. That is why it is essential to put in place a robust vulnerability management process that allows the detection and remediation of any vulnerabilities identified in the system’s components. This is the only way to maintain security throughout their lifecycle. Having said that, it must be recognised that cybersecurity goes beyond simply the development of products and solutions. It must also cover other phases such as manufacturing, testing & commissioning, supply chain and installation, as well as maintenance, which includes the decommissioning and disposal activities at the end of an asset’s useful life. It must include threat landscape evolution monitoring and vulnerability watch over time, compliant with a strong security incident management approach.
The whole cybersecurity philosophy cannot be abstract – it crucially demands that the industry hires the right people and trains them well. Adequate resources must be provided to install, administer, operate, and maintain the system. These steps will ensure its security over its complete life cycle and constantly increase its threat intelligence. High priority must be paid to elements like a company-wide cybersecurity handbook that lays out security policies and processes, backed up by regular mandatory training sessions for everyone interacting with the system, operators and maintenance staff alike. The task of ensuring cybersecurity cannot be the responsibility of one player alone. The whole industry needs to cooperate to collectively address the issue. When a new system is being implemented, or a legacy one updated, all industry stakeholders need to sit together and agree on the security risk evaluation and the relevant protection target they want to achieve. A common language, methodology and references are needed. Such collaboration should also cover incident/threat sharing; we need to have at industry level a common view of threats identified and incidents recorded. This will support the definition of the relevant measures and priorities the industry should adopt.
The work currently being carried out in international standardisation committees such as IEC 62443 for industry or Shift2Rail or CEN/CENELEC for railways, is heading in the right direction and should be given even more support. These groups are due to deliver results in the near future. It can also be helpful to identify existing best practices with industry partners. A notable example is an agreement undertaken with aerospace manufacturer Airbus to introduce into the railway business the best practices of the air transport industry. The air and rail industries are both engaged in moving large groups of people, and both are subject to the lethal possibility of terrorism. A cyber attack on a train, with hundreds of passengers traveling routes through densely populated city centres, would be catastrophic. The cybersecurity co-operation agreement signed with Airbus in 2017 will support a new risk management model for the transport industry, focusing on the co-development of new analysis services concerning transport vulnerability and new shared core protection technologies. In the light of society’s vulnerability to cyber attack, and the particular risks faced by major transport operators, all stakeholders, including passengers, need the reassurance that railway products and services meet the latest cybersecurity and government specifications.
certainly help ease congestion, but they must make financial sense for passengers and operators alike, and must operate efficiently and sustainably in order to deliver pollution-free cities.
In practical terms, this means a multimodal system that maximises integration between bus, train and commuter rail systems to increase the range of accessible destinations, thus improving public transport’s competitiveness with the private car. Such a network needs to include an integrated digital platform that enables passengers to access and pay for different transportation services.
planner apps, will enable city managers to better predict and allocate resources, as well as respond to emergencies and uncover trends that would have otherwise been invisible. Crucially, these smart digital solutions can also improve the capacity and fluidity of an existing asset through a number of different capabilities, such as advanced signalling, predictive maintenance and centralised operation control centres. The benefits to passengers of such a connected system include information on their travel options when extreme circumstances that affect mobility arise, like public transport strikes or unexpected weather conditions. There is no one-size-fits-all smart transport solution. Today’s public transport managers and city planners recognise that multi-modal systems must always be evolving and adapting to the needs of the city’s many citizens. Getting people where they want to go demands a dedicated collaboration between multiple stakeholders to design, develop and implement a cohesive network of interconnected travel options. The result will be a more efficient, pleasant and environmentally friendly commute for all city residents.
Evolving transport demands Transport solutions must also reflect and facilitate the evolving transport demands of city residents. Passengers today expect their transport choices not simply to take them where they want to go, but also to reflect the expectations of their lifestyle. Like their homes, workplaces and options for leisure, they want their transport to be technologically advanced, efficient and sustainable. Fortunately, advances in technology are coming to the rescue of the harried commuter and delivering innovative transport solutions that can rightly be termed ‘smart mobility’. The disruptive trends behind urban transportation The technologies that are leading to smart mobility solutions reflect the trends we see across society – they are disruptive of traditional transport models in the same way that new ways of working, shopping and relaxing are disruptive of earlier, more constrained lifestyles.
Multimodal options Heavy rail will always be essential for the core trunk routes – to get commuters from the suburbs into the city – but beyond this, transport authorities can introduce complementary measures such as dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes, and even autonomous electric vehicles. A smart city that helps people move across it more fluently will encourage greater citizen participation by expanding the usable space of cities and linking disconnected neighbourhoods to the rest of the city. Big Data makes multimodal transport possible What makes multimodal transport services possible is the availability of big data and the ability to analyse it. The real-time analysis of data from IoT sensors, telcos, car navigation applications and even third-party travel
Olivier Loison is Managing Director, China & East Asia at Alstom
Rail Professional
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| EVENT
RAIL Asia Expo - integrating the Asian rail industry RAIL Asia 2020 takes place from 25th to 26th November 2020 at Makkasan Expo Halls Airport Rail Link in Bangkok, Thailand
A
sian Exhibition Services (AES) are members of AES (UK) Limited, organisers of the RAIL Asia Exhibition and Conference series of events in Bangkok. RAIL Asia, now approaching its sixth edition in Thailand, attracts in the region of 3,000 trade professionals from 40 countries and is hosted by the State Railway of Thailand at their Makkasan Expo Halls at the SRTET’s Airport Rail Link venue in the centre of Bangkok on the cross track of the mainline, underground and Skytrain urban rail network.
Rail Professional
RAIL Asia is the only event in Thailand supported by the Ministry of Transport and its newly established Department for Rail Transport. The event is hosted by the State Railway of Thailand with additional support from throughout the industry to include Airport Rail Link, SRT Electrified Trains Company Limited, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand, Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Company Limited, KU Rail, the European Association for Business
& Commerce, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers Thailand Chapter and the Centre for Excellence for Road and Railway Excellence. The previous edition of RAIL Asia welcomed 109 exhibiting companies from 28 countries worldwide. International visitor attendance to the exhibition was led by Malaysia, followed by China, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, India, Myanmar and Cambodia. 23 per cent of visitors to RAIL Asia Expo represented the various rail operators from throughout Asia, 15 per cent were
EVENT |
contractors, 14 per cent from government, 21 per cent from associations/institutes/ universities and 27 per cent were consultants. The main area of interest for the trade professionals visiting the event were solutions for signaling, followed
The main stimulus of the regional expansion of RAIL Asia in Bangkok over the past few years has been the vast investment into transport infrastructure currently amounting to US$93 billion of confirmed spend in Asia by 2021 with Thailand accounting for over 40 per cent of all new rail and metro investment in the region
Key people • David Aitken, Managing Director: aitken@aes-exhibitions.com • Punnapa Onsarn, General Manager: punnapa@aes-exhibitions.com • Vilawan Phuengthaicharoen, Marketing Manager: vilawan@aes-exhibitions.com by rolling stock and maintenance, civil engineering, IT, passenger experience and telecoms. The latest RAIL Asia conference programme, held alongside the exhibition, was staged under the theme ‘Advanced M&E Solutions for the Asian Rail Network’ with keynote presentations that included the Ministry of Transport, the State Railway of Thailand, MRTA, Egis Rail, Tüv Sud, Bentley, Siemens, Voestalpine, Schneider, Bombardier, Laos Railways and DB Schenkers. The main stimulus of the regional expansion of RAIL Asia in Bangkok over the past few years has been the vast investment into transport infrastructure currently amounting to US$93 billion of confirmed
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spend in Asia by 2021 with Thailand accounting for over 40 per cent of all new rail and metro investment in the region. Thailand will be expanding and upgrading its existing 4,000 kilometres of track, linking fast track routes to China, Vietnam and Singapore, upgrading signaling and telecommunications systems throughout the network, buying new rolling stock and will expand the Bangkok metro system to 14 lines and introduce light-rail networks to a further four cities. RAIL Asia is organised by Asian Exhibition Services (AES) Ltd. with an appointed steering committee of national operators, independent consultants, government institutions, suppliers and independent stakeholders. AES is an international, Board of Investment listed company headquartered in Bangkok and has representative offices in the UK, Singapore, Vietnam, China, India and Japan. AES is a specialist in business-tobusiness events across all major industry sectors with project partners worldwide to include Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, USA and New Zealand. AES’s stakeholder partners include Thai Stock Market listed and Singaporean investors. Tel: +66 (0) 2711 1767-8 Email: rail@aesexhibitions.com Visit: www.RailAsiaExpo.com Rail Professional
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| FREIGHT
Europe-China: road/rail competition heats up Alex Veitch, Head of Multimodal Policy, FTA explains how the OBOR and TIR are transforming Europe-China freight travel and how the global rail industry is reacting to this development
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November 2018, the first ever TIR truck completed an eleven-day, 7,000-kilometre journey from Khorgos in China to Poland, via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus; this ground-breaking trial heralded the start of regular overland China-EU truck services from early 2019.
China’s global trading ambitions The OBOR, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, is China’s most ambitious foreign policy and economic initiative in recent history. The former connects the country’s underdeveloped hinterland to Europe through Central Asia, with the latter connecting the fast-growing Southeast Asian region to China’s southern provinces through ports and railways. And with China’s decision to sign up to the TIR, journey times have been dramatically reduced: trucks can now transit from Germany to China on road in just twelve days. The TIR transit system allows for approved trailers or containers to move securely across multiple customs territories under a single guarantee, substantially reducing border procedures and monitoring of international journeys. The IRU (International Road Transport Union), the facilitators of the TIR programme, claim that China-Europe road transport under TIR could save transport companies up to 50 per cent on door-to-door costs compared to air, and at least ten days delivery time compared with rail. After successful trials of intermodal container travel by sea and road, in
Rail reaction Despite improved road connectivity under the OBOR, rail is expected to continue to dominate the space. Container volumes on the four main China-Europe rail routes are expected to climb to 742,000 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) by 2027 (from 324,700 in 2018), equating to more than 20 trains a day each hauling 82 TEU, according to a report by the European Commission in February 2019. Maersk Line, an international container shipping company, plans to double the volume of containers moved by freight trains from China to Europe in 20192020. Intermodal rail prices have fallen in response to the increase in container volume; according to The Journal of Commerce, rates have fallen by almost 70 per cent as of September 2019. As China and its neighbouring countries – in particular, Kazakhstan – commit to improving the efficiency of operations at their borders, volumes are likely to continue increasing for years to come. The relevance of this project to the FTA is not simply limited to changes in the way our members may be trading in the future; we have a direct link to the project via our membership of the IRU (the global road transport organisation), which facilitates this new trade by means of the TIR customs transit system. FTA is one of only two authorised UK guarantor associations of TIR customs carnets and works in partnership with HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) and the IRU to oversee the national administration of the system. Despite various geopolitical challenges, OBOR has the potential to transform the nature of future global logistics modes as
n 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on what is arguably the largest infrastructure development plan in modern history: the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), a multimodal transcontinental route connecting Europe and China. While the OBOR has led to dramatically improved rail connections between the two regions, it has – in conjunction with China’s decision to sign up to the TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) transit system – also made road travel across this route a new possibility for businesses; the position of rail and air as the dominant mode of travel along this stretch is no longer secure.
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well as connectivity to and from the UK. As such, FTA is very supportive of the initiative. While businesses in the logistics sector may be under immediate strain from the uncertainties of the UK’s departure from the EU, economically the world is becoming better connected and our industry remains at the forefront of innovation and change. In the view of FTA, any new project that provides businesses with more options for trading internationally – while boosting efficiencies and reducing costs – is good news for both the logistics sector and wider global economy. And, regardless of any new Brexit customs requirements, it is feasible that we could see an extension of this Asian service to continue all the way to the UK in the near future. Efficient logistics is vital to keep Britain trading, directly having an impact on more than seven million people employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc.
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| TICKETING
New technology, new tickets Alberto Moreno, founder of Baolau, compares the different approaches to ticketing across Southeast Asia and presents the latest advances in China and Japan
E
ven though railway infrastructure and rolling stock in Southeast Asia is less modern than China or Japan, the national railway operators in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have quickly modernized their reservation systems and adapted their ticketing procedures to new technologies that are easy to use for both domestic and international travelers. Vietnam Prior to 2015, passengers who wanted to travel by train in Vietnam had no other option than to head to the station, queue at the ticket counter, and purchase the ticket. Vietnam Railways officially launched an online ticket system on 1st September 2015. Through the website www.dsvn.vn, passengers could book seats, pay online and receive the electronic tickets by email. The
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system required passengers to input their full name and ID number or passport during the booking process, making the tickets not transferable. The new online booking system was put under pressure in the Spring of 2016, when hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese citizens returned to their hometowns by train for the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival. TĂŞt, as it is known in Vietnam, is the busiest season in the country and stations were traditionally packed with passengers queuing for hours to get a ticket. This situation created the perfect environment for ticket scalpers, who would purchase tickets in advance and re-sell them at inflated prices. With the introduction of the online ticket booking, Vietnam Railways was determined to put an end to both problems: the queues at the stations and the ticket fraud.
In the first years of operation, passengers who booked online with Vietnam Railways were instructed to print the e-ticket in advance or obtain a printed copy at the station. Tickets were examined and the passenger identify was verified by the staff before accessing the platform. On board, a train conductor carrying a QR code reader would scan the QR code printed on the ticket to verify the seat. In recent years, Vietnam Railways has managed to speed up the boarding procedures by installing automatic gates at the stations. Passengers can scan the QR code printed on the ticket, whether it is a physical ticket, or a digital copy stored in the mobile phone to access the train platform. The pilot program was run at Hanoi Railway Station and Saigon Railway Station on December 2017, and it was later extended to other major stations.
TICKETING |
means that the tickets are not transferable. Passengers receive the electronic ticket by email. The electronic ticket is valid for boarding, but passengers are required to print out the e-ticket in advance and carry the printout. Digital copies stored on a mobile phone are not accepted by the State Railway of Thailand, since the conductor on board will inspect and punch the paper ticket. Malaysia The national railway operator KERETAPI TANAH MELAYU BERHAD (KTMB) launched an online reservation system on 20th March 2011, through the website ktmb.com.my. The system has gone through several updates and improvements in recent years, it has also been adapted to a mobile version. Currently, passengers can book tickets online and receive an electronic ticket which is valid for boarding via email. The e-ticket contains a QR code and the passenger details, therefore it’s not transferable. Passengers are required to print a copy of the e-ticket in advance or at the station for inspection and verification before accessing the train platform. Thanks to these technological developments, passengers have been able to book train tickets online in advance when traveling in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. It is not until recently that train stations in China started eliminating paper tickets and transition to a digital ticketing system. The new e-ticket is based on a QR code sent
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straight to the mobile phone by the 12306 mobile app used for reservations. China Railway has been piloting the new paperless system since December 2019 at nearly one hundred stations, including Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, and in selected routes, such as Beijing–Shanghai, Chengdu– Chongqing, Guangzhou–Shenzhen and Kunming–Dali–Lijiang. In Japan, JR GROUP decided to implement ticketless service through IC cards, such as SUICA, PASMO, ICOCA, TOICA and SUGOCA. The system has been available on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines since 2017, and it is expected to be introduced in other highspeed railway lines in 2022. IC cards are available in a physical format as chipinstalled contactless cards or in a mobile app format, although the system is not prepared to use for international travelers outside Japan, who are still required to collect the physical tickets from the machine. Company profile Baolau is a multi-modal travel search engine specialising in Asia. The online service aggregates information for multiple types of transportation, including flights, trains, buses and ferries, calculates routes between cities, and facilitates ticket booking. Established in Vietnam in 2015, the travel company is an official agent of Vietnam Railways and Royal Railway of Cambodia. The web platform integrates train booking in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Taiwan and Japan.
Thailand The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) introduced an online ticket service for first time in August 2011. The website www.thairailwayticket.com allowed passengers to book train tickets in advance, however the online service was suspended abruptly in January 2013. It was not until February 2017 that a new online ticket reservation system entered into operation. The new service came into effect on 1st February 2017 and it was made accessible through the website www.thairailwayticket.com/eTSRT/. As of now, online reservations require passengers to enter their full name and ID number or passport number, which Rail Professional
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ROLLING STOCK |
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Denmark: a new market for Talgo conventional trains Danish state railways company DSB confirmed it has chosen Talgo to supply eight standard coach formations as a result of an international competitive tendering process
T
he train is an iteration of the Talgo 230 conventional intercity platform, the same already chosen by the rail transport giant Deutsche Bahn only some months ago. The loco-hauled Talgo 230 train thus starts to consolidate as a serious alternative for some countries, also in the Asia Pacific region. Those where very high-speed rail is still only a proposal far in the horizon, with immediate needs in terms of operating versatility and carbon-efficiency which could be easily covered with Talgo stock that is, in top of it all, also very high-speed ready. Under the Denmark contract, Talgo will supply eight full standard coach formations, each with a passenger capacity of over 440 seats, along with spare parts during 16 full years. Total amount of this first order is 1 billion DKK (around 134 million EUR). The contract is a framework agreement allowing DSB to procure both more single coaches and full formations, if need arises, with a total value of 500 million EUR. Talgo trains enable a 30% reduction of energy consumption as compared with the industry standard attributable to the unique rolling assembly technology, exclusively developed by the Spanish-based company and allowing for the manufacture of much lighter coaches. This supports a further reduction of carbon emissions from rail transport, which is already the most sustainable form of transportation, in Denmark – a country that has committed to cut carbon emissions by 70% from the 1990 level before 2030, and to become truly carbon-neutral no later than 2050. No borders Key to this agreement has been Talgo’s impeccable track-record of on-time delivery and the company’s capability to provide DSB with a multisystem train, ready for crossborder services whenever and wherever necessary. The Talgo 230 train sets are tried and tested, and they are fully aligned with the demanding technical rules enforced in Denmark and Germany, while also complying with the European-wide standard (known as TSIs). The train DSB has commissioned will be
used in the international route connecting its capital city, Copenhagen, with one the busiest rail hubs in Germany, the port city of Hamburg. The standard track-gauge Talgo 230 for DSB will reach a commercial top speed of 200km/h and will feature wide bodyshell coaches providing passengers with more interior room compared to other trains. Talgo President Carlos Palacio said: ‘Climate change is a challenge that requires decisive and realistic actions, and we are pleased to see that decision-makers from leading nations share our confidence that a swift transition to a decarbonized transport system based on efficient and lightweight railway transportation is one immediate answer to that challenge.’ ‘DSB’s choice of Talgo’s coaches acknowledges among other features the extreme lightweight features and superior energy efficiency of our trains, which are hallmarks that allow train operators like DSB to contribute decisively to the fight against climate change with tangible actions in the transport sector.’ Talgo 230 The Talgo 230 platform is based on the same technological foundation that has established the Spanish train producer’s intercity trains as an international reference. They are light vehicles boasting independently rotating, self-guided rolling
assemblies, able to maximize capacity and which can mount natural tilting systems and/or automatic track-gauge changing systems. They are also highly scalable: Acquired as conventional trains, they can be easily and inexpensively upgraded into true very high-speed trains for commercial top speeds of 300km/h –as Talgo is currently doing for the Spanish state-run company Renfe. The Talgo 230 trains now awarded by DSB are to follow the ones already awarded by Deutsche Bahn in early 2019 under a 100-train wide framework contract that included an immediate order for 23 trains, which will be allocated to landmark routes like the one linking Amsterdam in Netherlands to Berlin in Germany. Talgo also has conventional intercity trains operating under very different scenarios like Russia, United States, Canada or Kazakhstan. More info: www. talgo.com/asia-pacific Rail Professional
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| BUSINESS PROFILE
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Marmoleum is over 150 years old and is a natural floorcovering that is associated with sustainability, durability, high quality and innovative design
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s well as offering total versatility in terms of colour and design, what makes Marmoleum FR2 and Marmoleum Striato FR floor coverings really stand out is the fact that they are created using a high percentage of natural raw materials, with renewable and recycled contents. Floor coverings made from natural materials: • linseed oil from the seeds of the flax plants • fibres from jute stems • rosin from pine trees • upcycled wood residues from controlled sustainable forestry • limestone • pigments.
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Forbo’s Marmoleum FR2 and Striato FR have been independently confirmed as CO2 neutral floor coverings in the cradle to gate phase of the product’s life cycle, without the need for offsetting. In simple terms, the CO2 produced in the extraction, transportation and manufacturing process of Marmoleum is balanced by the removal of CO2 through the growing of its natural ingredients such as flax, jute and rosin. Why choose Marmoleum FR2/ Striato FR for your rail flooring? • homogeneous durable construction • low life cycle costs – can be renovated and repaired • wide range of colourways per design • made from high percentage of natural ingredients • naturally CO2 neutral (cradle to gate) • aquajet cutting service available (cut to size/ shape) • suitable for use with underfloor heating • reaction to fire EN 45545-2 : HL3
• suitable for all modes of rail vehicles including underground and sleeper vehicles. Wide design choice With five designs in the Marmoleum FR2 collection (real FR2/fresco FR2/walton FR2/ concrete FR2/vivace FR2, plus the Striato FR references, there is a wide array of designs and colourways to choose from. A natural floor covering that is strong, durable and sustainable. Marmoleum FR2 is a unique offering in the world of resilient floor coverings. By using Marmoleum FR2/ Striato FR in your rail projects, you can also contribute to a better environment.
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