Rail Professional Asia Pacific June 2022

ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE www.railprofessional.com

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR RAIL

JUNE 2022 | ISSUE NUMBER 26

ASIA PACIFIC RAIL RETURNS TO BANGKOK The 24th edition of Asia Pacific Rail returned as an in-person event waiting for new contant

NEWS URBAN RAIL Jabodebek Light Rail Transit

All the latest from Singapore, The Philippines and Australia

DEPOTS

Staying safe driving in depots

WELCOME

ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE

www.railprofessional.com

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR RAIL

JUNE 2022 | ISSUE NUMBER 26

ASIA PACIFIC RAIL RETURNS TO BANGKOK The 24th edition of Asia Pacific Rail returned as an in-person event waiting for new contant

NEWS URBAN RAIL Jabodebek Light Rail Transit

All the latest from Singapore, The Philippines and Australia

DEPOTS

Editors’s Note

Staying safe driving in depots

PUBLISHER Rail Professional Limited Hallmark House, Downham Road, Ramsden Heath, Essex CM11 1PU Tel: +44 (0) 1268 711811 EDITOR Sam Sherwood-Hale editor@railprofessional.com Twitter: @SamSherwoodHale SALES Adam Overall Dean Salisbury Jamie Tregarthen sales@railpro.co.uk ADMINISTRATION Lisa Etherington Cherie Nugent Alicia Bannister info@railpro.co.uk DESIGN & PRODUCTION Lukasz Saczek production@railpro.co.uk

Twitter: @RailProSEAsia Linkedin: railprofessional 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.

Finally, in person events are back and we were all able to get up close and personal at Asia Pacific Rail 2022 held in Bangkok. Over 1,700 guests attended the event on 11 and 12 May with speakers including Ling Fang, President at Alstom APAC, Catherine Baxter, Chief Operating Officer at Metro Trains Melbourne, TC Chew, Director and Global Rail Business Leader at Arup and Adityo Ariwibowo, Rolling Stock Maintenance Manager at PT LRT Jakarta. We were also treated to an opening address from the UK Rail Minister Wendy Morton MP. Exhibitors at this year’s event included Alstom, Huawei Technologies, Siemens Mobility Limited, Thales, Arup, Jacobs, CRRC Corporation Limited and The Department for International Trade (DIT) sits at the heart of the UK government.

We shared in our previous issue that the China-Laos High-Speed Railway had been met with popular demand and it has just recently been announced that cargo transport on the route has topped four million tonnes. The operator, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd also said that they have handled over 3.2 million passenger trips so far. Once the borders reopen and the border town of Boten is fully developed into the major city it has been envisioned as I imagine that number will skyrocket.

According to Dezan Shira & Associates, the transit of trade through Laos can shift an estimated 1.5 million tons of maritime transport to the railway. As of January 2022, more than 4.55 million twenty-foot equivalents of goods have been transported from China to Europe via freight trains and now China has launched new freight train services to Vietnam from the cities of Chengdu and Chongqing, enabling Vietnam and ASEAN exporters to establish new trade opportunities with Western China. The freight routes reduce the transportation time from an average of 20 days to between five and seven days.

SAM SHERWOOD-HALE Editor

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June 2022

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 25 | JUNE 2022 NEWS 05 | Last Civil Contract for Cross Island Line Phase 1 Awarded, Contract award for Metro Manila’s first underground subway, LTA Awards Two Contracts for Jurong Region Line, Study shows hydrogen feasible to decarbonise Inland Rail, The Jiangbei section of Hangzhou Metro Line 7 and the southern section Artist Impressions of Line 9 start operation

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INTERVIEW On the sidelines of Asia Pacific Rail, Sam Sherwood-Hale spoke to Dr Katrin Luger about Alstom’s presence in Thailand, their role in achieving carbon neutrality and the importance of local talent Annex B

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Business Profile

Discover the natural beauty within the updated Marmoleum FR2 & Striato FR floor covering collections

Artist Impression – CRL1 Bright Hill Interchange station

Artist Impression – CRL1 Bright Hill Interchange station

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DEPOTS Dr Stephen Fletcher, Director and psychologist at the Occupational Psychology Centre (OPC) shares some job analysis work that has helped to identify key Non-Technical Skills (NTS) for safe and effective depot driving

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URBAN RAIL Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital and largest city, with an estimated population of 10.56 million in 2020. As road traffic congestion and pollution became growing concerns, the city needed a reliable, environmentally friendly transport alternative to motor vehicles

June 2022

NEWS

Last Civil Contract for Cross Island Line Phase 1 Awarded The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded the civil contract for the design and construction of Bright Hill interchange station and tunnels under Cross Island Line Phase 1 (CRL1) to Penta Ocean Construction Co., Ltd. at a contract sum of around $526 million. With the award of this contract, LTA has appointed contractors for all twelve stations for CRL1.

Penta Ocean has a strong track record of undertaking infrastructure, building and tunnelling projects in Singapore.

The company previously worked on Bright Hill station along the Thomson – East Coast Line (TEL). They are currently constructing

the station, tunnels as well as the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Building for the Johor Bahru – Singapore Rapid Transit System Link as well as the tunnel between Suffolk Walk and Novena Rise for the North-South Corridor.

Construction works for CRL1 Bright Hill station are expected to start in the second quarter of 2022, with passenger service expected to commence in 2030. When completed, commuters can conveniently transfer between CRL and TEL using this interchange station.

Annex A

Location Maps

Location map of CRL1 Bright Hill Interchange Station

Location map of proposed Transit Priority Corridor at Sin Ming Avenue June 2022

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NEWS

Contract award for Metro Manila’s first underground subway The Metro Manila Subway is one of the Philippines’ largest infrastructure projects aimed at creating an efficient rail system in the world’s most densely populated city. As part of this push for development, construction has begun on a third Mass Rapid Transit line and the metropolis’ first underground subway line to connect its northern and southern cities.

Thales, together with its partners Colas Rail and Egis, has been awarded a contract worth more than $1.1 billion.

In the frame of this contract, Thales will provide its Integrated Communications and Supervision (ICS) and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems to the project, at a value of $172 million.

Set to connect Valenzuela in the north, to the southern city of Parañaque, the 35-kilometre line will consist of 15 underground stations that will reduce traffic congestion and promote more efficient commuter journeys. The Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DOTr) estimates that the future subway line will reduce travel time from Quezon City to Taguig by two-thirds, from close to two hours today to 35 minutes.

This contract represents Thales’ noteworthy entry into the transportation sector in the Philippines. This is also the first in the Asian region where the latest generation of the Integrated Communications and Supervision solution will be implemented, supported by global expertise from Thales teams in Singapore, Hong Kong, Portugal and France.

Thales, together with its partners Colas Rail and Egis, has been awarded a contract worth more than $1.1 billion. In the frame of this contract, Thales will provide its Integrated Communications and Supervision (ICS) and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems to the project, at a value of $172 million.

CONTACT Messe Berlin GmbH Messedamm 22 14055 Berlin Germany T +49 30 3038 2376 innotrans@messe-berlin.de 6

Thales will design and develop the integrated and secure communications networks (incl. radio, Multi Service Network, wayside telephone and wireless LAN systems), wayside equipment for security systems (including CCTV and Video Analytics features), passenger information and public address, the digital supervision solution as well as the centralised supervision of energy system (powerSCADA). This state-of-the-art ICS solution is compliant with the highest cybersecurity standards and will offer DOTr the latest digital technologies for an intelligent, sustainable and scalable system that is designed to last.

Thales will also provide Automatic Fare Collection as part of its scope in the project.

Thales has built extensive experience in major metro projects in the region over the last decade, with strong local expertise from teams situated all across Asia, collaborating with Thales teams in Europe and North America.

June 2022

NEWS

About the CRL The CRL is Singapore’s eighth MRT line. It will serve existing and future developments in the eastern, north-eastern and western corridors, linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District and Changi region. The CRL will have almost half of its stations as interchanges with other rail lines, making it easier and more convenient for commuters to travel across the rail network.

CRL1 is 29 kilometres long and comprises twelve stations from

Aviation Park to Bright Hill[1]. This will serve residential and industrial areas in Loyang, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Defu, Hougang, Serangoon North and Ang Mo Kio and benefit more than 100,000 households. With CRL1, common recreational spaces such as Changi Beach Park and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park will be more accessible by public transport. Studies on the details of subsequent CRL phases are ongoing.

Artist Impressions

Annex B

Artist Impression – CRL1 Bright Hill Interchange station

Artist Impression – CRL1 Bright Hill Interchange station June 2022

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NEWS

Engineering Highlights Bright Hill station is located along Sin Ming Avenue where the ground is made up of predominantly Bukit Timah Granite. Due to the abrasive nature of such ground conditions which is expected to cause some wear to the cutting equipment on the tunnel boring machines, close monitoring will be carried out to ensure optimal equipment performance.

The new station will also be connected to a new Transit Priority Corridor (TPC) along Sin Ming Avenue to give commuters more

accessibility options via bus and active mobility travel modes.

When the TPC is fully completed in 2029, residents in Sin Ming area will have more access options to Bright Hill MRT station and recreational spaces such as Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Educational institutions such as Ai Tong School and Eunoia Junior College will also be within convenient reach by public transport and active mobility modes.

LTA Awards Two Contracts for Jurong Region Line The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded two contracts for the Jurong Region Line (JRL) at a combined contract value of $386 million (US$280 million).

The civil contract for the construction of JRL JW5 station and its associated viaducts has been awarded to Hwa Seng Builder Pte Ltd. Valued at $148 million (US$108 million), the contract covers the design and construction of JW5 station, and about 0.7 kilometres of elevated viaducts along Nanyang Drive. With the award of this contract, all civil works contracts for JRL have been awarded.

Located within Nanyang Technological University (NTU), JW5 station enhances connectivity for existing developments on the NTU campus such as NTU South Spine, the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and nearby Halls of Residences. Please refer to Annex A

and B for the location and travel time savings.

Hwa Seng Builder Pte Ltd is an established local company with extensive construction experience. Besides JW5, the company has also been appointed to construct two other JRL stations – JW3 and JW4 – which are also located within NTU. The company had previously completed the expansion of the KPE/TPE interchange, which included the construction of a link road to Punggol Central. It also undertook other LTA projects such as the widening of Woodlands Road, Choa Chu Kang Link, Stagmont Ring and Bukit Batok East Avenue 3, as well as improvement works for the PIE slip road between Clementi North Flyover and Toh Tuck Flyover.

Construction works for JW5 are expected to start in the third quarter of 2022 and complete in 2029.

Contract for Power Supply System for Jurong Region Line The second contract, valued at approximately $238 million (US$173 million), is for the provision of the power supply system for JRL. It has been awarded to Siemens Mobility Pte Ltd / Concord Corporation Pte Ltd Consortium.

The power supply system is designed based on the fully elevated Rapid Transit System that comprises the 66kV and 22kV AC systems, 750V DC traction power supply system, Emergency Traction Tripping System and associated auxiliary systems.

This contract includes design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning for the entire JRL power supply system.

Siemens Mobility Pte. Ltd. and Concord

The power supply system is designed based on the fully elevated Rapid Transit System that comprises the 66kV and 22kV AC systems, 750V DC traction power supply system, Emergency Traction Tripping System and associated auxiliary systems.

Corporation Pte Ltd both bring to the consortium proven track records in the implementation of local and overseas railway electrification projects. Siemens Mobility completed the power supply system for Downtown Line and is currently involved in the Circle Line Stage 6 (CCL6), North East Line Extension (NELe) and Downtown Line Extension (DTLe).

Concord Corporation was previously involved in the installation of power supply system for Circle Line and is currently supporting the power supply system replacement and upgrading works on the North-South and East-West Lines.

About the JRL The JRL is Singapore’s seventh MRT line and will open from 2027 onwards, in three stages. It will improve connectivity in the western part of Singapore by establishing direct links to NTU, Jurong Industrial Estate, Jurong Innovation District, Pandan Reservoir and 8

the future Tengah area. For instance, commuters travelling from the north will be able to access the Jurong region directly through the JRL interchange at Choa Chu Kang MRT station, without having to transfer at Jurong East MRT station.

June 2022

NEWS

Study shows hydrogen feasible to decarbonise Inland Rail Arcadis has urged the federal Government in Australia to ensure consortium’s work showed that hydrogen was a feasible option for the design of the Inland Rail project can accommodate hydrogendecarbonising the rail link. powered trains as a key step in decarbonising the 1,700 kilometres ‘Hydrogen will be cheaper than diesel and will practically freight link. eliminate carbon emissions from freight movements’ Mr Keys said.

The call comes after a study by UK-based clean-energy group ‘It will be up to rail operators to select their fuel source but, Smart Ports and Arcadis showed hydrogen will not only be cheaper inevitably, the pressure will be on them to switch to clean fuels. than diesel within a couple of years The design of the rail link must but, if used to power rolling stock therefore allow for ammonia on the route, could potentially strip and hydrogen fuel to be easily 763,000 tonnes of CO2 from Inland stored and accessed along the Rail operations each year. route’ he said.

Smart Ports was supported ‘The use case for hydrogen as a clean fuel ‘The time to do that is now, by the British Government’s as fuel transfer and storage is advancing rapidly and there is a role for innovation agency, Innovate requirements are built into the UK (part of UKRI), to explore Government in encouraging and enabling its initial design and construction the opportunity to decarbonise stage of the project. It will be much uptake. Scale makes all the difference, both Australia’s rail infrastructure more expensive to retrofit fuel using its breakthrough ammoniain terms of commercial competitiveness and infrastructure to accommodate to-hydrogen cracking SMAHRT future fuels once the project is up environmental benefits.

If policymakers are technology. SMAHRT stands for and running’ he said.

Scalable & Modular Ammonia to serious about making the shift to a low- or netThe largest freight rail project Hydrogen Refuelling Terminals – in Australia and one of the largest zero carbon economy then we need to start by in the world at present, Inland portable, containerised cracking units able to produce at large scale future-proofing transformational infrastructure Rail will connect Melbourne and fuel-grade hydrogen at the point via regional Victoria, projects like Inland Rail at the design stage.’ Brisbane of use to effectively transport NSW and Queensland. The hydrogen fuel in bulk liquid form.

Nick Cleary, CEO of CLARA Energy Federal Government is investing Ammonia cracking involves up to AUS$14.5 billion (US$ converting hydrogen to liquid 10.2 billion) in constructing the ammonia, transporting ammonia line. Construction commenced in tanks, then re-converting – or in 2018 and is expected to be cracking – the ammonia back completed by 2027. to hydrogen at the point of The Smart Ports and Arcadis storage and use. The process work on Inland Rail draws on the overcomes challenges associated work of CLARA Energy, a company with transporting hydrogen in a compressed gas or a cryogenic developing two large-scale green hydrogen projects in Australia (extremely low temperature) liquid form. whose consulting team includes Arcadis and PwC. Separate The Arcadis study showed that if the cracking technology was development work by CLARA Energy conducted by PwC shows that used on the inland Rail, a single Inland Rail journey from Melbourne based on the decline in production costs from 2022 to 2032, green to Brisbane would be cheaper using hydrogen than diesel from hydrogen will become a viable alternative to diesel for domestic use around 2024. As a diesel-fuelled journey would generate some and international export over that time.

87,100 kg of CO2, this would translate to a potential rail-related CEO of Smart Ports, Alan Robinson, said: ‘This study not saving of 763,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. This estimate is based on only showed us how to deploy our SMAHRT technology to help projections that in the early years of operation from 2027 Inland Rail decarbonise Australian rail networks, but also explore with CLARA will support on average twelve freight journeys each way per day.

Energy the importation of green ammonia from Australia into the Arcadis Clients Director – Resilience, Luke Keys, said that the UK and other markets, which Smart Ports is developing.’

The Jiangbei section of Hangzhou Metro Line 7 and the southern section of Line 9 start operation On April 1, as an important part of the supporting infrastructure construction for the preparation of the Asian Games, the Jiangbei section of Hangzhou Metro Line 7 and the southern section of Line 9 manufactured by CRRC started operation. The operation mileage reached 419 kilometres, one step closer to the goal of 516 kilometres.

The train for Line 7 is both wider and longer. It is spacious and bright inside the train, and the capacity has significantly increased. The train for Line 9 comprises six cars (four motor cars and two trailer cars), with a maximum operating speed of 80kph.

The train body has the Type-B drum body structure with a bigger interior space compared with that for Line 1, making it more June 2022

comfortable for passengers.

The operation start of the two sections marks the complete operation of Line 7 and Line 9, further enhancing the connection among Hangzhou’s urban area, the sub-city on the south of the river, and Xiaoshan International Airport, and effectively shortening the distance from the urban area to the sub-city of Linping.

The completion of the super-large metro network of Hangzhou strengthens the connectivity of the city, enables higher quality urban development, and brings Hangzhou to the next level of ‘city elevation contributed by the Asian Games’.

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INTERVIEW

SKILLS

Dr Katrin Luger

Managing Director, Thailand Alstom On the sidelines of Asia Pacific Rail, Sam Sherwood-Hale spoke to Dr Katrin Luger about Alstom’s presence in Thailand, their role in achieving carbon neutrality and the importance of local talent

Katrin Luger was appointed Managing Director for Thailand in 2021, following Alstom Group’s merger with Bombardier Transportation. Katrin holds a Ph.D. in economics and spent two years at Shanghai Jiao Tong University conducting research for her thesis on the Chinese railway sector.

SSH: Rail transport is playing an increasingly important role in the new world of carbon neutrality, how well equipped do you think Thailand is to handle this fight and how is Alstom able to help?

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KL: You’ll have heard in the keynote speeches this morning about how rail remains the greenest mode of transport, so I think we are in exactly the right space to contribute to the fight against climate change. For me personally that’s why I go to work in the morning because Alstom is committed to delivering green, sustainable and smart transportation and here in Thailand we’re absolutely uniquely positioned to do just that.

The service we provide is highly localised, we have about 750 people here and we’ve been in the country for 40 years and we brought a number of innovations to the

country which have all contributed to the carbon neutrality agenda.

SSH: What can you tell us about some current projects Alstom is working on in Thailand?

KL: We’ve been working on projects in Bangkok for 20 years now, we’ve provided signalling systems for mass transit in the past and now we’re building the pink and yellow monorail projects which will contribute significantly to the alleviation of traffic and reducing carbon emissions in the respective areas.

Bangkok is home to one of our three June 2022

INTERVIEW

engineering centres in Asia Pacific so it’s quite unique, obviously we’re deeply embedded here in the Thai market and it gives us the opportunity to find the people that we need and to develop their skills so they can work on the projects mentioned above. We have extensive access to engineering talent because we have partnered with three universities here and when it comes to attracting talent we provide a lot of value because of all the technology and knowledge we’re developing so if you work with us here in the engineering centre you benefit from being part of a global company and all the benefits that brings. You can start here and then you can work on one out of 100 projects outside of Thailand. Also, customers appreciate that level of localization because you can interact with somebody who speaks your language and has a similar background.

So for us, we see grooming our local talent here as a huge asset and out of our 750 employees in Bangkok, more than 85 per cent are Thai.

SSH: Alstom’s Bangkok hub is a base for one of the two global engineering delivery centres in Asia Pacific – how important is the team in Bangkok to the June 2022

delivery of wider projects across the Asia Pacific region?

KL: The innovation capability of this site is recognised worldwide, and we have access to fantastic talent in the market because of some mutual partnerships which gives us access to the top graduates. But we also give back by offering engineering courses, for instance for railway signalling and other specialised engineering disciplines. The team here has been around for many years so we have a lot of continuity which helps our local effectiveness.

We first started here 40 years ago with the locomotive contract for Thailand and then about 20 years ago we delivered the first signalling project and both are still customers, so I think it’s been a great partnership and we have been able to see the ability of our teams here so we’re and we have been able to build that expertise and now we’re expanding our offering with our work on multiple new lines across Bangkok.

One of which will be the first monorail system in Thailand so this is very exciting technology and is perfectly suited for urban areas because it can accommodate tight curves and as it is 60 kilometres long it is completely different to the Gold Line which is less than two kilometres long. R 11

INTERVIEW

Alstom and Chula partner to build engineering talent pipeline in Thailand Alstom and Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Engineering (Chula Engineering) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further Thailand’s railway industry development and collaboration over the next five years.

The partnership between Alstom and Chula Engineering seeks to foster greater collaboration in local industry research and development, as well as educational and training programmes in this highlyspecialised field of railway engineering.

As the country becomes more urbanised, many public transport projects are increasingly being built within and beyond the capital city of Bangkok, and local railway expertise will continue to be in strong demand.

Alstom is no stranger to the Chulalongkorn University, with over 20 alumni across varied disciplines joining the Group’s Bangkok hub in recent years, driving not only local, but also international mobility projects. Today, the Bangkok hub has grown to become one of the three global engineering centres for Asia Pacific since 1997, comprising over 450 skilled engineers of whom 85% are made up of locals. Leveraging the synergies between industry and

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academia, the agreement will therefore serve as a practical platform for the Faculty’s engineering undergraduates to hone their railway skills while pursuing a degree. Readying the students to shape Thailand’s future of transport, areas of collaboration include internship and practical training programmes, amongst other academic activities.

Dr Katrin Luger, Alstom’s Managing Director for Thailand, said: ‘As a strong local player for urban and mainline railway systems in Thailand with over 40 years of track record, we have the best know-how and experience within the mobility sector. We are very thrilled to be embarking on this MOU with the Chula Engineering, a leading railway engineering institution, to exchange and share knowledge with Chula Engineering and young engineering talents. We look forward to continue nurturing and developing a pipeline of local talents with deep technical rail expertise and cross-functional capabilities, to transform transport in and beyond Thailand.’

Prof. Dr. Supot Teachavorasinskun, Dean of Chula Engineering, said: ‘The increasing demand for professional human resources following the

transportation development in many areas in Thailand has attracted students’ interest in railway engineering. The expertise of Chula Engineering, such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and others, can help build the foundation and theories. When students can engage in practice with market-leading players like Alstom and learn the real applications in the industry, they will be able to enhance their skills and sharpen their knowledge.’

The MOU was inked at the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Rail 2022, which was being held in Thailand for the first time and Alstom’s first in-person regional exhibition in more than two years. As part of its efforts to build up an industryready engineering pipeline for Thailand’s rail sector and the optimism for the Thai market, Alstom is looking to add 20% additional workforce to its talent pool by the end of 2022. With continued focus on hiring across the value chain – from production to methods, supplies, and functions, the recruitment drive, being promoted at the exhibition, will be a mix of engineers, technicians, and data science specialists.

June 2022

BUSINESS PROFILE

June 2022

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BUSINESS PROFILE

Bringing colour to life Discover the natural beauty within the updated Marmoleum FR2 & Striato FR floor covering collections

M

armoleum FR² is a linoleum floor covering for rail vehicles, made from natural materials. A floor covering associated with sustainability, durability, high quality and innovative design.

The Marmoleum FR2 collection creates a bright, fresh and modern look, enhancing any passenger experience. It is also fully certified to meet rail industry standards (EN45545-2).

In the recently updated Marmoleum FR2 collection you will now find the Piano FR2 design alongside the Real FR2, Fresco FR2, Vivace FR2, Walton FR2 and Concrete FR2 designs.

A floor covering collection that offers the most amazing spectrum of colours to complement any rail interior design colour scheme. The different designs and colourways can be effortlessly mixed or used alone.

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Our Marmoleum Striato FR linear designed floor coverings have also been recently updated, enabling designers to create a contemporary environment with a warm and welcoming feel for rail passengers.

With an intuitive reference to nature, the neutral, rich colours have the ability to adapt easily and come to life in combination with other materials as well as with each other.

With Marmoleum Striato FR, the floor can act as a canvas offering endless possibilities.

Forbo’s Marmoleum FR2 and Striato FR floor coverings have been independently confirmed as a CO₂ neutral floor covering 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, is balanced by the removal of CO₂ through the growing of its natural ingredients such as flax, jute and rosin.

Marmoleum FR2 and Striato FR also have a unique suitability for a diverse range of environments where hygiene and the control of bacteria are important. The ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria stems from the natural raw materials that go into its production, namely linseed oil.

The bacteriostatic qualities are an inherent property of the product and won’t diminish over time, providing peace of mind and constant protection from the moment it is installed.

A floor covering solution that is easy to clean and maintain as well as durable, safe and comfortable for both wheeled and foot traffic. Awarded the prestigious Allergy UK Seal of Approval as, with the correct cleaning and maintenance regime, it won’t harbour dust mites, contributing to a better indoor environment for all. Because it lasts for so long and is so easy to clean, Marmoleum FR2 has a low cost of ownership.

June 2022

BUSINESS PROFILE

OTHER BENEFITS INCLUDE: ɋ Homogeneous durable construction. ɋ A truly sustainable flloor covering. ɋ Low life cycle costs. ɋ Naturally bacteriostatic. ɋ Easy to clean. ɋ Lightweight at 2.9kg/m2. ɋ Wide range of designs and colourways. ɋ Cut to size/shape option available. ɋ Suitable for use with underfloor hearing.

Marmoleum FR2/ Striato FR is the best flooring choice for every sustainable interior.

By using sustainable and durable materials in your rail projects, you can also contribute to a better environment.

To find out more about the full range of Forbo Flooring Systems’ floor and wall covering solutions available to the rail industry please contact us on: Tel: +44 1773 744121 Email: transport@forbo.com Visit: www.forbo-flooring.com/rail R June 2022

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FEATURE

DEPOTS

Staying safe driving in depots Dr Stephen Fletcher, Director and psychologist at the Occupational Psychology Centre (OPC) shares some job analysis work that has helped to identify key Non-Technical Skills (NTS) for safe and effective depot driving

W

e don’t need to tell you that train depots can be very busy places! Trains may be there for a variety of different reasons – they may be in for routine maintenance or an emergency repair; fault diagnosis or brake/wheel checking, or they may simply be there for a wash!

Activities in the depot, can be very varied. Each day may not be the same twice.

During a shift, a depot driver may need to move a train across a number of different locations in the depot. They may need to move a number of engines to different areas of the depot in a scheduled and orderly fashion. Moves may simply be driving one locomotive to an area or it may be more complicated with the driver having to move more than one engine, like pieces in a puzzle, in order to get the required traction into the right place for the job needed.

A day’s schedule may be very efficiently mapped out, which is great, but if an emergency maintenance job comes in then the whole schedule and system of moving various trains may need to be re-thought and re-scheduled.

Due to the functional nature of a depot, there may also be a number of different teams working there – drivers, engineers, maintenance crews etc. Different safety critical employees can undertake numerous safety tasks. It can be dangerous and the consequences of errors can still be enormous. All in all, it can be a hive of activity and a very demanding place to work and drive in. So, if we need our depot drivers to be safe and effective, then what are the key NTS they need to demonstrate their day-to-day work?

SO, WHAT DO DEPOT DRIVERS NEED FOR SAFE AND EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE? OPC psychologists undertook job analysis for the depot driver role with two separate UK train operating companies. With the first train operator, job experts with in-depth knowledge of the depot driver role were asked to rate the importance of 26 NTS 16

to the role. Working alongside a second train operator, in conjunction with an in-depth role profiling exercise, a critical incident technique was also used. This involved identifying occasions when drivers had performed both very well and other occasions when they may have performed poorly with safety incident consequences – this technique helped to identify behavioural indicators that are important to display (or not) to be safe and effective in the role. OPC psychologists analysed the outputs from the job experts at the first train operator and ranked the NTS in order of importance (see chart). Work alongside the second train operator confirmed and enriched these findings.

The chart below shows the top five ranked NTS:

constantly focused whilst moving trains around the depot. They need to be watching for signals; aware of what is going on around them and people working nearby, as well as being able to deal with repetitive tasks without losing concentration. As with other key safety critical roles the NTS of ‘maintaining concentration’ is crucial to safe performance. The next three NTS were equally rated by job experts at 93 per cent importance.

The NTS of ‘attention to detail’ is rated as key to depot driving. Depot drivers need to make sure they attend to the detail of their tasks incorporating information they have been given about where to move trains from and to. They need to adhere to depot speeds, pay absolute attention to their instructions, as well as work with signal and

These top NTS are based on the research published by the RSSB 2012 ‘Research Programme. Operations and Management. Non-technical skills for rail: A list of skills and behavioural markers for drivers, with guidance notes’.

TOP FIVE NTS FOR SAFE AND EFFECTIVE DEPOT DRIVING The results from our job experts indicated that the NTS of ‘maintain concentration’ was rated as most important for depot drivers. A depot driver needs to stay

road numbers. Because of the busy nature of a depot and its daily variations, a safe and effective depot driver cannot be complacent, relying on what they ‘usually’ do. Neither can they depend on habit i.e., that train always goes into road number X. They must June 2022

FEATURE

OPC Assessment has a wide range of online assessment tools for safety critical roles, some of which are used by rail companies to help recruit safe and effective depot drivers. Considering the top five NTS on the previous page, some recommendations may be: The SCAAT (Safe Concentration and Attention Test) which helps to assess the NTS of concentration.

The Railway Verbal Communication Exercise (rVce) can be used to assess the quality and accuracy of his/her verbal communication. The SAFEPQ (Safe Personality Questionnaire) helps to assess an applicant’s propensity to demonstrate safe behaviours – such as cautiousness, resilience and rules focus and the RTQ (Risk Anticipation and Rules Focus) helps to evaluate a candidate’s attitudes and behaviour styles towards anticipation of risk. Using specifically selected assessment tools that evaluate and assess for these NTS can help to identify and recruit depot drivers who are safe and effective in the role.

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be meticulous in following instructions and getting the detail right.

‘Anticipation of risk’ is another important NTS identified by our job experts as being equally critical to depot drivers. There are many safety risks when working round a depot. Some of these are constant risks such as engineers working nearby or other risks may be more dynamic showing themselves at different times e.g. a depot driver may have a new recruit shadowing them who is inexperienced and unaware of the surrounding safety hazards. Depot drivers also need to remain vigilant to complacency or over-familiarity about the depot layout, their tasks or their routine – a failure to do so can lead to a state of ‘auto-pilot’ possibly resulting in a safety incident. They need to be constantly assessing and evaluating risks in a dynamic fashion, recognising any overreliance on routine or repetitive tasks and managing emerging risks effectively to help keep themselves and others safe.

Within a depot environment effective safety critical communication is crucial.

Therefore, ‘clarity of communication’ is another key NTS for a depot driver. Depot employees will communicate extensively with each other. This could include giving each other instructions and advice about what to do and how; feedback on what’s taken place; errors that may have occurred, or discussing the best course of action with the wider depot team when an emergency maintenance job comes in, for example. They may also need to listen to other people’s priorities and perspectives, remaining calm if things need to change, as well as report faults or potential safety hazards to superiors. So, we need depot drivers to be effective communicators and have clear exchanges of information, June 2022

cooperation and understanding with work colleagues. Failure to do so could leave a depot driver and other staff vulnerable to a safety incident.

The fifth ranked NTS was ‘a positive attitude towards rules and regulations’. We work in a rule bound and heavily regulated environment with rules and procedures that have been built up over many years – often based on past safety incidents. Therefore, we need drivers to be rules focused and to enjoy working in a rule bound environment.

They need to work effectively with both safety critical and non safety critical rules.

When under pressure to break the rules, the best driver will ‘stick to their guns’, not succumb, and instead abide by the rules.

USING NTS TO HELP RECRUIT SAFE AND EFFECTIVE DEPOT DRIVERS Some train operators will use their mainline driver selection process to recruit their depot drivers, potentially reviewing the NTS performance to allocate candidates into the best fit role. Other rail companies have expressly tailored their depot driver selection process to assess for the most important NTS, taking into account the subtle differences required when driving in this environment for their own operations.

However, with either talent acquisition process, the OPC would recommend some careful job analysis of the depot driver role itself to identify what key NTS are required for safe and effective performance. This needs to be undertaken by, and for each train operator as the depot driver role and therefore the key NTS may vary from operator to operator. Once this is complete then train operators can utilise a range of psychological tests and exercises that evaluate candidates for their specific NTS.

DEVELOPING AND ASSESSING THE NTS WITH EXISTING DEPOT DRIVERS If the five NTS outlined on the previous page are indeed key to a depot driver’s safe and effective performance then we need to take every opportunity to help our existing depot drivers to excel at these NTS whilst working. So, we can take these NTS and: 1. Share them with our depot drivers showing how important they are to their safety and the safety of the depot. This could be undertaken through workshops or through one-to-one line manager meetings or appraisals.

2. Having received depot drivers’ buy-in we can help them to develop these NTS. We can provide drivers with some practical tools on how to enhance these NTS. For example, techniques to help improve concentration, getting the detail right and how to pick up and manage subtle risks.

3. We can incorporate them into drivers’ initial training before they graduate into the depot driving role.

4. Share them with managers and assessors and incorporate the NTS into the ongoing assessment of depot drivers alongside the more technical requirements of the role.

Dr Stephen Fletcher concluded by saying: ‘Our depot drivers need to have the right NTS profile to undertake their roles safely and effectively. We need to put these NTS to good use by using them in selection, training them in with new recruits and embedding and developing them in existing depot driver teams. Together these could help improve the safe performance of our depot drivers still further.’ R Tel: +44 (0)1923 234646 Email: admin@theopc.co.uk Visit: www.theopc.co.uk 17

FEATURE

URBAN RAIL

Jabodebek Light Rail Transit Jakarta is Indonesia’s capital and largest city, with an estimated population of 10.56 million in 2020. As road traffic congestion and pollution became growing concerns, the city needed a reliable, environmentally friendly transport alternative to motor vehicles

W

hen early work on a monorail was cancelled over concerns that the system would not answer the city’s need for commuter infrastructure, the government decided to develop a light-rail rapid transit system, with higher passenger

capacity and lower maintenance costs.

Phase one of the Jabodebek Light Rail Transit is a three-line, 43.5-kilometre rapid transit system connecting the city centre with its suburbs Bogor, Depok and Bekasi.

These place names combine to make the acronym ‘Jabodebek’. Indonesia’s Ministry

of Transportation appointed Colas Rail to construct the track. With the goal of using local resources and bringing new jobs, skills and prosperity to the city, Colas asked Pandrol Indonesia – which has offices overlooking the construction site – to provide a range of products and support.

PANDROL SOLUTION We supplied a total of 300,000 Pandrol SEE-SD fastenings and guard rail assemblies for Jabodebek LRT. SEE-SD is a plastic baseplate version of our SD fastening system that is ideal for use on concrete slab tracks in urban rail applications, where light structures and quick construction are needed. To support the requirement for local manufacture, we made the baseplate components in Indonesia for the first time – a development we look forward to building on as the project progresses.

Colas Rail chose the Pandrol one-shot crucible for aluminothermic welding, and our Indonesian team worked closely with Pandrol Thailand to provide end-to-end technical welding support, and to train local welders on site. In addition, our electrification team used its engineering expertise to design and deliver 97.2 kilometres of composite conductor rail for electrification. This was supplied through our joint venture partner, Railtech AluSingen. Technical support was available round the clock to ensure the smooth delivery of every aspect of the project.

RESULTS Phase one of the Jabodebek LRT project is due to become operational in June 2022 – a month earlier than originally scheduled. Once in use, the new system will make movement around Jakarta vastly easier. We are delighted to have been able to support the development of local skills and resources by providing training and setting up local manufacturing. As well as the benefits for Jabodebek LRT, we look forward to seeing the impact of this on future projects. As a result of this work, Pandrol has won a further project to supply rail fastenings and QTrack® embedded rail for Jabodebek Depot. R

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June 2022

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