Railway Digest

31/12/2024

Railway Digest January 2025 Issue OUT NOW!

The UGL C44ESACi Locomotive
Pacific National worked with UGL and Wabtec, the successor to GE’s locomotive business, to develop a new locomotive that matched the specification of the successful C44ACI locomotive but by using the GEVO-12 engine, were able to meet the USA Tier 2 emission requirements. The result was the 94 class, and PN has ordered 50 units. Peter Clark profiles this latest edition to Australian railways' motive power fleets.

Mariyungs commence passenger operations
The Hyundai Rotem-built Mariyung (D Set) trains have been on delivery since December 2019, and undergoing testing since January 2020. However, as has been widely reported, they were delayed from entering service as planned during 2020/21 due to a prolonged industrial dispute regarding safety concerns tabled by the Rail, Tram & Bus Union. They soon became a familar sight being hauled between storage sites by diesel locomotives. Finally, the issues were resolved, the modifications made, and on Tuesday 3 December 2024, amid much fanfare, the first of the trains entered regular service, as Owen Roberts and Chris Walters report.

The Australian Electric Multiple Unit Fleets
Australia has six electrified railways which operate approximately 833 Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains. This train group has become the most common type of train in Australia. In the 106 years since 1919, 9,461 EMU cars have entered service on Australian railways, and there are currently contracts for 1,396 EMU cars. John Beckhaus provides an update of the situation on Australia’s suburban and interurban railways.

South Australian Railways 702
The 700 Class locomotives stand out in Australian railway development not just for their mechanical achievements but for the cultural shift they represented—a shift towards modernisation, efficiency, and adaptability that helped shape the South Australian Railways well into the 20th century. Kayden Akisan profiles 702, the last survivor of the 700, 710 and 740 class Mikados.

All this and more in our JANUARY issue!
Grab your copy now!
Print and digital formats available:
https://arhsnsw.com.au/railway-digest/

06/12/2024

Why not treat yourself to a 12-month Railway Digest Subscription this Christmas … ?!

Inside the cover of RD December 2024, on the shelves of your local newsagent now.

NSW Government announces new program to replace Fixing Country Rail program​
On Friday 18 October the NSW Government announced a new strategy to replace the Fixing Country Rail program, which had provided funding for rail improvements across the NSW regional rail network since its announcement in 2016. The RNEW Program team will commence engagement with freight industry, rail operators and users, and local government in 2025, with the final strategy to be delivered in 2026. John Hoyle looks at some of the ways this new policy may play out.

Riding the Metro Tunnel ​
In October 2024, Tom McGuire had the privilege of riding a Metro Tunnel test train in Melbourne, as part of a promotional initiative by the Victorian Government. With the project due to open in 2025, train testing has been underway for over a year now, reaching a point where Tom, along with some other invited guests, were able to ride from Parkville through to Anzac station.

Mildura Corridor operations update ​
Mildura is a large regional city, located in the northwest corner of Victoria. Located on the Murray River and surrounded by fertile irrigated farming, it is around eight hours drive north of Melbourne. The railway runs from Melbourne, but the train takes close to 16 hours, partly due to following an indirect route via Ararat. Much freight arriving/leaving the region runs to/from Adelaide, which is even closer to Mildura. In the circumstances, rail probably does well to remain competitive. David Campbell provides a snapshot of current rail operations on the line.

Wimmera Weekender – Part 2
In our July 2022 edition, Graham Crichton reported on the successful Seymour Rail Heritage Centre tour to the town of Beulah on the Victorian Wimmera /Mallee standard gauge line to Hopetoun. This tour was repeated on Saturday 5 October 2024. The major difference with this recent tour being that it included a trip to Rainbow on Sunday 6th. Graham Crichton was there again.

Kilrie turns 100
On November 2nd and 3rd, the Queensland Pioneer Steam Railway commemorated a historic milestone with a weekend-long celebration for the 100th anniversary of their iconic Perry 0-4-2T steam locomotive, Kilrie. Enthusiasts, members, and passengers gathered to mark the occasion, paying tribute to the century-long legacy of this cherished locomotive. Jarrod Mitton reports.

25/11/2024

08/11/2024

The November 2024 Issue of Railway Digest is now in your local newsagent. Grab your copy today … !

Possible IPL Phosphate Hill closure would hit Aurizon ​
Queensland Rail’s Townsville to Mount Isa line and Aurizon would be hit financially if Australia’s largest fertiliser manufacturer, Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL), closes its Phosphate Hill mine and plant in north-west Queensland. If the Phosphate Hill plant closes it is likely the 66-kilometre Flynn – Phosphate Hill branch line, opened for traffic in April 1976, would also close, but as John Hoyle reports, new developments might save it should IPL close its operations.

Bankstown Line closes, Civity arrives ​
Continuing our series of articles looking at the period of significant change to the railways of Sydney and NSW in 2024, we follow on from last issue’s coverage of the opening of Sydney Metro’s Chatswood to Sydenham extension, with a look at the associated closure of the T3 Sydenham to Bankstown Line for conversion as Stage 2 of that same M1 metro line. At the other end of the historical spectrum, that period also witnessed the first arrival into Sydney of one of Transport for NSW’s new Spanish-built Civity passenger trains. Owen Roberts takes a look at the month that was September 2024.

Fuelling the journey ​
Transporting more passengers than an A380 aircraft, train drivers have an important and safety-critical role. What is more, passenger train drivers and some freight drivers drive on their own, without another human to help them stay alert. Shiftwork and tiredness go hand in hand, and when the tiredness becomes overwhelming, a train driver needs something to help them stay alert and improve their mood. In this scenario, food can be an unlikely aid in the safety toolbox, as Charlotte Gupta and Anjum Naweed explain.

24hrs around Junee, Cootamundra & surrounds
On a very fresh Tuesday, 23 July, with the temperature barely holding in positive numbers, Anthony Evans began a quest to seek out the many and varied trains operating around the Junee and Cootamundra area of southern NSW within a 24-hour period. This is what he found.

04/11/2024

06/10/2024

The October 2024 Issue of Railway Digest is now in your local newsagent. Grab a copy today … !

Sydney metro City and Southwest opens
During the small hours of Monday 19 August, as a full moon was setting over Sydney, hundreds of people from all walks of life left their homes and trekked to stations along what is now, from this day forward, the Sydney Metro M1 line. Drawn by the promise of being among the first to catch a train into history, they made their way to meet either the 4:38am train from Tallawong or the 4:54am from Sydenham. Among them was our correspondent, Owen Roberts.

Transforming the transport sector in Australia
In Australia, the transport sector currently makes up 19% of Australia’s emissions. As we move towards a sustainable transport sector, the integration of innovation, policy, and technology, along with data-driven insights, emerges as the linchpin of progress. Through strategic partnerships and visionary technological integration, we have the potential to meet our sustainability targets, as Paul King explains.

Port Dock Railway Station reopens after 43 years
At precisely 06:39 early on Sunday morning 25 August, Adelaide Metro driver Alecia Robinson eased hybrid railcar set 3136/3135 out of Adelaide Central Railway Station Platform 5 and into history! This was the first timetabled train service to run from the Adelaide CBD to Port Dock in central Port Adelaide since the line was decommissioned in 1981, 43 years ago. John Kirk reports.

The China Southern Type SDA1 locomotive
In September 2010, CRRC won a 100-million-yuan order to supply SCT Logistics with six 3150 kW locomotives, the first export of a Chinese-built locomotive to Australia. Further orders followed from SCT, Qube and Bradken, and today 30 units are in use on Australia’s railways. Peter Clark looks at this interesting, and sometimes controversial, locomotive.

Steam to the Shoalhaven
Although heritage charters run by a variety of different groups routinely operate between Sydney and Kiama, on the NSW South Coast, it has become quite rare for such operations to extend beyond the latter destination and run all the way through to the end of the line at Bomaderry (Nowra). On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August, Transport Heritage NSW made an effort to reach out to the local community with a program of Bomaderry-Berry-Bomaderry steam train shuttles, as Chris Walters reports.

12/09/2024

🚆Long before the Sydney Olympics in 2000, World Expo 88 was the most exciting thing to happen for a generation of Australians.

It was exciting for John Holland too, winning the $5 million contract to design and construct a monorail system on the Expo site in Brisbane.

The elevated 2-kilometre loop track was constructed around 6 metres above ground, with complicated curves and gradient changes to suit the site layout.

🚄 There were four nine-car trains on the track, which took passengers through the Queensland Pavilion, across the Pacific Lagoon and beside the Brisbane River.

Designed to carry more than 44,000 people each day during Expo 88, the monorail was a futuristic form of passenger transport at a time when all eyes were on Brisbane - in fact during the six-month duration of Expo 88, almost 16 million people visited!

🎡 Following Expo, one of the trains and some track joined the existing Sea World Monorail System at Sea World on the Gold Coast, the other three trains were bought by a German theme park.

We're proud of our capability in building some of the most memorable public infrastructure in our 75-year history - and the Expo 88 Monorail is high on the list!

05/09/2024

Pick up your copy of Railway Digest September 2024 at your local newsagent now ... !

The Yanchep line opens
The extension of Perth's suburban network from Butler to Yanchep was officially opened on Sunday 14 July, with the regular public timetable for trains and buses commencing the following day. Celebrations commenced at Alkimos, while at Yanchep, Premier Roger Cook and Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti cut a ribbon and unveiled a plaque. David and Donald Whiteford were there and recorded their impressions of the day's events.

The 2024 Australasian Rail Industry Awards
On Wednesday evening 7 August, almost 600 members of the rail industry from across Australia and New Zealand filled the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney to celebrate the 16 winners of the 2024 Australasian Rail Industry Awards.

Gippsland Line Upgrades
The Melbourne to Bairnsdale “Gippsland Railway” was selected to be upgraded under the Regional Fast Rail Project around 20 years ago, but unfortunately that project was constrained by financial issues. The new Gippsland Railway Upgrade Project was created to provide additional track capacity, with works taking place at several sites, as David Campbell reports.

Merredin – a wheatbelt rail centre
Merredin was once a large rail centre with a marshalling yard, locomotive depot, wagon facilities and an administrative centre for this area of the Western Australian wheatbelt.
However, in more recent times its role has become much diminished, as Phil Melling explains.

26/08/2024

18/08/2024

🚂 Inside the August 2024 Issue of Railway Digest 🚂

The latest edition of Railway Digest brings you essential insights and updates on key developments in the rail industry. Here are five standout articles you won’t want to miss:

The Suburban Rail Loop: An in-depth look at Victoria’s ambitious infrastructure project that’s set to reshape Melbourne’s transport network. Understand the details and controversies surrounding this major development.

A Trip East – By a South Australian Rail Enthusiast: Roger Currey shares his experiences traveling through New South Wales, offering a unique perspective on the state’s extensive country rail services.

ALTRAC’s Parramatta Road–Green Square Light Rail Plan: Explore the latest proposal for Sydney’s new light rail line and its potential impact on the city’s future urban planning and revitalization efforts.

Going Back Again to Yarrawonga: A historical reflection on the Yarrawonga line, examining its significance and the enduring memories it holds for rail enthusiasts.

Industry News Roundup: Stay ahead with comprehensive updates from across the country, covering the latest developments, contracts, and projects shaping the future of Australian railways.

Subscribe online at https://arhsnsw.com.au/railway-digest/ or find this month's issue at your favourite newsagent.

06/08/2024

The August 2024 Edition of Railway Digest is now available at your local newsagent. Grab your copy today ... !

A Trip East – by a South Australian rail enthusiast
In April this year, South Australian rail enthusiast Roger Currey and his wife took a trip to New South Wales, firstly to visit Steamfest at Maitland, but also to experience rail travel in a state that, unlike his own, still offers an extensive country rail passenger service.

ALTRAC reveals Parramatta Road – Green Square light rail plan
The ALTRAC consortium, designer and constructor of the Sydney CBD and south east light rail lines and operator of the Dulwich Hill (L1) line since 2015, has presented a proposal to the state government to construct a new 11-kilometre light rail line from near the existing Taverners Hill light rail stop on the Dulwich Hill line, Sydney’s inner west, to Green Square via Parramatta Road/Broadway and Central station. John Hoyle examines the proposal and its implications for inner Sydney.

The Suburban Rail Loop
Victoria is undergoing a wave of infrastructure development, with the government responsible for or sponsoring major road and rail projects across the state. Dubbed the ‘Big Build’, the collection of projects run across roads and railway lines in Melbourne and beyond. However, one project stands out from the rest in terms of its scale, extent and cost: the Suburban Rail Loop. Ken Date takes a close look at this controversial project, which continues to attract a great deal of media attention.

Railway Digest is published monthly by the ARHS. It is Australia's leading magazine on railway news and current affairs.

13/07/2024

The July 2024 Edition of RD is now at your local newsagent. Pick up your copy today … !

Sydney Station Stories – Epping ​
In the latest instalment of his Sydney Station Stories series, Chris Walters looks at Epping. A station that has found itself at the centre of multiple crossroads, for not only does it sit at the confluence of Epping, Carlingford, Beecroft and Blaxland Roads, but since 2009 this Main North location has also become a junction station thanks to the opening of the new underground Epping-Chatswood Rail Link (ECRL). Since 2019, the ECRL has been absorbed into the new Northwest Metro from Tallawong, which will shortly be extended from Chatswood through the Sydney CBD to Sydenham.

JUST TOURING AROUND – The AK Cars visit regional Victoria ​
Over the past 30 years, several railway lines around North-West Victoria have been converted to standard gauge. Although still part of the V/Line Network, these lines usually enjoy an annual visit by the AK Track Recording Carriages (V/Line having no equivalent vehicle to perform this necessary inspection role for standard gauge tracks). A hot tip combined with several free days allowed Bill Arkell a chance to visit this region, enjoying some splendid weather, cloudless skies, great lighting, and a chance to enjoy the sights and sounds of some ancient GM class locos running around Victoria hauling this train.

Ten days or so around Brisbane​
You will sometimes hear Brisbane-based rail enthusiasts lamenting about the ‘sameness’ of trains in the Brisbane area and the lack of locomotive variety with 2300 class on coal trains, 2800 and PN class on container trains, WRA class on grain or cattle trains and very few steam trains. While this is true to some extent, you can – as Mike Martin shows – with a bit of imagination, luck and short-distance travel, capture quite a good variety of long-distance passenger and freight workings

The complicated history of the RQEY Wagons ​
The Garbage trains between Sydney and Crisp’s Creek use the articulated RQEY wagons, in order to reduce the overall length of the train in order to fit the largest number of containers into the limited yard space at Crisp’s Creek due to its constrained location. These wagons were rebuilt by Australian National in the early 1990s from a small group of box vans and louvred vans built for the Commonwealth Railways in 1966 and 1967. Peter Clark tells the interesting story of how these wagons evolved to carrying ‘a load of garbage’.

10/06/2024

The June 2024 Issue of RD is now available. Pick up a copy from your local newsagent today!

The 2024 RTAA Rail Industry Field Days
On Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 May, the biennial RTAA Rail Industry Field Days were once again held at the spacious Chullora Rail Yards in Sydney. Editor, Bruce Belbin’s enjoyment of the well-organised 2022 event had been somewhat dampened by the appalling weather, but although rain showers had been forecast for this year’s event, they proved to be few and far between, leaving plenty of time to have a good look around the various stands and exhibits.

NSW Station Stories – Valley Heights
For the latest installment of his Station Stories series, Chris Walters goes ‘super-size’ to cover not just Valley Heights Station, but the adjacent railway roundhouse and museum. If you’re not a local using the station to commute, and aside from the Blue Mountains Brewery on Tayler Road (and nearby Bunnings, if you’re do-it-yourselfing), the museum is likely your primary reason for visiting Valley Heights. Rail traffic through Valley Heights is reasonably frequent, if not amazingly varied. Being east (on the Up side) of Springwood, the first Blue Mountains destination at which certain services terminate, means that all Blue Mountains V Set services at least pass through the location, if not always actually stopping.

Forty years of high speed rail proposals
June 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the first public proposal for a Very Fast Train to link Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. The initial concept promoted by the CSIRO was taken up by the private sector but by 1991 had fallen over for lack of government support. The 1990s saw the revival of the Sydney-Canberra section with a pragmatic Speedrail proposal and although this gained initial government interest, a funding shortfall was denied by the federal and NSW Governments. More studies followed and Australia now has a High Speed Rail Authority. Dr Rob Cortis-Jones and Dr Philip Laird look briefly back on the history of these projects and note that Australia to date must surely hold the world record for high-speed rail studies with no construction.

04/06/2024

Sydney's most iconic train will finally get the upgrade it deserves.

It'll keep our Tangaras in top-shape so you can enjoy a comfortable ride – until the Australian-made Tangara replacement fleet is ready to roll.

08/05/2024

Inside the cover of the May 2024 Edition of Railway Digest. Grab your copy now ... !

Sugar Cane 2024 – Part 2: Burdekin to Mossman
Stretching from Isis Central Mill in the south to Mossman Mill in the north, there are currently 17 rail-served sugar mills dotted along a stretch of over 1,500 kilometres of Queensland coast supported by nine distinct railway networks. During the annual ‘crushing season’, which usually runs June to December, an estimated 203 locomotives and 52,000 cane bins are used to haul freshly harvested sugar cane billets along an estimated 4,190 kilometres of narrow-gauge track from farms and transshipment points to those 17 mills, ensuring they are crushed within 24 hours of being cut. Chris Walters provides a snapshot of these often-underappreciated rail systems, with Part 2 in the series covering the mills from Burdekin to Mossman.

A Perth Christmas and rail operations in the South West in early 2024
For Phil Melling and his family, Christmas 2023 was a bit different as, rather than staying home in Geraldton, they spent 10 days visiting relatives in Perth – and, of course, checking out the Perth rail scene, which now seems to be in a constant state of change. Phil also made several trips to Perth and the southwest in February this year, covering a lot of ground and observing a variety of rail operations.

Stanthorpe to Wallangarra line closure
On 31 October and 1 November 2023, high temperatures and strong winds fanned fires across the Tenterfield Shire in the northern tablelands area of New South Wales. The fires spread northwards to threaten the border towns of Wallangarra/Jennings with four homes and 17 buildings subsequently reported as lost. The rail line and several bridges were also damaged by fire. A review of fire damage found five bridges and an unspecified length of track in need of repair, costed at $20m. In early March 2024 the Queensland Government announced the permanent closure of the Stanthorpe to Wallangarra section of the southern line. Darren Tulk reports.

18/03/2024