Australian rail ‘catches the eye’ of UK companies

The Federal Government’s unprecedented investment in Australian rail has aroused international commercial interest in the industry, opening up plenty of businesses opportunities for UK companies, according to British consul-general Stuart Gill.

Revealing that UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) – the business development arm of the British Government – has specialists engaged in a broad scoping mission of the Australian rail industry to ensure they are feeding into all the opportunities within our rail sector here, Gill said that Australia’s huge infrastructure and stimulus packages have “caught the eye” of UKTI.
“Australia's continuing outstanding economic track record has raised its profile as a destination for UK companies ... ” Gill said.

“Rail is an important part of the broader economic relationship between the UK and Australia..
“We are two economies who are going through, and have been going through the GFC. At the beginning of last financial year we were expecting a tough time in trade and investment but actually we’ve never been busier. Most of our staff in Australia at the UKTI who do work for British companies who want to export to Australia and Australian companies who want to export to the UK have been going gang busters.

“On the export front, the exchange rate has helped but that’s not the whole story, Australia has dodged the recessionary bullet and that’s a sign of real strength …

Gill said that UK companies can offer real expertise in the rail industry and in turn, their investment in the Australian economy can mean more jobs, better rail facilities for Australians, and the opportunity for UK and Australian rail companies to build lasting partnerships.
With climate change one of the biggest single issues facing the world today and Australia focused on finding solutions to environmental and congestion problems, Gill believes that rail and urban transport systems will continue to play a vital role in these challenges.

“The UK is at the forefront of groundbreaking developments in sustainable rail,” he said.
“For example, Bombardier manufactures one in every five rail vehicles worldwide. The UK company's twin commitments to continuous improvement and sustainability are reflected in its product portfolio. "Bombardier's new Green trains, the next generation TURBOSTAR fleet are notably environmentally friendly, lighter, with reduced CO2 emissions and lower fuel consumption and made from over 90 per cent recyclable material.”

With Australia’s urban population predicted to rise significantly over the coming decades, and at the same time, freight transport expected to double by 2020, Gill said the UK was also keen to take advantage of opportunities in both of these areas.

“Rail in Australia has long played a secondary role to road, so we’re excited to see that rail is now remerging as a vital mode of transport,” he said.

The recent AusRAIL PLUS conference held in Adelaide gave UKTI the chance to meet key powerbrokers and leaders in the rail industry and explore opportunities in what it sees as a "rapidly developing" market for rail.

The 14 diverse companies in the UKTI group reported a range of successes, and intend to encourage yet more businesses in the UK to consider Australia as a prime market in these times of financial uncertainty.

Leading Yorkshire-based rail safety company Zonegreen joined forces with Andrew Engineering, an Australian agent at the AusRAIL PLUS exhibition.

“This is an exciting time for the Australian rail industry and there is huge interest in Zonegreen's products. There's significant potential for improved safety and efficiency within Australia's growing number of traincare depots, and we are now well placed to assist in that process,” Zonegreen's technical director, Christian Fletcher said.

Another UK company, LPA Group, a specialist provider of electro-mechanical, lighting and electronic solutions into the rail industry told Rail Express that attending the conference had opened up potential commercial opportunities.

Sales director Paul Curtis said the Australian rail industry was small in comparison to the UK, and because of this, Australian manufacturing companies did not always have enough demand to specialise wholly in rail. Curtis felt there were ample opportunity for companies such as LPA Group to offer the experience and expertise that may be lacking here.

While the majority of Australian rail companies are profitable enterprises trading in highly competitive domestic and international markets, the Australian rail market has been described by industry commentators as “being subject to seasonal fluctuations and generally very small in the global heavy engineering manufacturing industry”.

Issues such as low levels of productivity, declining research and development and emerging skill shortages have the potential to crucially affect competitiveness and require attention.
If Australian rail is to safeguard its future development, increasing international commercial interest could prove valuable.

Direct link to the Rail Express article here.
Image courtesy of UKTI.

BV AIRS Attends AUSRAIL 2009

Bureau Veritas Asset Integrity and Reliability Services (BV AIRS) featured a stand at the AUSRAIL 2009 exhibition held from 17- 19, November 2009 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Bureau Veritas Asset Integrity and Reliability Services (BV AIRS) featured a stand at the AUSRAIL 2009 exhibition held from 17- 19, November 2009 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

AUSRAIL is a railway management forum, designed to facilitate discussion of the broader management aspects of running railways in the modern political and economic environment, including capital investment, maintenance and strategy, which brings in senior railway executives from all over Australia.

The strategy of BV-AIRS' attendance at the AUSRAIL 09 convention was to acquaint senior level railway management and contract maintenance service providers to the railway industry, with Bureau Veritas' experience in the industry and their strengths in compliance testing and certification. Bureau Veritas is recognised as a world leader in inspection, training, certification and quality assurance systems, and individual railway networks are now requiring experts to check infrastructure and rollingstock – all of which needs to be backed up with certificates of competence.

AUSRAIL was well attended this year and the stand attracted a significant number of potential business leads and enquiries. Representing BV AIRS at AUSRAIL were Mark Heady (Manager Rail Industry Products), Simon Mortimore (Business Development Officer for Specialised NDT Technology), Adam Van Dyke (Manager Technology and Innovation Centre), Monty Luke (Adelaide Branch Manager) and Simon Harris (Laboratory Manager - Thebarton.)

As part of the exhibition, BV AIRS displayed its "Shaftest" technology for testing railway rollingstock axles, some failed draft gear components from a train inspected recently and also the Fairclough Corporation designed "Handwave" unit, designed to place the same testing technology used in advanced ultrasonic rail test cars onto a portable "trolley based" platform. BV-AIRS has proposed using this type of equipment to carry out testing on short sections of railway track such as turnouts and crossovers in busy Metropolitan rail systems. These displays generated significant interest among rail staff.

For further information around Bureau Veritas’ rail services, please contact Mark on 0438 094920, or via email mark.heady@au.bureauveritas.com.

Building UK-Australian partnerships at AusRAIL Plus 2009

14 UK rail companies took part in Adelaide's AusRAIL Plus in November, and came away with plenty of business and new Australian partners.

The conference and exhibition, from 17-19 November, gave the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) trade mission the chance to explore opportunities in the rapidly developing Australian market, and meet key powerbrokers and leaders in the rail industry.

The companies in the diverse UKTI group reported a range of successes, and intend to encourage yet more businesses in the UK to consider Australia as a prime market in these times of financial uncertainty.

Leading Yorkshire-based rail safety company Zonegreen joined forces with Andrew Engineering, an Australian agent, at the exhibition.

Zonegreen's Technical Director, Christian Fletcher, said: "This is an exciting time for the Australian rail industry and there is huge interest in Zonegreen's products. There's significant potential for improved safety and efficiency within Australia's growing number of traincare depots, and we are now well placed to assist in that process."

British Consul-General to Victoria, Stuart Gill, said in his keynote address to delegates at AusRAIL Plus:

"Rail is an important part of the broader economic relationship between the UK and Australia. At the beginning of the last financial year we were expecting a tough time in trade and investment but actually we've never been busier."

"The Australian Government's Nation Building package offers a wide range of companies, from the UK and elsewhere, a vast array of business opportunities. It also means the best UK and Australian rail companies can work together and build lasting partnerships."

For further information, contact Anna Bathgate: anna.bathgate@fco.gov.uk

2009 Chairman's Award - Ken Kwong

Photo courtesy of Rail Gallery

Associate Professor Ken Kwong is the 2009 winner of the IRSE Australasia Chairman's Award. The award was presented at the AusRail Plus 2009 Gala Dinner.

The IRSE Australasia Chairman, John Aitken, said:

Of the best leaders;
when their task is accomplished, their work is done;
the people all remark: “we have done it ourselves”.

Lao-Tzu BC 600

"It was Rockhampton, July 2005. The launch of the Postgraduate Diploma in Railway Signalling. The culmination of several years of discussion and development in the first Rail CRC.

"Some very driven members of the IRSE had met with a person from Central Queensland University who was to become one of the most influential people in the railway industry in this country. And one of the least known. A leader who sees success when the people all remark 'we have done it ourselves'.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Associate Professsor Ken Kwong is that leader. A dedicated academic and teacher: one who goes the extra mile in every area. A person who really cares about teaching and about learning.

"Associate Professor Ken Kwong has worked in the electronics and control industry and has moved from that practical base to teaching and leadership roles in universities. Ken has lectured extensively and has led the development and delivery of RailCRC postgraduate courses.

"Through Ken's influence I became the principal author of the communications course (CPD7). It was only through that experience that I came to understand Ken’s dedication and the magnitude of his contribution.

"Encouragement. Mentoring. Discipline. Enthusiasm.

"In this room tonight there are graduates who have been encouraged, nagged, inspired and enlightened by Ken. There are current students in the course who have not yet realised quite what is happening to them. Twenty years from now we will see the full fruits of his labour.

"The postgraduate diplomas and degrees from Central Queensland University stem from Ken’s unstinting work and sustained enthusiasm. Certainly many other people have been involved but they have been lead by this invisible leader, even when they thought they were leading themselves.

"Tonight let us honour and thank Associate Professor Ken Kwong for his contribution to the railway industry in Australia."

Track Australia at AusRail Plus

Track Australia successful exhibition at AusRail Plus

Track Australia took the opportunity to present its services to the Australian rail industry at the AusRail Plus in Adelaide from 17-19 November 2009. Hubert Rhomberg (CEO Rhomberg Group) and Oswald Ortner (COO Rhomberg Rail) supported the local Track Australia representatives headed by Garry Thuer (Managing Director) and Michael Match (Manager Business Development).

More than 1,000 industry members attended the event which had a schedule of activities run-ning over three consecutive days and over 2,000 visitors attended the exhibition per day. Twen-ty plenary sessions brought together top-flight industry decision makers who spoke on a number of issues critical to the industry including the long-term view for Australian rail; locomotives of the future; raising capital for rail projects; and the Sydney freight rail corridor; to name a few.

One of the stand-out themes of AusRAIL PLUS was the introduction of high speed rail (HS) to Australia which was well received by Track Australia representatives as its parent company Rhomberg Rail is the leading company in building high-speed track slab systems in continental Europe.

Track Australia’s joint stand with Delkor Rail was very well acknowledged by the visitors so that existing contacts could be developed further and new contacts with possible future clients and business partners were made.


You can read the original article here.