Name: Achieving harmonisation in Australian rail
Uploaded: 2024-05-03T06:14:01.483Z
Description: Carolyn Walsh, Chair of the National Transport Commission, discusses the importance of enhancing Australia's railways through interoperability and harmonisation for improved safety and efficiency. She highlights the National Rail Action Plan's strides in unifying standards and boosting local industry and sustainability.

Carolyn Walsh Export 2.vtt

Subtitles

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I'm very passionate about

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the concept of actual

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interoperability driving

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improved safety outcomes.

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I'll preface that by

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saying I think there are

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amazing opportunities to

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improve productivity and

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efficiency and environmental

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outcomes if we can get a

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more interoperable railway.

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So the impetus for reform

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really came four or five years

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ago when the rail industry

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collectively came to meet

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with transport ministers at

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the commonwealth, state and

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territory level and made

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representations to them

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about opportunities for

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future reform to benefit

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the safety, productivity and

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efficiency of the rail system.

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And as we've worked on

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those issues over recent

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years, the things that very

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much came to the fore was

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the fact that we've got

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multiple networks operating

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our national railways.

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And they don't have any

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mechanisms by which they are

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cooperating or collaborating

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to ensure as we get future

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investments into train

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technologies, digital systems

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that they're compatible with

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each other and we optimize

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the network as a whole.

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So that impetus for reform

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around interoperability

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is really about avoiding

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a future digital break of

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gauge where as we get those

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investments in new train

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control systems, they actually

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need to be deliberately

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designed to be totally

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compatible with all of the

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networks across the system.

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So in terms of the regulatory

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action, the key driver at the

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moment is very much focused

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on the rail infrastructure

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managers who operate rail

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networks across what we're

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defining as the National

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Network of Interoperability.

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And that is the standard

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gauge network running from

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Queensland down through

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Sydney, Melbourne, across

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the country through

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South Australia to Perth.

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And that's because we have

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trains, freight trains

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and passenger trains that

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traverse all of that network.

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And across that network

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we have multiple

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train control systems.

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And the area for reform is to

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try to reduce the complexity

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of the train control and

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communication systems

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across that whole network.

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So the focus for the

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regulatory reform is really

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on that interoperable network.

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So while we've been focusing

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on the national network of

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interoperability in relation

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to mandated standards,

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ministers have also understood

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that there's an enormous

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opportunity in Australia

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to actually increase local

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supply and manufacture of

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componentry for railway

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systems, both infrastructure

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and particularly rolling

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stock, if we actually agree

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to greater harmonisation of

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standards within this country.

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So a great focus of the reform

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work over recent years has

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been about the harmonisation

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of those standards.

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RISSB has been working on

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a number of standards to

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harmonise in relation to air

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conditioning systems, wheel

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sets and glass and so on.

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So that if they are actually

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then adopted by railways

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as they're procuring new

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rolling stock or delivering

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new infrastructure, there's

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greater chance for scale

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within the Australian

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manufacturing industry to

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actually supply locally.

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Clearly post COVID, we've

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actually realised that our

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reliance on a supply chain

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so heavily on overseas

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componentry is problematic and

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the pandemic showed us that.

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So there's been a greater

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focus of ministers since

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the pandemic to realise

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that there's an opportunity

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for local supply, local

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employment and generating

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better economic outcomes for

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Australia if we have greater

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harmonisation of standards.

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I'm very passionate about

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the concept of actual

{{00:03:50}}
interoperability driving

{{00:03:51}}
improved safety outcomes.

{{00:03:53}}
I'll preface that by

{{00:03:54}}
saying I think there are

{{00:03:55}}
amazing opportunities to

{{00:03:56}}
improve productivity and

{{00:03:57}}
efficiency and environmental

{{00:03:58}}
outcomes if we can get a

{{00:03:59}}
more interoperable railway.

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But in terms of safety, the

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key thing for me is to ensure

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that every bit of rolling

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stock that operates across the

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national network is actually

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protected by the highest level

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of safety that's available on

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that network, in that place.

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So if you're heading into

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the Sydney Trains Network,

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you're a freight train, once

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those new digital systems

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are actually rolled out,

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it's so important that the

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freight trains are able to

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be connected to the digital

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train control system to

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give them the same level

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of protection within that

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system, as the commuter trains

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have within that system.

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Conversely if there is a

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train protection system and

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particularly an automated

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train protection system on

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the ARTC network across the

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country, we want passenger

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trains that are rolling

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across that network to also

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be fitted or be able to

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communicate with that higher

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form of train protection.

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So safety is clearly a

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key driver for the NTC in

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terms of delivering a safer

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railway in the future.

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So as I've been saying,

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the benefits to the rail

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industry and to the Australian

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community, to the workforce

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within rail in terms of these

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reforms of interoperability

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and harmonization go to

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every aspect of what we want

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to achieve as a community.

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Economic efficiency,

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great drivers for local

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manufacture and supply.

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For efficiency of operations.

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As we deliver these digital

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systems in the future, it

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gives us the opportunity

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to actually remove obsolete

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signaling technology and

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actually rip it out so we no

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longer have to maintain line

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side signalling technology,

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but that can only happen

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if the vast majority of

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rolling stock is fitted

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to the digital systems

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and communicate with them.

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We're always going to have

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to have some ways in which

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we can work with bespoke bits

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of rolling stock, heritage

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operators for instance.

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But that is on the margin,

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it's not the major volume

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of passenger and freight

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services in this country.

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We can get so much more

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productivity and capacity

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out of the network as well

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with these systems because

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we've got closer headways.

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And being able to safely move

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those trains through a system

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with very close headways

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and very very efficiently.

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So we're maxing out

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the capacity of the

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network as well.

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So there's multiple

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facets of improvement.

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Oh and the final one that

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I should just mention

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is the environment.

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Clearly if Australia is

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going to get to its net zero

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targets and with transport

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being such a high contributor

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to the carbon emissions, by

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moving more freight on rail

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in particular, we actually

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get an opportunity to very

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much improve the carbon

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footprint because we know

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that moving bulk commodity

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goods by particularly

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long distances by rail

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freight is far more carbon

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effective as a solution.

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That's not to say that

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it's a competition

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between road and rail.

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Both have their place.

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But we really do need to

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increase rail share of the

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freight task if we're going

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to hit our net zero targets.

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So the National Rail Action

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Plan, or NRAP as it's often

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referred to has been operating

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for three or four years now.

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It's got some very

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good outcomes to date.

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We've got a nationally agreed

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memorandum of cooperation

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between governments, rail

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infrastructure managers,

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rolling stock operators and

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members of the companies

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within the rail supply

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chain who have all agreed to

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cooperate in the interests

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of achieving interoperability

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and harmonisation in rail.

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We now have set up through

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the work of the ARA, a

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national rail skills hub

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which is an online portal

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for developing pathways for

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skills development in rail.

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So there has been progress

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already in terms of

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the Rail Action Plan.

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Last year ministers agreed

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to a further four year

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program really ramped up

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with 24 million dollars

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of funding to the NTC to

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progress five priority areas

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for future progression to

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improve the alignment of

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train technologies across

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the eastern seaboard, to

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improve digital skills

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capability in the rail sector.

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We're doing some work on

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looking at the impact of

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the lack of harmonisation

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interoperability on workers

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from a frontline worker

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perspective, from crew

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from drivers and the burden

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this lack of harmonisation

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puts on to train crew.

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So that's the focus of

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the NRAP program over

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the course of the next

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three or four years.

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The key thing that we're

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looking to develop this

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year is a set of standards

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that can be mandated for

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the industry to deliver

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interoperable outcomes as

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railways are investing in new

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technologies, obligations to

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ensure that those technologies

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are rolled out in a way that

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can be interoperable with

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the systems of other network

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managers on the system.

Rail Safety

Expert Insight

Carolyn Walsh, Chair of the National Transport Commission, discusses the importance of enhancing Australia's railways through interoperability and harmonisation for improved safety and efficiency. She highlights the National Rail Action Plan's strides in unifying standards and boosting local industry and sustainability.