Profiles of Young Railway Professionals
Muriel Seeley
BE (Hons) Electrical, KiwiRail
What do you do as part of your job?
Provide technical support for the maintenance of New Zealand rolling stock. This includes reliability improvement projects, fault and failure diagnosis, design and process modifications, and technical training.
How long have you done it for?
I started work in July 2008.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I enjoy my job because it is varied and often hands-on. It involves a lot of self-management (time and projects) and encourages personal input in terms of ideas and projects for business development. It covers almost every aspect of Electrical Engineering from electrical machines and electronics to communications and software programming, in this way providing a great framework for skill and knowledge development.
What exciting projects have you worked on?
Various reliability projects, safety or process improvement projects, rolling stock refurbishment projects including presently working on the Ganz-Mavag Electric Multiple Unit Life Extension Project.
Rhys Hayward
BE (Hons) Mechanical, Faiveley Transport
What do you do as part of your job?
I am involved in setting up a New Zealand facility to provide technical and warranty support for Faiveley rolling stock equipment. I am currently setting up testing and diagnostic equipment for braking and HVAC systems, and organising our local inventory. I will be commissioning and providing ongoing support for the brakes and HVAC systems fitted on Wellingtons new Matangi EMU's (due late 2010).
How long have you done it for?
I have worked in the rail industry for three years.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I enjoy the "hands on" aspect of my job - I get to learn through doing!
What exciting projects have you worked on?
Matangi is definitely the most exciting project in the NZ rail industry in the last decade - it's great to be getting involved in such a defining project.
Liam Palmer-Cannon
BE (Hons) Civil, AECOM
What do you do as part of your job?
I work as a civil and track engineer within AECOM Melbourne’s Rail Group. My main role is to complete the design of track layouts and associated civil infrastructure including drainage. I work on a wide range of projects from high level feasibility studies to detailed design for projects that involve track extensions and duplications, stabling and maintenance facilities, level and pedestrian crossings and stations. Because I have worked on a wide variety of projects, I have been able to develop a wide variety of skills and experience in both technical engineering and project management, including project delivery.
How long have you done it for?
I graduated from university in 2008 and began working with AECOM in January 2009.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I love my job because it exposes me to a wide range of projects and experience so I never feel like I’m doing the “same old thing.”
From an engineering point of view, rail projects involve a large amount of integration with other professions and stakeholders. This integration forces you to adjust your design and way of thinking to include things you may not have considered. This can include altering a railway alignment to minimise the impact on the environment and the community, or re-designing a station to integrate other forms of public transport or maximise passive surveillance to increase passenger safety and encourage use.
It’s also satisfying knowing that the projects I work on affect the lives of so many people, whether it be through improving safety, increasing capacity or providing a new rail line and services to an area that previously didn’t have any.
What exciting projects have you worked on?
I’m currently working on a detailed design for an underground railway in Indonesia which is the most exciting project I have worked on so far. The project consists 1.5km of surface railway and 16.5km of underground railway in tunnels. The railway also includes stabling, a maintenance depot, materials handling facility and one passenger terminal at the surface and 3 underground. Although the railway is at a mine, its main use will be to transport mine workers from their barracks at the surface to 3 different underground mines. It will also be used to transport containerised freight to the underground terminals. As well as the detailed design of the track, overhead wiring, substations, operations and signalling and communications system, AECOM are also procuring the order for the rolling stock for the railway. Because there is so many railway disciplines involved in the project, I’m learning lots about what each discipline does and how they interact with each other.
The main challenges of this project are the delivery timeframe and the remoteness of the mine site. All infrastructure has to be transported from the port up a steep gravel road and through a one-way tunnel to the mine site which is 2500m above sea level. The equipment must be light enough to be able to be driven up the mountain and small enough to fit through the one way tunnel, a particular challenge for the rolling stock and substations.
Philip King
BE Mechatronics, KiwiRail Network
What do you do as part of your job?
I am a Signals and Telecommunications engineer for Kiwirail Network. My job entails designing level crossings and signaling systems. This covers a wide variety of tasks including new systems, upgrades and maintenance work.
How long have you done it for?
I have been with the company for over 2 years. I started in April 2008.
Why do you enjoy your job?
I enjoy learning. This job provides many challenges and the associated learning that comes with it. It provides great satisfaction to be able to tap into the knowledge gained previously and be able to re-apply it to the situation at hand. Additionally signaling has a long history and I have barely scratched the surface so I know that there will always be fresh challenges that await me as my career progresses.
What exciting projects have you worked on?
I have designed level crossings that are now in use around New Zealand. I have designed 2 switchlock (manual points) interfaces for major industrial access projects. My biggest project to date was the double line signaling between Avondale and New Lynn in Auckland. This involved taking the existing signaling and then working out where we needed new equipment and where we could reuse existing equipment. Once the draft placements had settled, formal layouts were drawn in CAD and from these the circuit changes, new circuits could be developed. In addition to developing the layout of the signaling I also designed the new circuits between Avondale and New-Lynn and the circuit alterations to New Lynn.