THE FREIGHT and logistics community took out some prestigious awards at the Australasian Rail Industry (ARI) Awards in Melbourne this week.
NSW Ports, Patrick Terminals, the Australian Rail Track Corporation and Aurizon were all recognised for projects and initiatives that are contributing to the safety, efficiency, innovation and sustainability of the national rail network.
The ARI awards are hosted by the Australasian Railway Association (ARA). There were 16 winners this year, announced before a gathering of almost 600 on Wednesday night (7 August).
Freight Rail Excellence Award
The Freight Rail Excellence Award went to NSW Ports and Patrick Terminals for their Sydney AutoStrad Botany Rail Expansion (SABRE) project.
ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie said Project Sabre has “revolutionised” rail operations at Port Botany by introducing the world’s first fully automated on-dock rail terminal (AutoRail) integrated with an automated container terminal.
“This $190 million investment has increased capacity, efficiency and safety and significantly reduces truck movements on city roads, cutting emissions and transport costs,” she said.
NSW Ports in a social media post said the award “recognises the project’s innovative approach to increasing rail mode share and creating efficiencies through the supply chain”.
Infrastructure Project Excellence Award
Winner of the Infrastructure Project Excellence Award was the ARTC, recognised for its approach to modernising critical train communications across Australia through the delivery of its National Train Communications System (NTCS).
Railway Technical Society of Australasia national executive chair Stratton Killis congratulated ARTC for its achievement.
“The ARTC team has been instrumental in modernising critical train communications across Australia through the NTCS Technology Refresh Project, ensuring a seamless transition from 3G to 4G,” he said.
ARTC program director Rail Systems Gary Potts said the ARTC’s communications system is crucial to its day-to-day operations.
“It is imperative that we keep up with technology changes to improve resilience and services for our rail systems,” he said.
“Safe working was fundamental in delivering this project as ARTC’s work crews had to overcome challenging construction environments throughout the project, including working at height on towers up to 110 metres tall – in remote locations, often in confined spaces and against extreme weather.
“Ultimately, the project has safeguarded the future operations of not only ARTC’s network, but other networks too, in support of our overarching goal to help keep Australia moving on rail.”
Rail Innovation of the Year Award
Aurizon and IoT solutions manufacturer Kallipr together won the Rail Innovation of the Year Award, for their Captis Recharge temperature monitoring system.
Ms Wilkie of the ARA said Aurizon, in collaboration with Kallipr, had significantly enhanced rail safety and operational efficiency by implementing an advanced rail temperature monitoring system using IoT technology.
“The Captis Recharge IoT data loggers provide real-time temperature data from rail tracks, enabling precise and immediate operational decisions,” she said.
“This innovation not only improves safety by preventing track buckling but also reduces operational disruptions, delivering significant cost savings and increased efficiency.”
Other awards on the night recognised individuals, organisations and rail projects in the areas of diversity and inclusion, sustainability, passenger, supply, customer experience, signalling and systems engineering and safety.
