Subscribe to RSSWellington Rail Conference
An international conference in Wellington next week has as its theme the rejuvenation and renaissance of rail and it will be opened by transport minister Steven Joyce.
600 delegates will attend from New Zealand, Australia and further afield.
CORE 2010 is the Railway Technical Society of Australasia’s (RTSA) biennial conference and is being held for the first time in New Zealand. The RTSA is a joint technical society of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) and Engineers Australia.
CORE 2010 is about planning for the future and the re-emergence of rail as a sustainable, high capacity transport option,” says Organising Committee Chair, John Gardiner.
“Rail infrastructure has the ability to support economic development on both sides of the Tasman and around the world, so it’s important that we gather and hear about innovative technical advancements,” Mr Gardiner said.
“New Zealand is a very relevant example for the various challenges of rail system development and operation. We have unique geography and infrastructure that has suffered from under-investment.
“They say necessity breeds innovation and many of the solutions and strategies employed by New Zealand rail engineers to maintain and develop the NZ rail system will be explored through the conference sessions. NZ railway projects have won awards both in NZ and overseas.
Sessions cover the whole gamut of topics relating to rail engineering from the environmental impacts of rail, regulations, policy and economics, safety and quality asset management, logistics and technology for both passenger and freight networks.
12 Comments
Hopefully SJ takes notice that rail is in a renaissance.
Well, NZ rail engineers WOULD have had to be innovative to keep the rail system going on a piece of string during the last decade or so. Too bad the new money now comes with other types of strings attached. Some days, I wonder whether one of the best ways KiwiRail could spend some of their limited money is by employing marketing and lobbying guys. Of course as a state-owned entity, they’d have to be a bit circumspect in it
Oh the irony. Rail-hating Joyce opening a conference on the benefits and importance of rail.
I’ll be going woot (even though my studies aren’t quite related to rail)
It would be nice if Mr Joyce could visit the Hutt Shops to see how the first refurbished Ganz is coming along. I can tell you that it is looking very smart. The staff have clearly taken this project to heart and the result is impressive. It is still a little way off from completion.
Any photo’s of the Ganz refurbing?
@Paul i posted one earlier http://www.aktnz.co.nz/2010/06/15/trains-may-get-new-life/ Cheers
Thanks Jon C.
I did read that one at the time
Keep up the good work, much appreciated
Cheers
Is it true there is a shortage of trained locomotive engineers? If so, from what I read there is a lack of training. Is that correct?
We train locomotive engineers in several countries but have yet to hear about whats going on in New Zealand.
Any info would be appreciated.
Phil
There’s a few additional pictures in the Greater Wellington Regional Council monthly report - http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/council-reports/Report_PDFs/2010_471_1_Report.pdf
I honestly don’t know how SJ has the nerve - who’s he trying to kid?
Phil, in NZ all LE training is done internally, rather than contracted out to training providers as is done overseas. In recent years they have been struggling to keep the hiring up with the same rate of departures or new LE requirements. Lots of new LE’s have been needed in Auckland for suburban passenger trains, while a lot of existing LE’s leave for higher wages in Australia.