RISSB Connect Edition 28, August 2023

GENERAL NEWS

Rail Safety Week 2023

This week is Rail Safety Week, and it's a time for us to reflect on the safety of our community and what we can do to keep ourselves and each other safe around our rail networks.

Rail Safety Week is an annual community awareness week held in Australia & New Zealand, designed to engage the community in safe rail practices.

At RISSB, our mission is to work in partnership to create a safe, efficient and effective rail industry, by providing products and services that enhance safety and efficiency.

Level crossings are a critical aspect of railway safety; RISSB provides for the industry:

• AS 7531 Lighting and Visibility (currently being updated)
• AS 7658 - Level crossings – rail industry requirements
• AS 1085.21 Railway track material Part 21: Turnouts, switches and crossings
• ANRP 2016 - Protecting Active Control Level Crossings
• Guideline - Consolidation of public level crossings
• Code of Practice - Rail Traffic Train Horn Use
• We engage with road authorities through the Standards Australia MS-012 committee who ‘owns’ AS 1742.7 which covers signage for road users at crossings
• We manage ALCAM (the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model) on behalf of the national committee
• And we lead / support industry level crossing research / initiatives / strategy.

Find out more information about Rail Safety Week here.

EVENTS

Don’t forget to register for today's RISSB MasterClass Webinar

Today at 12pm (AEST) is our second RISSB MasterClass Webinar in recognition of Rail Safety Week, to help raise awareness of the importance of rail safety.

We will be hearing from Evan Lutey, the Chair of the National Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM) Committee about  ALCAM's history, as well as the information collected as part of an ALCAM assessment, the outputs from the model and the future developments of the LXM system.

Make sure to register using the button below, We look forward to seeing you there!

PRODUCTS

Release for Public Consultation – AS 7739.2 Digital Engineering For Fixed Rail Infrastructure – Part 2 – Technical Requirements

RISSB, in discussions with various stakeholders through the RISSB Major Projects portfolio, identified a requirement to provide a standardised approach to the procurement, management and exchange of digital project deliverables, improving digital collaboration and accelerating digital transformation of the Australian Rail Sector.

AS 7739 Part 1 “Concepts and Principles” was published in January 2023 and provides digital engineering (DE) guidance whilst introducing key concepts and principles for data management.

AS 7739 Part 2 “Technical Requirements” is now ready for release for Public Consultation and provides detailed technical requirements (including specifications and procedures) for the procurement and management of DE project deliverables to assist users with uptake and application of DE.

This new draft Standard includes the business improvements required prior to procurement and implementation of DE on rail infrastructure projects; activities required for DE scoping and specification in project contracts, to inform procurement of DE services; and activities required for successful delivery of DE services for rail infrastructure projects.

To access the draft Standard, please download it here.

RISSB looks forward to receiving public comments on AS7739.2 over the coming weeks.

PEOPLE

ARA launches strategy to increase women in rail

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) yesterday released their three-year Women in Rail Strategy, with the aim of increasing female participation in the rail industry.

Female participation in the industry increased to 24 per cent in 2021-22, up from 17 per cent in 2014, according to ARA research.

There are many opportunities for women to build rewarding careers in rail, and we need to continue to foster equality in the sector at every level of industry.

For more information click here.

Source: https://ara.net.au/professional-development/women-in-rail/