STUDY UNIT 1 (8)

SECOND SEMESTER 2021

(TRE8X07)
SEMESTER FOCUS:
Rail Transport Issues
STUDY UNIT 8
MODULE VVR08X7
2021
Purpose of Module
DEAL WITH TECHNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RAILWAYS
WITH RESPECT TO FIXED AND MOVING ASSETS.
UNDERSTAND RPLE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN RAIL TRANSPORT
FROM A MANAGERIAL AND OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
DESCRIBE CURRENT OBSTACLES & IMPEDIMENTS TO EFFICIENT
RAILWAY OPERATIONS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
DEVELOP ABILITY TO DESCRIBE FUTURE OPERATING PRACTICES
FOR RAILWAYS – PARTICULARLY I.R.O. PRIVATISATION,
CONCESSIONING & FRANCHISING
DEAL WITH A RANGE OF RAIL- RELATED ISSUES FROM A
MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
EVALUATE THE SOCIAL ROLE OF RAILWAYS I.R.O. ABILITY TO
PROMOTE TOURISM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Guidelines to facilitate your studies
during this semester
Please be mindful of the fact that this semester places a big
responsibility on you to be diligent. If you work systematically and
methodically you will enjoy the freedom of managing your own time.
As a post-graduate student, you are expected to read widely. There is
an extensive REFERENCE MATERIAL PACK on U-link/Blackboard
for you to delve into. In each learning guide there are suggestions of
appropriate literature to draw from. However, I would also encourage
you to use other literature included in the REFERENCE MATERIAL
PACK as well as on the internet to find additional academically
accredited material to broaden your insight.
A FEW NOTES OF CAUTION

 PLEASE READ ASSIGNMENT TOPICS AND ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU START WRITING.
 AVOID PARAPHRASING AND MAKING USE OF SPIN TOOLS
AND TRANSLATORS AT ALL COSTS. PLAGIARISM IS A
SERIOUS OFFENCE AND HAS SEVERE CONSEQUENCES.
 DO NOT COPY FROM FELLOW STUDENTS, THIS MODULE
DOES NOT INCLUDE GROUP ASSIGNMENTS.
 LEARN TO CONFINE YOUR ANSWERS TO THE PRESCRIBED
NUMBER OF WORDS.
 QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY, CARRIES THE MOST WEIGHT.
 PLEASE READ YOUR ASSESSMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS
BEFORE SUBMITTING THEM.
Guidelines to facilitate your studies
during this semester

Please ensure that your each assignment:

 has a title that identifies the assignment
 has your name and student number below the title
 Has an index and ends with a reference list.
 All quotations from literature must be clearly acknowledged in
the text in the prescribed format
 Assignments may only be submitted through Blackboard,
accompanied by a ‘Turnitin’ report.
IMPORTANT DATES

 MINI ASSIGNMENT (INDIVIDUAL): 3 SEPT 2021

 MAIN ASSIGNMENT (INDIVIDUAL): 6 OCT 2021
 MAIN TEST: 17 SEPT 2021
 SICK TEST: 8 OCT 2021
 EXAM: TBC

Please note that the onus is on each individual student to

confirm the dates above. Check Blackboard regularly to avoid
confusion.
MINI ASSIGNMENT TOPIC

Opportunities that may be created by the application of

information technology in the management and operating
environment of a railway system.

Please note that the main body of your assignment should not
exceed 2000 words – that is approximately 4 typed A4 pages.
MAIN ASSIGNMENT TOPIC

MAJOR OBSTACLES THAT MUST BE SURMOUNTED

FOR TRANSNET FREIGHT RAIL TO BE SUCCESSFULLY
PRIVATISED: A “WHAT” AND “HOW” PERSPECTIVE.

Please note that the main body of your assignment should not
exceed 5000 words – that is approximately 10 typed A4 pages.
LEARNING UNIT 1(8)
INTRODUCING TECHNOLOGY IN RAILWAYS:
OPERATING & MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES
Dr Leo Petkoon
A MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETING RAILWAY
TECHNOLOGY

 Identify exactly what operating improvements

the technology would bring to the current way
of doing things.
 Express those benefits in terms of time and
money to be saved OR
 Market share/new clients (additional revenue)
to be gained
 Technology for technology’s sake is fruitless
investment
Management framework for interpreting railway technology

 Take time to understand the current way of

operating a rail system and to understand how
the introduction of technology will improve things
 Make sure that the new technology does not
disrupt other technology-based sub-systems
 Ensure that the introduction of new technology is
not in conflict with company strategy, important
stakeholders including clients
 Benchmark against alternative technology
solution whenever it is possible.
Management framework for interpreting railway technology

 Understand the operating specifications of

the technology – know what it will do for the
railway
 Is it necessary and how high up on the
railway’s priority list is the opportunity or
challenge it addresses?
 What is the relationship with the OEMs. Will
they be around in 10 years time
 Is the technology robust and suited to the
local climatic conditions
Management framework for interpreting railway technology

 What impact would the introduction of the technology have

on operations during the implementation phase
 What is the maintenance requirement of the new technology
• Specialised or generic
• Frequency and type (condition-based, usage-based or time
based)
• If condition-based, can it be monitored automatically
• Impact on operations
Rolling Stock
 Most important equipment: locomotives, freight wagons,
passenger coaches as well as construction, maintenance and
recovery vehicles
 Locomotives are the vehicles that provide the tractive power.
They haul coaches and wagons
 Freight wagons come in a wide range of configurations
Ranging from flat cars and open wagons to highly specialized
tank wagons and roll-on-roll-off wagons for automobiles and
road trucks
Passenger coaches range from light rail vehicles to metro and
inter-city coaches and at various standards of comfort and
luxury
Generic characteristics of rolling stock

• Long life span but shorter than the rail network

• Not geographically constrained (moving asset)
• Return on investment over a protracted period
• Long lead times to acquire new rolling stock from
OEMs
• Moderately limited flexibility in terms of capacity
• Challenge is to distinguish between static and
dynamic capacity and to optimize the latter
• Wagon and coach turnaround time is a crucial
indicator of dynamic capacity status.
WAGONS
PAYLOAD

The load carried by a vehicle exclusive of

what is necessary for its operation.
WEBSTER
 SOME FACTORS THAT DETERMINE PAYLOAD OF RAIL WAGONS

 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE FREIGHT

 BULK VERSUS PACKAGED OR PALLETED FREIGHT
 PACKAGING REQUIREMENTS OF FREIGHT
 STANDARD OR NON STANDARD PACKAGE SIZES
 AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT TO LOAD, STOW OR DISPENSE
 STOWING INSTRUCTIONS
 ANY OTHER SPECS THAT IMPACT ON LOADING SPACE
TARE

The officially accepted weight of an empty wagon,

vehicle, or container that when subtracted from gross
weight yields the net weight of cargo or shipment upon
which charges can be calculated
 SOME FACTORS THAT DETERMINE
EARNING CAPACITY OF RAIL WAGONS

• FREIGHT WAGONS THAT ARE EMPTY AND STATIONARY AT THE

SAME TIME HAVE NO COMMERCIAL CAPACITY – 0NLY INTRINSIC
VALUE
• LOADED WAGONS EN ROUTE TO A CLIENT ARE REVENUE
EARNINGS ENTITIES, WHETHER MOVING OR STANDING STILL
• IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP CYCLE TIME FROM LOAD TO LOAD AS
SHORT AS POSSIBLE - SO-CALLED TURNAROUND TIME. THE
SHORTER THE TURNAROUND TIME THE GREATER THE DYNAMIC
CAPACITY
 Train Operations Page - Railway Technical Web Pages
 www.railway-technical.com/tr-ops.shtm
 FACTORS THAT AFFECT DYNAMIC CAPACITY OF FREIGHT
WAGONS

 FACTORS RELATED TO SIZE OF CONSIGNMENT

• FULL TRAIN-LOADS FROM ONLY ONE ORIGIN TO A SINGLE DESTINATION
• SINGLE COMMODITY UNIT TRAINS
• BLOCK LOADS
• MINIMUM NUMBER OF WAGONS PER CONSIGNMENT
• BULK OR BREAK-BULK
Freight wagons: Technology for management

 Empty running of wagons is a major operational challenge

 Avoiding intermediate terminals saves time and money
 The less shunting one has to do, the quicker the turnaround
time of the wagons
 Small consignments are more time consuming to aggregate
and disaggregate than large consignments
 “mixed trains” (multiple, heterogeneous consignments take
longer and cost more to handle than block loads and unit trains
Freight wagons: Technology for management

 Maintenance of rolling stock should not be neglected

 Invest in technology that provides mission critical
information on the condition of rolling stock.
 Always keep life cycle management principles in mind
when making short term decisions
DIESEL-ELECTRIC
LOCOMOTIVES
DIESEL-ELECTRIC Locomotives

 Diesel-ElectricLocomotives use electricity

to drive forward motion despite the name
'diesel'. 
 A large diesel engine turns a shaft that
drives a generator which generates
electricity. 
 Thiselectrical energy powers large electric
motors at the wheels called 'traction
motors'.
DIESEL-ELECTRIC
TRACTION
• Very flexible mode of tractive power

• Independent – carries own fuel on board

• Less prone to sabotage than locos that are totally
dependant on energy supply through a electricity grid
• Can operate safely on electrified railway networks
• Is often used as fall-back measure when electric locos
are stranded by interruptions in the overhead power
supply.
DIESEL-ELECTRIC
TRACTION
• Shares a lot of similar characteristics with electric locos

• Diesel-related technology is fairly extensively available

– particularly in rural areas
• Diesel –based operations carry a smaller safety risk for
operating personnel (danger of accidental electrocution
is eliminated on non electrified lines)
• Converse is true when diesel locos operate on
electrified routes. Lack of familiarity heightens chance
of accidental electrocution
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
SPECIAL INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRED FOR ELECTRIC
LOCOMOTIVES
taken from http://www.railway-technical.com/tract-02.html
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
 Alternating Current (AC) has an operating advantage over
Direct Current (DC) as it can be used over long distances
through a wire that has a smaller diameter than required for
DC locos.
 DC locos typically require wires with greater diameter and
in some cases a third rail. (Railway Technical).
 

Taken from http://www.railway-

technical.com/tract-02.html
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES

Taken from http://www.railway-

technical.com/tract-02.html
ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
Taken from http://www.railway-technical.com/tract-02.html

The third rail is popular with DC electric systems.

Trains that use the third rail are usually metro rail
systems but they can be found in main-line routes At
present, AC locomotives haul trains over large
distances or main line areas where as DC locomotives
are often restricted to shorter distances. 3KV (Railway
Technical).
 
 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES:
disadvantages of third rail.
• A safety hazard. If pedestrians were to trample on the rail,
• Weather conditions such as snow can cause the system to not
function (Railway Technical).
• Third Rail systems have rail gaps to cope with excess voltage
supply. Each gap has a “substation”. These substations
ensure continuity & provide voltage in the direction of
propagation. (Railway Technical).
Electrification

• Expensive Infrastructure relative to non-

electrified operations
• Low maintenance costs
• Limits the height of payload rolling stock
• Not ideal for double-stacking containers
• Usually requires bigger tunnels and higher
bridges over railway lines
• Requires a change of locomotives when
connecting with non-electrified network
Electrification

• requires technology solutions where AC and

DC or 25 KV and 50 KV networks meet
• Is a cleaner source of energy than diesel at
point of consumption but
• Probably creates the same or more pollution
at the point of primary energy production
• New initiative to apply renewable sources of
energy could tilt the scale in favour of electric
locomotives once again.
Electrification

• Requires special technology to screen

signalling- and communication systems from
electrically induced disturbances
• Dual voltage locomotives and locos with a
piggy-back diesel power generating motors
are a practical but expensive option
• Vulnerable to sabotage , theft or vandalism
• Mainstream research is leaning towards
electric power units for personal and mass
transport
infrastructure and equipment

 Most important infrastructure is the permanent way

• (Consists of layers of sub-structures (not seen))
• ballast, concrete or wooden sleepers and the steel track (above
ground)
 Signalling and related train control equipment
 Wayside detection and monitoring equipment
 Staging- and marshalling yards
 Terminal- control- and station buildings
 Maintenance facilities. Etc.
Generic characteristics of rail infrastructure

• Long life span

• Geographically constrained (fixed asset)
• Return on investment over a protracted period
• Protracted negotiations to secure “right of way”
• Limited flexibility in terms of capacity
• Most valuable component is the “right of way”

A COMPELLING REASON WHY A RAILWAY LIKE

TRANSNET SHOULD NOT RELINGQUISH ”RIGHT OF
WAY” OF BRANCH LINES WITHOUT CAREFUL
CONSIDERATION.
READ

Railway Efficiency
– An Overview and a Look at Opportunities for
Improvement
Discussion Paper No. 2013-12
Arne BECK / Heiner BENTE / Martin SCHILLING
Civity Management Consultants
READ

A LEAN MAINTENANCE SUPPLY CHAIN FRAMEWORK

FOR ROLLING STOCK MAINTENANCE: A
CASE STUDY
Tinashe G Tendayi1* and Prof CJ Fourie
Department of Industrial Engineering
University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
[email protected]
Department of Industrial Engineering
University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
[email protected]
PLEASE READ

Reliability: the dominant performance issue of the next decade.

RW Steinmetz (Director Railway Technology Centre, Imperial College ,
London)
DP Ashmore (Research Associate, Railway Technology Centre, Imperial
College , London)

RR TOOLKIT EN NEW 2017; CASE STUDY FOR CHINA

RR TOOLKIT EN NEW 2017; CASE STUDY FOR INDIA

THANK YOU