New Rail CRC plans research portfolio-
THE recently approved new Rail CRC has kicked off its new life with
the Interim Board meeting late last week to shape the future of
seven years of cutting edge research. At an earlier Core
Participants’ meeting, held in Canberra last month, current
Rail CRC CEO Prof Dudley Roach was appointed as interim CEO. Prof
Roach has appointed his Interim Management Team who will develop
the processes for establishing the Centre and finalising its
research program.
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Industry to Industry Showcase of Rail CRC Research Implementation
AUSTRALIAN rail industry representatives will highlight how their
organisations have benefited from Rail CRC research outcomes
– reporting millions of dollars in savings in some cases
– at a showcase event in Brisbane on June 7. The event,
specifically targeting the rail industry, aims to present economic
and other benefits from commercialisation and implementation of
research outputs by industry. Speakers will discuss the strategies
which could be adopted by industry organisations to maximize their
benefits from developed technologies
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Rail CRC Develops Stronger Rail Wheel Steel
RAIL CRC research has developed improved wheel-steel that could
significantly reduce maintenance costs for rollingstock owners and
operators, potentially saving the Australian Rail Industry tens of
millions of dollars annually. Queensland Rail Mechanical Engineer
Structural and Rail CRC Project Manager Tim Constable said that the
improved material potentially offered several major benefits for
the Australian Rail Industry. “The new alloy steels offer
significantly enhanced strength and toughness which have positive
implications for performance,” Mr Constable said.
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Aeronautical Know-how Strengthens Rail Bridges Saving $Millions
AN innovative aeronautical engineering technique has been adapted
to strengthen rail bridges potentially saving the rail industry
millions of dollars. The Cooperative Research Centre for Railway
Engineering and Technologies (Rail CRC) project, led by Monash
University’s Professor Rhys Jones and managed by Australian
Rail and Track Corporation’s (ARTC) Wayne Potter, developed a
methodology to strengthen rail bridges using carbon composite
reinforcing plates attached with a super high-strength glue, rather
than the traditional welding of steel doubler-plates. Mr Potter
said gluing the carbon composite doublers resulted in no down-time
for trains.
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Rail CRC Research Helps Save Old-growth Forests
RAIL CRC research has established the technical suitability of an
innovative technique to transform softwood into timber suitable for
railway sleepers. The Rail CRC research project was led by
Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Built Environment
& Engineering senior lecturer Dr Martin Murray, and has been
developed in conjunction with the CRC for Wood Innovations, based
at Swinburne University of Technology, near Melbourne. Rail CRC
Project Manager and principal of John Hearsch Consulting, John
Hearsch, said the project team had completed a series of tests,
which had proved the technical suitability of softwood timber for
rail sleepers.
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New Postgraduate Rail Industry Courses Kicked-off in 2007
Two new RAIL CRC Theme Six postgraduate courses kicked-off in 2007
with 35 students in Railway Operations Management (CQU) and 14
students in Rolling Stock Engineering (University of Wollongong).
The Railway Signalling course (Central Queensland University) had a
fourth intake with 39 students enrolled for 2007. Theme Leader
CQU’s Associate Professor Ken Kwong said extremely strong
demand for the Railway Signalling course resulted in the course
quota being exceeded by 20 percent. “But we physically
couldn’t take any more than that (39 students) – the
room booked for induction would just not hold any more!”,
A/Prof Kwong said. “Since the course commenced in 2004, we
have had close to 30 students graduate with Graduate Certificates,
and 14 with Graduate Diplomas in 2006. Twelve more students are
expected to graduate with Graduate Diplomas later this year.
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New research transforms rail track design saving $Millions
RAIL Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has transformed modern
rail-track design following cutting-edge research into ballast and
track degradation, which has the potential to save millions of
dollars and improve safety for the rail industry. The research
project was led by University of Wollongong’s (UoW) Professor
of Civil Engineering Buddhima Indraratna, and managed by RailCorp
Senior Geotechnical Advisor David Christie.
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New Rail CRC Latest Information on Web
THE latest news and information regarding the New Rail CRC will be
posted in its own section on the Rail CRC’s web site –
www.railcrc.com.au
. Rail CRC Supporting Participant Members can access
“members-only” information by registering as a member
on
/members/index.html
. Registration for electronic newsletter and media releases can
also be made here. Non-Supporting Participants can register on the
same page for electronic newsletter and media release delivery.
CRC Association Conference in Perth – May 16-18
THE Cooperative Research Centre Association’s (CRCA) annual
conference - Driving Innovation through Cooperative Research - will
be held in Perth this year on May 16-18. Key note speakers include:
- Lockheed Martin Corporation Chair (retired) Norman Augustine
- ANU College of Science Dean and Professor of Statistics Prof Tim
Brown
- Korea’s Samsung Medical Centre Research Associate Dr B Choe
- California’s World Academy of Art and Science Fellow &
Entrepreneurship Chair Prof Anil Gupta
- Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Jim Peacock
- Singapore National Academy of Science President & National
Institute of Education Prof Leo Tan
- Belgium General European Commission Education and Culture
Directorate David White
- Hong Kong Commissioner for Innovation and Technology Anthony Wong
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