Friday, November 15, 2013

More cash for KiwiRail?

One of the main concerns held by interested observers of KiwiRail's Turnaround Plan has been its ability to fund the necessary capital works required of the plan. 

The Turnaround Plan - known as TAP for short - is KiwiRail's long term plan to create a business capable
of standing on its own two feet financially.  It's a ten year plan for the period 2010 to 2020, and is estimated to ultimately cost $3.1b, in the form of government cash injections and reinvestment of income from the business.

Back in 2010, the government initially stated that it would provide three grants of $250 million each over the first three years of the plan (i.e., $750 million total for 2010-2012 inclusive), after which KiwiRail would need to continue funding the task from its own income.

2013/2014 was to be the first "self funding" year, but numerous observers were skepical of whether or not KiwiRail would be in a position to go it totally alone that soon - and with just cause.  The first three cash injections were spent very quickly, on track work, new locomotives, rolling stock and track maintenance machines, new IT systems and an upgrade of the Aratere rail ferry.  Meanwhile, economic conditions and unforseen natural events resulted in income not rising as much as anticipated.

Earlier this year the government surprised many by announcing a fourth cash injection, this time of $94 million, bringing the total to $844 million.  This wasn't a surprise to KiwiRail though, as the additional funding had been sought, and was granted in response to a request for additional funding.

This begged the question, will the government provide any further funding beyond the current financial year?

Information has now come to light that negotiations for further funding have been taking place over the past few months between KiwiRail management and central government officials.  KiwiRail is seeking $203 million, broken down into two payments, of $81 million for the 2014/2015 financial year, and $122 million for the 2015/2016 financial year.  If these sums are agreed to, it will bring the total cash injection amount to $1.046 billion since 2010.

Photo by Steve McElney, courtesy KiwiRail

As to what it will be spent on, it would seem "more of the same" applies.  Beyond the current eight DL locomotives on order from CNR in China, a further ten are planned to be purchased in 2015.  Then there's yet more flat top container wagons planned, including 175 in 2015, and 200 in 2016.  No doubt the continuing network upgrade will feature in this funding as well.







Monday, November 11, 2013

Sunday trains come to Swanson

It's been a very long time coming, but Sunday 3rd November 2013 finally saw the commencement of permanently scheduled suburban passenger trains to Swanson, on Auckland's "Western Line".

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time suburban passenger trains have operated on a regular basis to Swanson on Sundays.  There has of course been many occasions in recent years when trains have operated to Swanson and Waitakere on Sundays for special events, and during the Rugby World Cup they operated every Sunday for several consecutive weeks, but they have never been permanently scheduled.

Swanson Railway Station

The new services are being provided by a mix of ADL class DMU's, and 4-car SA sets.

In the more distant past, it has been possible to travel by train this far west on Sundays, but I'm not sure one could describe it as a proper suburban service.

In 1947, there were four trains that you could travel on from Waitakere to Auckland.

0630hrs - Passenger train ex Waitakere.
0739hrs - Passenger train ex Helensville.
1542hrs - Express train ex Whangarei.
2136hrs - Mixed train ex Whangarei.

In the opposite direction, you had three choices from Auckland:

0651hrs - Mixed train to Maungaturoto.
0915hrs - Express train to Whangarei.
1000hrs - Goods train with Carriage attached, to Whangarei.

Travel options by train may have improved in the 1950's, but certainly by the mid 1970's, there were no longer any rail travel options on Sundays west of Newmarket.

Over the past decade, since Britomart opened, there have been many improvements made to the Western Line timetable, but these have focussed on weekdays, with weekends being largely ignored. The same Saturday hourly service that existed at the time Britomart opened (in 2003) was continued right through to November 2013.  Sunday services on the Western Line commenced between Britomart and New Lynn several years ago, and these were extended to Henderson in 2010, but despite completion of the double track project, service remained non-existant to Swanson and Waitakere.

The renewed effort to extend Sunday services developed this year as Auckland Transport came under growing political pressure to reverse declining use of the trains that was being experienced region-wide.  The Western Line is very popular on Saturdays in particular, despite the hourly service, and getting more trains on the line throughout the weekend, was the most obvious opportunity for growing patronage on the network.

Video of the very first permanent Sunday service, 0622hrs Sunday 3rd November 2013

The new Sunday timetable has trains departing Swanson, for Britomart, hourly from 0620hrs to 0920hrs, then half-hourly from 0920hrs to 1920hrs (departing at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour), then back to hourly until 2120hrs.

The new timetable has also doubled the Saturday service frequency from hourly, to half-hourly, operating to the same times as the Sunday timetable, but with later evening services, and of course the trains on Saturdays operate to Waitakere.

Swanson, looking west

Interestingly, there is enough time in the Sunday schedule for the trains to operate to Waitakere and back within the period that they will remain parked at Swanson.  However, with Auckland Transport not wishing to grow rail patronage at Waitakere station, in preparation for post-electrification closure, it was decided to terminate the new Sunday services at Swanson.

Meanwhile, Auckland Transport have announced that trains will no longer operate from Helensville for the annual Santa Parade event in the city.  These trains have operated for many years now, but unfortunately, Auckland Transport chose not to promote these services in 2011 and 2012, which saw patronage almost disappear in 2012.  They are now citing this decline as their reason for cancelling these services, along with a rather dubious claim that the railway between Waitakere and Helensville is no longer available for passenger trains, despite the recent operation of several excursions on the line.

Despite the latter, Auckland Transport has done well to improve Western Line frequencies.  Already, there has been a notable increase in patronage on Saturdays, and while Sundays has not been as significant, it is growing as well.  With the advent of electric trains to Swanson from 2015, patronage is sure to skyrocket.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Aratere interview transcript

Transcript of this morning's Radio New Zealand interview with Jim Quinn, CEO KiwiRail, on the Aratere incident in Cook Strait this week:


RadioNZ: Good morning Mr Quinn.

JQ: Good morning.

RadioNZ: Why did this happen?

JQ: Well we're still ascertaining the exact details of why, but obviously, in basic terms, the propeller fell off.

RadioNZ: And clearly that wasn't supposed to happen.

JQ: That's right, the propeller is supposed to be attached to the ship.

RadioNZ: One ferry down, where does this leave KiwiRail and its customers?

JQ: Well we are undertaking an urgent assessment of options, but for now we are up the creek without a paddle.

RadioNZ: Or in the strait, without a propeller.

(laughter)

JQ: Yes, you could say that.


RadioNZ: What happened when it fell off?

JQ: It was spotted whirling away. It's a bit humourous really, I keep picturing this thing whirling away on it's own, as though it's escaping.

RadioNZ: But it's not humourous is it Mr Quinn, this is the latest serious incident in a long line of serious incidents related to this ship isn't it?

JQ: No it's not humuorous, I assure you we are taking the matter seriously.

RadioNZ: Where is the propeller now?

JQ: Well we assumed it was on the bottom of Cook Strait.

RadioNZ: Assumed?  It must have sank surely?  Do you know where exactly?  Have you marked the spot?

JQ: We know the approximate location, it's not hard to find. Just look for the flotilla of scrap metal merchants.

RadioNZ: Scrap metal merchants are out there?

JQ: Like a flock of seagulls.  They were there as fast as a tow truck driver to a car crash.

RadioNZ: But you say assumed?

JQ: That's right, we assumed it had sunk after it fell off.  But it turns out....

RadioNZ: Surely it's a given, not an assumption?

JQ: Well it turns out it didn't sink. We....

RadioNZ: Didn't sink?

JQ: That's right, it was spotted floating a few kilometres away by the crew of the Arahura later in the day.

RadioNZ: Floating?  It was floating?

JQ: I understand your surprise, we were just as surprised.

RadioNZ: How is this possible?

JQ: After consulting with the ship's builder, it turns out it's made of plastic.

RadioNZ: Plastic?!

JQ: That's right, hollow plastic.  And of course the forces exerted on it propelling a ship of this size, were just too much. It sheared right off.  But we just made it back alright.

RadioNZ: Just?

JQ: Well water was pouring in the hole.  So we had to get back to dock quick smart.

RadioNZ: Hole?  There was a hole in the ship?

JQ: Where the propeller had been.  The propeller shaft pokes through a hole, so when it fell off, the hole was open.  Ideally, ships operate best without a hole below the water line.

RadioNZ: Why was the propeller made of plastic?

JQ: According to the manufacturer it was intended to enable easy recovery in the event of it becoming detached.  But since they hadn't told us about this, we suspect it might have been done to cut costs.  Another theory we are investigating, is the possibility that the propeller was manufactured in a 3D printer. 

RadioNZ: So what next?  When will the ship be repaired?

JQ: We're not yet sure if can be repaired.

RadioNZ: Why not?

JQ: Unfortunately it appears other parts of the ship that we thought were steel are also manufactured from plastic.

RadioNZ: How much of it?

JQ: (inaudible)

RadioNZ: How much of the ship is manufactured from plastic Mr Quinn?

JQ: Quite a bit.

RadioNZ: How much Mr Quinn?

JQ: Quite a bit unfortunately.

RadioNZ: How much Mr Quinn?

JQ: All of it.

RadioNZ: That's staggering Mr Quinn.  The whole ship is manufactured from plastic?

JQ: Well not quite all of it, just the structural parts.  It has other materials too, like upholstery fabric and horsehair stuffing in the seat cushions, which is perfect for a ship, as horsehair is very water resistent.

RadioNZ: But no steel?

JQ: Not that we have been able to find, but that's not to say that there isn't some somewhere.

RadioNZ: It's just.....just.....difficult to fathom isn't it Mr Quinn?

JQ: Indeed it is, although it's also quite amazing if you think about it.  We own the world's largest model ship.  I expect I'll take a call from James May at some point, sending us his sincere congratulations.

RadioNZ: Will you be replacing the ship?

JQ: That's a big project, and one that will require government approval, so I can't comment at this stage.

RadioNZ: And if you do buy a new one, it will be made from steel, with steel propellers?

JQ: Oh yes, most likely.  That would definitely be our desired outcome from any procurement.

RadioNZ: Thank you for your time Mr Quinn.

JQ: Thank you.

RadioNZ: That was Mr Jim Quinn, CEO of KiwiRail.  It's half past nine.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Marsden Point Rail Link: Where's it at?

News about the long proposed Marsden Point Rail Link, a new branch line in Northland linking the North Auckland Line at Oakleigh with the deep water port at Marsden Point, has been scarce in recent years. Things went quiet on the subject in 2009, which was of course, the first year of the new government, and many, including myself, came to believe it had dropped off the radar.

Unfortunately that assessment is somewhat true, in that the push to have it actually built, has diminished, for the time being at least.  However, the good news is that the planning process did in fact continue.  In October 2009, Northland Regional Council issued its decision to grant the resource consent, and the Whangarei District Council issued its favourable recommendation to confirm the designation.  Shortly after, in November 2009, KiwiRail released its decision to confirm the designation.

This enabled the final round of submissions and appeals, being worked through until there were only five appeals remaining.  In June 2010 an Environment Court hearing was held, which ultimately lead to one appeal being withdrawn, another struck off, and three going into a settlement process.

In April 2012, the Environment Court issued consent to KiwiRail for the Oakleigh to Marsden Point rail link.

Now, in 2013, there is a continuous and fully designated rail corridor from Oakleigh to Marsden Point, and all of the land is now owned by the council for the purpose of building the railway.

While it's true the first sod has not been turned, it is heartening to know that a new rail corridor was successfully established, and it means that if a decision is ever made to proceed with construction, it could begin almost immediately.


But what chance is there currently, of the line actually being built?  Northland Port Corporation reiterated their plans for a container terminal on 23rd October 2013, and the rail link is part of the plan.  Certainly they want the link.  But they are hamstrung to a degree, by their conflicting ownership.

Issues working against the project appear to be:

  • The port owners include Ports of Auckland and Port of Tauranga, both of whom have established operations already.
  • Lack of any priority by KiwiRail, who are occupied with getting their existing network up to scratch.
  • Potential inability of the North Auckland Line to be competitive with the NIMT and ECMT route between Auckland and Tauranga.  It can be upgraded, but will still require substantially lower load schedules due to the gradients, resulting in higher freight rates than can be offered on the Tauranga route.

However, there may be a case for the line being worthwhile, even if the movement of containers to and from Auckland is a minimal contribution overall.  Logs from throughout Northland are moved to the port in large quantities, that, if railed from transfer sites could require three trains a day from Otiria, two from Dargaville, and one from Wellsford.  Then there is large quantities of coal from the port to Portland, woodchips from Portland to the port, and fertiliser from the port to Whangarei.

A private siding into the Carter Holt Harvey Laminated Veneer mill at Marsden Point could also potentially provide sizeable tonnages.

Lastly, there is a need to replace the 170km long Marsden Point to Auckland oil pipeline within the next decade.  This pipeline carries 2.2 million tonnes of petroleum products per year.  Unlike the original pipeline, built 30 years ago, the new one will be constructed in an era of significantly stricter environmental guidelines, and is likely to cost approximately $200m.  Could there be a case for moving the oil by rail instead?  If not, could there at least be a case for moving oil by rail for North Island distribution beyond Auckland, instead of coastal shipping with its greater environmental risks?

The potential for a very busy railway is there.  But the port needs to do better in formulating a business case that will get the attention of KiwiRail and the government alike.

To quote North Port chairman Sir John Goulter from Northland Port Corporation's annual general meeting last month "We have some exciting plans long term. There is a long-term plan that does include containerisation......and possibly we have not taken this out to the general public as much as we should have. Maybe we should be down there and better explain what we can do......Maybe we have been too passive in that regard".

I hope this line gets built.  It could not only gain existing tonnage, but its construction would also lead to much more business being established at Marsden Point.  For KiwiRail, it could eventually be the next Mount Maunganui.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Distributed Power: Has its time come in New Zealand?

Every decade or so, a major operational change tends to take place in global freight railroading, particularly in North America, and New Zealand has generally kept up with these changes.  As an example, in North America in the mid 1980's, technology enabled removal of cabooses from freight trains, leading to a reduction in staff and costs.  New Zealand Railways embraced this revolutionary change without delay, and the final guards vans disappeared from trains in New Zealand even earlier than the final cabooses vanished in the United States.

Another example is with train crewing.  When the United States reduced train crew size from four to three, in conjunction with removal of cabooses, NZR reduced crew size from three to two for the same reason.  Within a further five years, improvements to communication systems enabled the United States to further reduce crew size from three, to just two.  Again, simultaneously, NZR embraced the same technological improvements and reduced its crew size from two, to just one.  In the yards it was similar, with shunting crews being signicantly reduced in size in the US and NZ at much the same time, for the same reason (better radio systems).

In some cases, New Zealand lead the way with these mini revolutions.  Widespread use of remote control shunting came to New Zealand some five to ten years ahead of most of North America.  Removal of flashing lights from level crossing barrier arms, replaced by reflective strips, is only now beginning to occur in North America, close to 20 years behind this change being made in New Zealand.

In other areas we kept up, albeit on a much smaller scale.  When freight train sizes were increased in America in the 1980's, with more motive power being assigned to trains, the same soon happened here.  Many large trial trains were run throughout the country, in aid of setting new load schedules.  Three DX's on a lengthy Murupara log train was a notable trial at the time, even making the 6 o'clock news.  Single headers were replaced with double headers, and triple headers became common.  Fewer, but larger trains was the catch phrase.

But another revolution began to take place in North America in 2007, that to date, has passed us by.  Rolled out over a five year period, and largely fully in place by 2012, has been the change to routine use of Distributed Power (DP).  Once the domain of specific heavy-haul railroads, DP was extended to ordinary freight trains on a trial basis during 2005 and 2006, by most of the class 1 railroads in America.  It quickly took off, and today, most freight trains now operate with locomotives on both the head and rear of the train, and often in the middle as well.

The obvious change this has lead to is train length.  3000 metre long freights are now in widespread use across America.  America has always had big trains.  100 car, 2000 metre jobs could be seen in the 60's and 70's, but today, 170-180 cars is commonplace.

The advantages with DP are significant.  Having locomotives pushing from the rear, or pushing and pulling in the middle, greatly reduces drawgear stress where it is at its highest, near the front of the train.  Lateral friction is also greatly reduced, meaning less wear on wheels and rails, whilst also reducing fuel consumption of the locomotives.  Slack throughout the train is also better controlled, with fewer run-ins and pull-outs, and instances of train pull-aparts are greatly reduced, to the point of near elimination.  Braking is enhanced significantly, as air pressure changes take effect much sooner when commenced from two or three points along the train, rather than from just the front.

There are also disadvantages however.  Making up and then breaking up a train, takes longer with the need to add locomotives in different sections.  DP technology itself comes with a cost.  Buying it, and then fitting it to the fleet.  But these costs have been found to be more than outweighed by the advantages the technology has to offer.  Overall, costs come down.

To their credit, KiwiRail have pursued a new round of train size increases in recent times, that has largely gone unremarked in railfan circles.  A few years back, NIMT freights were increased from around 35 wagons to around 45 wagons.  1800 tonnes up the spiral was set as a goal, and today, 2000 tonnes is being seriously looked at.  On the Murupara Branch, log trains are being increased from 35 wagons, to 40, then to 45, with 50 rumoured to be a new target.  Metroport trains are getting bigger, and there is the often talked about plan to get Midland Line coal trains up to 45 wagons, and some 3000 odd tonnes, which would make them the heaviest trains to operate in this country.

In some cases the changes are being implemented, but in others, and in particular the Midland Line coal trains changing to 45 wagons, the proposals have stalled.

Is there a place for DP technology to not only provide solutions, but to take our train sizes and weights to even higher levels?   I believe there is.   But it does require some change in thinking on behalf of KiwiRail.  To a degree it makes sense to run smaller, more frequent trains in New Zealand.  The cartage distances are not that great, the terrain can be difficult, and wagon utilisation is at a premium.  But with all the new wagons being purchased by KiwiRail, and higher horse power on offer from the new locomotives, the existing trains on the network are beginning to reach capacity in terms of length and weight.  Adding more and more trains will reduce network timekeeping, so I believe a balance needs to be found between adding more new services, and adding more tonnage to existing trains.

Photo courtesy Phil's Loco Photos
Auckland to Wellington is some 665km by freight train, and while relatively short on an international scale, is still a reasonable distance.  It may be worth spending a bit more time at Southdown or Westfield adding locos to the rear, if it enables say, 3000 tonnes to be pushed up the spiral.  Getting at least 50% more tonnage onto existing trains, with an overall reduction in expenses, may just be worth doing.  Longer make up roads, and longer crossing loops would of course be required, but would enable long term savings that will make rail more competitive than it currently is.  Furthermore, if the same locomotives are left on the train right through, the extra time needed to make up the train in Auckland, may be offset by a faster transit through Hamilton and Palmerston North.  2 DL on the front, and 1 DL on the rear, and just keep going, all the way from Auckland to Wellington.

Down south, DP may just enable those 45 wagon coal trains to operate, without the problem of drawgear breaks.

There is one outstanding challenge to DP in the New Zealand context. The terrain will likely result in some momentary loss of telemetry between leading and rear end locomotives.  But DP technology takes this into account, and is designed to automatically recover from short signal losses.  I'm sure this issue could be managed effectively.

Should KiwiRail consider DP, it will mark a new round of revolution to our train scene.  It will put us back on track with international best practice, and has the potential to help KiwiRail reach its goal of becoming self sufficient through more efficient operations.

Monday, October 28, 2013

October 1983 - A young railfan gets his first camera

It just occured to me that it's been 30 years since I began taking photos of trains.  Well, 30 years and 18  days to be precise, with my first pics being snapped on 11th October 1983.  Mum and Dad had just given me my first camera on my 11th birthday, and I was very excited at the prospect of capturing the trains I see on film.  Up until then, it had always been a case of see it, remember it, and write down the number!

After loading the Kodak 110 film, and possibly taking one or two test shots (I don't remember), I was off on my bike to the Napier Railway Station and of course, the locomotive depot.

And this was my first ever train pic...

Photo of DSG 3264, taken too far to the left
Brand spanking new, DSG 3264.  These locos were the talk of the town at that time.  Cabs were supposed to be near the end of the locomotive, not in the middle!  And engines were supposed to rattle and chug, not hum!  But the crews loved them. Spacious, and reasonably quiet cabs, powerful, and smooth riding.

But I wasn't thinking of all that.  I was onto my second photo.

And this was it...

Photo of DE 1337, taken too far to the left
DE 1337.  One of those things that rattle and chug, with a sharp sounding horn instead of one that echos.

It must have been a Saturday or Sunday, as I obviously didn't have school, and the depot was filled with locos, and free of staff, so we had free reign of the place.  In fact pretty much the whole yard was ours to wander around.  Not that anyone cared about such things in those days.  If you stubbed your toe, you stubbed your toe. Your fault, not anyone elses.

Then it was on to pic three...

Photo of DC 4853, taken too far to the left
Another brand new loco, DC 4853, only two or three weeks after entering service, fresh from Australia.  Although I didn't realise at the time just how new she was.  The higher numbered DC's, especially the 4800's, all looked very bright and shiny at this time, being the newest of their class in the land.

DC's were the biggest locos in the bay at this time, as neither the DF nor the DX classes were allowed to Napier in those days.  We still got the odd DA, but by and large, we were "DC country".

Then along came train 959, the daily express from Gisborne.  A DBR!  None of those in the depot, so off down the yard I went, to snap my fourth ever train photograph, during the few minutes it was in town, so the passengers could use the refreshment rooms...

Photo of DBR 1282, taken too far to the left

Whoops, cut off the nose!  That was an issue with those little 110 film cameras - you had to stand back a million miles to fit anything in the frame.  DBR 1282 was just over a year old at this point, but still looking very tidy.  They washed passenger locos in those days - even the roof and bogies.

Now, see what I was doing?  Three DSG's present, but I photographed just one. Several DE's present, but I photographed just one.  Lots of DC's present, but I photographed just one.  All I had to do was get a single photograph of each class, and my railway photo collection would be complete.  How simple it would be!  Three decades, and tens of thousands of photos later, and I realise how wrong I was.  Oh to be 11 again!

After 959 departed, it was back to the depot. This time I thought I would try my first multi-loco photo.

DC 4093 (still displaying her old number 1560 on the ends) paired with DA 322, DSG 3277, DE 1406, DSG 3304 and, just visible, DSG 3264 again.

I can't stress how odd those DSG's looked!  Nothing like a DE (obviously), and with that grid shaped end, and box-mounted headlights, they were something very different to get used to.  It's hard to think of them in this manner today, being so familiar to us all, for so long, the length and breadth of the country.


Then, it was up onto DE 1337 for a better shot of those DSG's...

Photo of three DSG's, taken too far to the left

And then up the backshunt for a shot of everything...


Then I thought, "I better get a shot of that DA front, to show how a DA looks different from a DC". Goodness, maybe there's more to take pictures of than I thought???

How a DA looks different from a DC

After getting home, I began to think of all the locomotive classes I had missed.  So within days, I was back in the depot.  Just a few more, and my collection will be complete...

Photo of DSA 361, taken too far to the left. Graeme's Raleigh 20, and my BMX, parked/dumped on platform

Photo of EB 1809, taken too far to the left
Photo of TR 494, taken too far to the left
A really old rust bucket in a funny old colour scheme that's different from all the DC's!
Graeme made the DSB look huge!  And yes, photo taken too far to the left

And so welcome to my new blog.  A place for idle thoughts, old pics, and occasionally, if I'm in the mood, an opinion to be offered.  Probably in the form of a rant.

Enjoy!