Railway Digest Magazine August 2022 Back Issue

Warrnambool Line Upgrades
Commencing at Geelong, the Warrnambool line runs in a south-westerly direction passing by the Otway Ranges and terminating beside Victoria’s surf coast. The line’s passenger trains overall serve a regional population of well over 100,000 people beyond the immediate Geelong area. A serious growth in patronage has led to some recent upgrades, as David Campbell explains.

Working towards low-cost active regional level crossing solutions
Level crossing collisions remain a serious concern for the rail industry and the situation has worsened with not only growth in road traffic levels but the significant increase in size and weight of trucks which can result in serious damage and fatalities in train/truck collisions. John Hoyle looks at some recent research and advances in level crossing technology aimed at improving safety.

Revisiting the 1997 National Rail Summit
Twenty-five years ago, the Australian Transport Council (ATC) convened the National Rail Summit to set the future of Australia’s rail industry, and the industry still lives with decisions made at the Summit. Douglas Clapp believes that given new challenges facing the rail industry, a look back to 1997 is both timely and relevant.

How an update to the Australian Standard Code modernised Australia’s bridges
Australia’s railway network is an intricately connected web of tracks, bridges, and trains. But if one cog in the wheel fails, the entire network can grind to a swift halt. Several years ago, as Virendra Ghodke relates, mageba uncovered one such failure, and used this discovery to drive national reform that is having positive effects to this day.