News

Laos’ railway – a 414 kilometre long, US$5.9 billion high-speed line financed by China – is expected to commence services on 2 December, Laos National Day. At the southern end of the railway in Vientiane, the China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group (CREC-5) has completed the construction of the main structure of the longest bridge, the Phonethong bridge with a length of 7,528 metres.

When completed the railway will run from Boten on Laos' northern border with China, south to Vientiane, on its border with Thailand, then connect with the future Bangkok-Nong Khai route.

The airport shuttle and all passenger trains across the country had ceased operations but are expected to restart in the final quarter of this year, subject to the pandemic subsiding as hoped. Upgrades to the Northern Line are expected to start next year and work on rehabilitating the track that crosses the border to Thailand, which had been due to restart earlier this year, is also expected to recommence later this year.

More broadly, The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is drafting a railway development strategy to look at how train transport in the country can be made more efficient.

South Korea will invest 114.7 trillion won (US$102.7 billion) over the next ten years to expand the railway network for major cities across the nation, the country’s Transport Ministry has announced.

South Korea currently has 4,274 kilometres of track nationwide and this new plan is intended to extend that by 5,137 kilometres by 2030, reducing travel time across the country to less than three hours, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation said.

The project would raise the railway transportation capacity to about 17 per cent in 2030 from 11.5 per cent in 2019.

The plan aims to have a vast railway network in major cities to ease traffic congestion, especially in the Seoul metropolitan area, and help residents in satellite cities to commute more conveniently to city centres.

The airport shuttle and all passenger trains across the country had ceased operations but are expected to restart in the final quarter of this year, subject to the pandemic subsiding as hoped. Upgrades to the Northern Line are expected to start next year and work on rehabilitating the track that crosses the border to Thailand, which had been due to restart earlier this year, is also expected to recommence later this year.

More broadly, The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is drafting a railway development strategy to look at how train transport in the country can be made more efficient.

Hangzhou Metro Line 8 and Hangzhou Metro Line 9 have both officially opened for operation. Line 8 spans 2,800 meters, setting a record for the longest route that crosses a river. With a A-type drum car, the vehicles on the line can carry up to 2,460 passengers – a 21 per cent increase from the previous B-type car.

Manufactured by CRRC Puzhen, the trains for Line 9 comprise six cars and adopt a B-type drum body structure, with a maximum operating speed of 80 kph.

On 14 July, Alstom’s Chinese Joint Venture CRRC Puzhen Bombardier Transportation Systems Limited (PBTS) delivered the first new automatic people mover (APM) train to BCIA (Beijing Capital International Airport). A delivery ceremony was held in the assembly area of its workshop, the customer toured the factory and was able to take the new APM train.

Beijing Capital International Airport, as China’s ‘first gateway’, is a large international airport with the most important geographical location, the largest scale, the most complete equipment and the busiest transportation and production in China. The number of flights taking off and landing and the passenger throughput of the airport are in the leading position in the industry worldwide. In 2008, Alstom delivered Beijing Olympic designated project–Beijing Capital International Airport APM to welcome the Olympic Games, and in November 2019, PBTS and BCIA signed the APM trains supply and upgrading contract. Facing with the challenge of Covid-19, the teams of both sides overcame the difficulties and worked together to push forward the project design, production and delivery, and completed the testing of train in early July 2021, which was ready for delivery.

Since established in 2014, PBTS has been committed to providing small and medium volume rubber wheel rail system solutions, and the core products of PBTS, monorail and APM, have achieved impressive results in the domestic and international markets. The rubber wheel APM system is one of the best solutions for passengers to move quickly and easily between airport terminals.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded the civil contract for the design and construction of Ang Mo Kio station and tunnels under the first phase of the Cross Island Line (CRL1) to Gammon Construction and Engineering Pte. Ltd – Bachy Soletanche Singapore Pte. Ltd. Joint Venture. Valued at SG$644 million (US$477 million), the contract will also cover addition and alteration (A&A) works to the existing Ang Mo Kio station along the North-South Line (NSL). When completed, Ang Mo Kio station will be an interchange between CRL and NSL.

Gammon Construction and Engineering Pte. Ltd has a strong track record of undertaking infrastructure and building projects locally and abroad. It was previously involved in the construction of Chinatown station along Downtown Line and is currently involved in the construction of Havelock station and Mayflower station along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).

Bachy Soletanche Singapore Pte. Ltd, a specialist in geotechnical and civil engineering, is currently involved in the design and construction of the tunnel between Suffolk Walk and Novena Rise for the North-South Corridor. It is also involved in TEL projects such as Tanjong Rhu, Gardens by the Bay and Orchard stations.

Construction works for the CRL1 Ang Mo Kio station are expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year, with passenger service slated for 2030.

CRL1 Ang Mo Kio station is an underground station located adjacent to the busy junction of Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 and Ang Mo Kio Ave 8. As it will be located close to the NSL viaduct and surrounding structures, LTA and the contractor will closely monitor the project’s progress and ensure that all works are carried out safely, with minimal impact to existing structures.

Deep excavation works for CRL1 Ang Mo Kio station will be carried out under challenging ground conditions, as the rock is typically weaker at the transition point between the Old Alluvium (predominantly soillike material) to Bukit Timah Granite formation. This requires the use of specially-designed machinery to carry out the excavation works safely.

When completed, the station will have entrances that connect directly to different residential blocks, AMK Hub, Ang Mo Kio Integrated Transport Hub and Ang Mo Kio Town Garden East. Two of the new entrances will be connected to the station via underpasses across Ang Mo Kio Avenues 3 and 8 (see Figure 1). To ensure smooth traffic flow on the roads, these underpasses will be constructed using a “pipe-roofing and mining” method, where a box structure made of pipes will support the ground while mining works are carried out beneath the surface of the road. This method minimises disturbance to the surrounding roads, buildings and underground services, as compared to the more traditional method of open cut excavation from the ground surface.

To facilitate seamless transfer and enhance connectivity for commuters at the station, A&A works will be carried out to retrofit the existing NSL Ang Mo Kio station with additional escalators and reconfiguring of its concourse area. To minimise inconvenience to commuters, LTA will plan and coordinate closely with SMRT to carry out majority of the A&A works during non-operating hours.

The CRL is Singapore’s eighth MRT line. It will serve existing and future developments in the eastern, north-eastern and western corridors, linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District and Changi region. The CRL will have almost half of its stations as interchanges with other rail lines, making it easier and more convenient for commuters to travel across the rail network.

CRL1 is 29 kilometres long and comprises twelve stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill. This will serve residential and industrial areas in Loyang, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Defu, Hougang, Serangoon North and Ang Mo Kio and benefit more than 100,000 households. With CRL1, common recreational spaces such as Changi Beach Park and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park will be more accessible by public transport. Studies on the details of subsequent CRL phases are ongoing.

SMRT Trains and PCCW Solutions has announced the full rollout of the Track Access Management System (TAMS) to the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL), Singapore’s oldest Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines.

TAMS is a digital solution developed by SMRT Trains and PCCW Solutions to digitalize and automate track access allocation for the regular maintenance and planning of engineering works. Replacing time-consuming and labour-intensive manual processes, TAMS is a holistic system with real-time updates of track allocation status and access progress, providing end-to-end visibility of workflows. In addition to optimizing productivity, the system has built-in safety rules to conduct conflict checks on each scheduled track access request against safety requirements, ensuring safety standards are upheld for all stakeholders.

The implementation of TAMS has saved the operator 30,000 manhours per year and contributed to increased rail reliability through optimized maintenance efforts. In 2020, the North-South Line (NSL) achieved more than 1.3 million Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF) and the East-West Line (EWL) achieved more than 1.4 million MKBF.

Following the success of TAMS for NSEWL, SMRT Trains has embarked on its implementation for the Circle Line (CCL), Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) network, and six depots, to reap further productivity gains.

Strides Engineering, previously SMRT Services, a business arm of SMRT Corporation which provides a range of station-based rail-related services, and PCCW Solutions also announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop a go-to-market strategy to promote TAMS in the Southeast Asia region.

The collaboration will leverage PCCW Solutions’ strengths as a digital enabler, as well as SMRT’s domain expertise in using digital technology for rail operations and maintenance, bringing the benefits and best practices of TAMS to regional urban train operators.

Mr. Lam Sheau Kai, President, SMRT Trains, said: ‘The implementation of TAMS on the North-South, East-West lines has given us optimized use of limited engineering hours for higher productivity and enhanced safety in our maintenance regimen. TAMS exemplifies SMRT’s commitment to Kaizen culture for continual improvements in the operations and maintenance of rail lines for high rail reliability.’

Mr. Gan Boon Jin, President, Strides Engineering, said: ‘Our collaboration with PCCW Solutions has been very fruitful in developing and honing TAMS to a high level of operational efficiency. It is a field-tested digital solution that has provided a great boost to SMRT’s productivity and safety in rail operations and maintenance. We are excited to extend the collaboration with PCCW Solutions to bring the benefits of TAMS to other train operators in the region.’

Mr. Ramez Younan, Managing Director of PCCW Solutions, said: ‘We are delighted to support SMRT’s digitalization journey by harnessing innovative technologies to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of its rail operations. The extension of our collaboration is not only a demonstration of SMRT’s trust in our delivery capabilities but also a testament to our involvement in enhancing the country’s transport ecosystem. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with Strides Engineering in delivering more digital solutions to support smart mobility across Southeast Asia.’

After completing tunnelling works in May, the four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) working on the Melbourne Metro are being retrieved from underground.

TBMs Meg, Alice, Millie and Joan are being carefully dismantled – including dissecting their 7.2 metre-wide cutterheads into smaller pieces (above) – before being transported back through the tunnels. The machines will be returned to the supplier and reassessed for potential reuse. Digging continues on the project as roadheader machines excavate the tunnels next to the platforms at Town Hall Station. Works are also continuing on the 26 cross passages between the tunnels, which allow people and equipment to move between the tunnels in an emergency.

In late May this year, all four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) digging the Metro Tunnel’s 6.3 metre-high, twin nine-kilometre tunnels completed their work.

Between them, the TBMs have lined the tunnels from South Yarra to Kensington with around 250,000 tonnes of concrete, tunnelling an average of 90 metres per week. They dug as deep as 40 metres below ground, passing twelve metres under the Yarra River, seven metres beneath the Burnley tunnel and just 1.5 metres below the City Loop.

The huge TBMs are now being dismantled. The ‘skin’ of each will remain underground to form part of the permanent tunnel lining, and the remaining TBM components will be assessed for potential reuse on other tunnelling projects.

There is much more work to be done before the Metro Tunnel is completed in 2025 – including more digging works using roadheaders to complete the final section of tunnels alongside the platforms at Town Hall Station. Work is also continuing on building the five new underground stations.