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44 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 7
ELECTRICIANS ON THE RAILS
A
side from being the subject of
Blackfoot’s 1979 rock anthem
Train, Train
, trains have long
played a pivotal role in the global
transport industry. The first railway
in Australia was commissioned by the
Australian Agricultural Company in
Newcastle in 1831; now, the Australian
rail network consists of a total of
41,461km.
And it keeps growing.
In November, NSW Premier Mike
Baird announced plans to connect
Sydney CBD with Parramatta in the
city’s west. And plans to connect
Melbourne to the Tullamarine airport
have been nothing if not persistent.
Understandably then, construction
and maintenance of the rail network is
big business.
Plasser Australia is a member of
the Plasser & Theurer group of
companies, which is the world’s
leading supplier of track maintenance
and construction equipment.
Recently, Plasser was looking to
extend its existing production facilities
in Australia and, as a result, contracted
electrical contractor Kerfoot to
undertake the complete electrical
services installation for the new
workshop site.
Located in St Marys in Sydney’s
West, the project would see the
construction of a new factory next
to Plasser’s existing workshop. It
would include a production area with
a service trench well over 80m long,
for working under the trains; office
facilities for production management;
a wash down bay so workers could
get under the trains for cleaning;
overhead cranes; welding stations;
new car parking facilities; and, a huge
undercover storage area for all of
Plasser’s trains with a direct link to
Sydney’s railway network.
For Kerfoot, the project included
the detailed design, manufacture
and installation of a new power
supply connection from the
new pad-mounted substation.
These works included the staged
disconnection of existing services
including a temporary connection
AN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
FROM NSW HAS PLAYED
AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN
SECURING THE FUTURE OF THE
LOCAL RAIL NETWORK.
PAUL
SKELTON
REPORTS.
SHOWCASE