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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