Over and above the Civil and Rail Engineering projects, RCE undertakes various rail related studies such as feasibility determination, traffic flow optimisation, system capacity enhancement, accident and incident investigations and rolling stock strategy development. In recent years RCE has developed additional know-how and capabilities through involvement with various projects.
The latter includes the following:
Stakeholder Management Services
Stakeholder Management is a very important component of the project management process. RCE Consultants demonstrated their ability to successfully provide Stakeholder Management services on the upgrade section of Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) Swaziland Rail Link project.
As part of TFR’s multidisciplinary Communication Management Team, RCE provided technical support to ensure effective communication with landowners and others affected by the railway line upgrade. The logistics were major as the route distance covered was 315km, affecting 383 portions of properties owned by 195 landowners.
Stakeholder Management meetings were running simultaneously while the designs were being developed. Landowner comments and proposals received were thus accommodated in design reviews as far as possible. RCE personnel also enlightened focus groups and public meetings of the technical design parameters and processes applied as part of the EIA process.
The result of the Stakeholder Management process is a final design with minimised potential conflict for the Project Stakeholders.
Training
RCE Consultants regard training as a very important aspect of continuous learning and improvement and has a dedicated Training Centre on the first floor of their office block. The Centre has 12 workstations and a lecture area which can comfortably accommodate 20 learners. The centre has its own kitchen, ablutions and veranda with biometrically controlled access.
As part of the Swaziland Rail Link up-grade program, RCE Consultants’ experienced staff have successfully trained 13 Engineers and Technicians under an agreement with TFR. Resulting from the project scope, areas of training included Geotechnical Engineering, Track Geometry and Design, Bridge Design, Estimating, Hydrology, Specifications Writing, Bill of Quantities, Signalling, OHTE and Track Maintenance.
Rail System Design
RCE’s rail related projects frequently necessitates a systems approach involving the effective integration of many railway engineering disciplines to obtain holistic solutions. In this regard, a systems approach is often used in track alignment design by using train dynamics, train movement and train design as inputs. This results in train design, rail capacity requirements, operations and rail alignment being developed in synergy to obtain optimised rail system outcomes.
Through the years RCE has also developed in-depth rail operational process design and modelling know-how, relevant to open line train movement but more specifically applicable to yards and terminals. The latter includes rail integration with materials handling equipment as well as multi-modal transportation applications.
Simulation Modelling
Rail process designs and associated infrastructure performance are often validated and evaluated by simulation. This is of particular importance in cases where the probable future behaviour of an integrated system involving rail has to be determined under various expected real life conditions and system disturbances. The application of simulation modelling are also especially useful to assist in analysing complex environments.
Over and above train performance simulations that are mostly performed in-house, RCE uses the services of strategic partners to perform a variety of simulations using different software packages, depending on the specific application. Simulation allows for design deficiencies and shortcomings to be identified and rectified at concept level with no risk or disturbance to the actual operation in the case of the real life systems.
RCE utilises tailor-made simulation packages for studying, amongst others, the behaviour of overhead traction equipment under various train operating conditions. In addition, Discrete Event Simulation (DES) packages such as Simio and Arena are mostly used to simulate and evaluate rail processes.
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