Richmond line alliance: Developing and delivering a complete rail system

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of the Richmond Line Alliance in the development and delivery of a major project underpinning urban passenger rail growth in the Sydney metropolitan area. This paper demonstrates how rail engineers and designers can benefit from a holistic rail system's approach to project delivery through the practical application of an integrated project assurance philosophy executed from a technical, safety and quality perspective. Advancing the topics of risk management and safety in transit systems, the paper uses the Richmond Line Duplication Stage 1 to present the results of outstanding industry practice and continuous improvement to conclude that: - An incentivised commercial and delivery framework motivates execution; - Application of interdisciplinary coordination processes expose conflicts and resolve issues of compatibility and consistency across design interfaces; - Design validation and product assurance processes challenge the design team to consider the product from a wider perspective and ensure it is robust when tested by end user scenarios; - A structured approach to design for constructability, operability, maintainability and safety can design out risk so far as reasonably practicable; and - Project safety culture is enhanced by tools to personalise the safety message. © 2012 WIT Press.