AUSTRALIA: Following positive feedback from train crew using a trial installation, QR National is installing 80 km of trackside walkway panels supplied by Envirowalk Grating to provide a safer working environment at 98 stabling and crew changeover locations.
The walkways are assembled from 3·6 m long and 1·2 m wide fibreglass reinforced plastic grating panels. The weather-resistant yellow panels are designed to absorb UV daylight, and glow in the dark to delineate the walkway at night.
'It provides a safer, more stable surface for crews to move between trains and access wagons when manually applying handbrakes', explained Scott Riedel, General Manager, Network Assets, at QR National. 'The main aim of the design is to prevent injuries from slips, trips and falls. It also maintains a free-draining track structure which is essential for the long-term track asset life performance, while minimising operational costs.'
Modular culvert headwall extensions, staircases and handrails are under development.
