CQUni features at heavy haul railway conference in India
Published on 13 February, 2013
CQUniversity research has been showcased at the International Heavy Haul Association (IHHA) railway conference held in New Delhi recently.
Mitchell McClanachan, Professor Colin Cole and Professor Gopi Chattopadhyay delivered five presentations at the event, which is considered to be the main worldwide conference on heavy haul railways.
Prof Cole, Prof Chattopadhyay and Mitchell McClanachan
More than 700 delegates attended this event and Mr McClanachan says the CQUniversity presentations were well received.
"Colin and Gopi also had meetings before and after the conference for discussions with Indian universities and meetings with the India's Research Designs & Standards Organisation, of which CQUniversity's Centre for Railway Engineering (CRE) has a research contract," Mr McClanachan said.
"I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the Salaam Baalak Trust* which helps the street children of Delhi. They receive support from CQUniversity. I attended one of Salaam Baalak Trust's city walk tours which provides information into their work and the children they help in New Delhi."
Professor Cole presented papers on Hybrid Locomotive Applications for an Australian Heavy Haul Train on a Typical Track Route and Evaluation of Heavy Haul Wagon Dynamic Behaviours Based on Acceleration Measuring Systems.
Professor Chattopadhyay presented on Research Methodology for Evaluation of Top-of-Rail Friction Management in Australian Heavy Haul Networks and Life Cycle Cost Estimation for Railway Bridge Maintenance.
Mr McClanachan presented on Optimising Driving Strategies for Long Heavy Haul Trains.
While in India, Professors Cole and Chattopadhyay initiated discussion with several universities interested in joint research, supervision and collaborations in the areas of asset management and engineering, including:
the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (which has established the Railway Research Centre for Indian Railways);
the Centre For Quality, Jadavpur University, Calcutta;
and Bengal Engineering and Science University. The latter institution was established in 1857 and is one of the two oldest universities in India.
* Details via http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/
IHHA is considered the peak technical body for heavy haul railways and it was actually started in Western Australia. For many years, CQUniversity's CRE has considered IHHA as a forum where its research must be represented and benchmarked against industry expectations and needs.
