Transportation of sugarcane by rail

Transcription

1 Transportation of sugarcane by rail Geoff Kent Queensland University of Technology 1

2 2

3 Acknowledgement Video footage used in this presentation taken from an episode of the Canadian TV series Megatrains Used with permission from the series producers Megafun-Filmoption International 3

4 Pre-condition The first step in achieving an efficient transport system is to have ownership of or control over it Control the amount of cane coming to the factory How many harvesters are supplying the factory today? How many bins of cane is each harvester supplying? 4

5 Characteristics of the Australian sugarcane transport system The factory takes ownership of the cane at the harvester delivery point Usually close to the point of harvest The factory is responsible for the transport of cane to the factory 5

6 Characteristics of the Australian sugarcane transport system Factory operates 24 hours a day Harvesters operate less than 24 hours a day Cane transport system has to operate 24 hours a day to keep supplying the factory Cane needs to be stored by the harvesters until the transport system is ready to collect 6

7 Characteristics of the Australian sugarcane transport system Bins are used for storage of cane at both harvesters and factory Bins are relatively inexpensive, compared to: Powered vehicles (trucks, locomotives) Labour costs Bins preferred for storage to avoid need for expensive trucks or locomotives with drivers to wait 7

8 Why transport by rail? 8

9 Cane railways in Australia 18 of the 24 factories in Australia primarily use rail for transport Haul about 32 Mt of sugarcane (93% of total crop) Over 4000 km of track About 3000 km of main line Longest haul 119 km Average haul between 13 km and 35 km About 250 locomotives About 52,000 cane bins 9

10 The track To start a railway, need ownership of or easements over the land on which the railway is to be built High cost of construction $300,000 to $500,000 per km Not including bridges, road crossings, etc Maintenance cost similar to operating cost oad has the advantage that the Government pays the cost of building and maintaining them 10

11 Narrow gauge railway 11

12 Narrow gauge railway Narrow gauge 17 factories 610 mm 1 factory 1067 mm Modern track structure Ballast on formation Concrete sleepers 12

13 Trains Locomotives Cane bins Brake vans 13

14 Locomotives 18 t to 40 t in size Maximum speed about 35 km/h Capacity about 1000 t to 1500 t Dependent on terrain 14

15 Cane bins Mainly 4 t to 10 t in size Traditionally 4 t or 6 t Now 10 t bin formed with same dimensions as 2 x 4 t bins 15

16 Cane bin economics Most economical size is the largest bin with small, fixed wheelsets In 1988, 6 t bins Now, 10 t bins have same size wheelsets 16

17 Brake vans 17

18 ailway operations Two main aspects Ensuring safe operation Servicing the factory and harvesters 18

19 Ensuring safe operation Trains have a lot of mass When trains are in motion they have a lot of kinetic energy and a lot of potential for harm Operating on single track, there is potential for collisions Locomotive / locomotive Locomotive / bins ailway corridor also interfaces with roads and harvester delivery points 19

20 Control of railway operations Each factory has a traffic officer whose primary responsibility is safe operation of the railway 20

21 The traffic office 21

22 Train separation All locomotives have GPS tracking Many mills display locomotives on map in time 22

23 Train separation Each network has a set of defined call points Each locomotive must call the traffic officer for clearance to enter a track section adio communication is recorded Many mills record each clearance given with a transaction number 23

24 oad crossings 24

25 oad crossings isk assessments carried out at each crossing Government roads Access roads (houses, farms, sidings) 25

26 Delivery sidings Safety inductions carried out with harvesters who share delivery sidings 26

27 Servicing the factory and Objectives: harvesters Maintain supply of full bins to the factory Maintain supply of empty bins to harvesters Schedule trains to minimise costs 27

28 Many infrastructure constraints Limited number of bins Trains have limited capacity Sidings have limited capacity Siding capacity generally less than train capacity Each locomotive run has to service more than one siding for efficient operation Siding capacity generally less than harvester allotment Each harvester has to be serviced several times 28

29 Managing operations 17 out of 18 factories with railways use TOTools to manage daily operations Keep track deliveries and collections to each harvester Ensure each harvester gets its allotment of empty bins Ensure all full bins are collected Manage locomotive runs Define how and when bin movements are made 29

30 TOTools 30

31 Use of single track Passing of trains Passing loops Junctions 31

32 Typical railway operations 32

33 Starting a run 33

34 Sidings Many different designs Many constructed years ago for different operations Preferred type for infield transporters is a simple loop 34

35 In-field transporters 35

36 ail switches 36

37 Shunting 37

38 The full yard 38

39 Completing a run un sheet returned to mill At some sites done electronically Electronic consignment is also being introduced to avoid need to hand over tickets 39

40 Cane receival 40

41 Cane receival Very compact compared to road transport Tip cycle as low as 45 s Tip up to 30 t at a time More typically 10 t to 12 t Uncoupling and recoupling mostly automated 41

42 The empty yard 42

43 In summary ailways have a large capital cost for establishment Efficient but complex operations 43

44 Acknowledgements Megafun-Filmoption International Jim Kirchner (Wilmar Sugar) Australian Sugar Milling Council Mahmoud Masoud (formerly QUT) Mackay Sugar Limited Greg Tortora (Mackay Sugar) Steve Shorney (QUT) Paul Nicol (Isis Sugar) 44