Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group Ireland has welcomed 18 new team members over the past year, growing our team to a total of 65.
The entire team met at the Kildare Depot for an all hands Boots on the Ground Day to learn more about growth plans. The wider Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group is expanding while rail investment plans by the Irish government means there are new opportunities in the Irish market.
Particular thanks go to the Irish Rail speakers on the day; Chief Civil Engineer Cathal Mangan; Programme Manager, Head of Programmes and Projects, Noel Ryan; and CCE IM Environmental and Sustainability Manager, Mark Conroy. Attending for the day were Irish Rail's Liam Merriman and Gavan Cooper.
Cathal Mangan spoke very highly of the Rhomberg Sersa team and the collaboration between Irish Rail and our staff. Rhomberg Sersa operate and maintain 14 On Track Machines (OTMs) on behalf of Irish Rail, which means the Rhomberg Sersa team work closely with Irish Rail staff each day, sometimes in challenging conditions. This includes working nights and weekends across the entire network.
Noel spoke about the capital projects which will increase frequency and capacity on the network. While much of the media focus to date has been on the DART+ and Metro plans, he said the project which is likely to accelerate most quickly is the Cork Area Rail Commuter Programme (CARC). The infrastructure improvements, eight new stations, electrification and additional rolling stock are being funded via Europe and the package must be delivered within a strict timeframe.
Mark delivered one of the breakout sessions and spoke in detail about Irish Rail's environmental targets. Irish Rail must reduce CO2 emissions from 144,400 to 70,000 tonnes by 2030. This is part of the Public Sector 2030 Decarbonisation target. The 2050 target is net carbon zero. The four strands are to reduce reliance on diesel, shift to electric operations, reduce energy consumption and generate green energy. Rhomberg Sersa is part of these plans and targets, including our transition from diesel to HVO for the OTMs.
The guest speaker on the day was Dr Karen Weekes. The first woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Karen talked about her 80 days journey as well as the cognitive tricks she used to help get her through the gruelling journey.
Our internal speakers were Aidan Langley, Colm Jones, Derek Clare and Barry Cox.
