Evelyn Tao has always had a passion for public transport – and now she’s living her dream, working as a Risk and System Safety Assurance Advisor on Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel Project.
“I’m a huge advocate for public transport; it’s great to work on something that’s for the public good,” she said.
“I hope that my work on this project will help to influence people to use public transport that bit more often, by improving the reliability, punctuality and service that the operators and government are delivering. I can’t wait for the tunnel to open later this year – I’m hoping to be on the first service!”
Tao is working as a contractor for Metro Trains Melbourne, but her employer is environmental and engineering consultancy Ricardo.
Before this, she worked for the Victorian Government, on projects including the Next Generation Trams and the High Capacity Metro Trains.
She’s only been working for Ricardo for the past year, but is loving it so far.
“It’s been a really good experience,” she said. “It’s a completely different mindset shift.
“The work is challenging in a good way and more varied, and it’s been great for my professional growth.
“When I was with the State Government I was working on multiple projects, but with Ricardo there will be opportunities to work on projects outside of Victoria and even overseas.”
The Melbourne native said working on the Metro Tunnel has been fast-paced.
“The project world moves fast, but this project has been even faster than the other projects I’ve worked on,” she said.
“People work crazy hard on the Metro Tunnel because of the scale and the complexity, and there’s constant improvement and decision-making. I’ve had to learn to adapt quickly, but it’s been fantastic for someone like me, in the early stages of my career.”
The 29-year-old said that in the five years she’s worked in the rail industry, it has become noticeably more diverse and inclusive.
“When I started out in 2020 there wasn’t much of a female presence, but I can see how that has improved across different projects and different teams,” she said.
“I think there is a genuinely welcoming atmosphere for females to enter the rail industry.”
Tao is the Chair of the University of Melbourne’s alumni network for women in engineering.
“We want to build a support network for women and offer networking and knowledge sharing opportunities,” she added.
She is passionate about accessibility in public transport and was recently awarded a scholarship to attend Informa Connect’s Urban Rail conference in Melbourne, based on a paper she wrote on real-time adaptive seating systems.
Tao’s idea involves three different elements that make it easier for people with accessibility issues to get a priority seat on a train.
She thought of it after she injured her ankle earlier this year, but as a young and otherwise able-bodied person, didn’t want to ask anyone to give up a seat for her.
“I am more than happy to stand, as I feel other people need the seats more than me,” she said.
“But it got me thinking that if you’re having difficulties, but you look fine from the outside, it can be difficult to approach someone and ask for a seat.”
The first system of the three would involve displays on the platform showing how crowded each carriage of the train is and how many priority seats are available.
The second system would allow people to enter their accessibility needs on a screen on the platform, and it would tell them which carriage door, and which seat, they should go to.
The third idea centres on what happens if that priority seat has been taken.
“If the seat isn’t vacated for the person who needs it, there would be an announcement in the saloon and a subtle vibration of the seat,” Tao said.
In 2019, Sydney Trains introduced carriage capacity indicator graphics on platforms, which make it easier for passengers to find a seat on approaching services.
The new Mariyung fleet uses onboard passenger counting technology to detect how many passengers are in each carriage, while the Waratah trains provide an estimate based on weight sensors built into the carriages. For the remainder of the fleet, a “shore-based” forecast is calculated based on historical Opal data. Collectively, this data allows for a carriage occupancy figure to be predicted.
Tao added: “I think it’s great that Sydney has this system and I would love for Victoria to introduce something similar. It would really help to make transport more accessible.”
Are you a young professional working in the rail industry? Would you like to be featured in Rail Express? Email kayla.walsh@primecreative.com.au
