Date: |
26 May 2026, 12.00PM – 1.00PM |
duration: |
1 hr |
Location: |
Online |
Cost: |
Free event |
This presentation introduces KiwiRail's implementation of the Mobile Radio Warning System (MRWS), a German-designed SIL 4-rated rail traffic warning technology already widely used in the United Kingdom and Europe, which allows maintenance work to be conducted adjacent to live lines with real-time audible and visual warnings of approaching trains.
Brendon will explain how the system works — including its manual lookout and automatic sensor modes, the ZPW warning devices, strike-in and strike-out detection, and the fail-safe logic that ensures the system always defaults to alarm.
Beyond the technology itself, this presentation is about the human and organisational challenge of changing how rail maintenance gets done. Introducing MRWS has required careful engagement with the RMTU using a high engagement, high performance model — recognising that shifting from full-protection night work to MRWS-supported day works has real impacts on worker income, routine, and trust in the system. Brendon will share what the early trials have revealed: the system performs as designed, faults positively, but requires cultural and procedural shifts that take time to embed across BAU operations.
The session will draw on Brendon's firsthand experience leading the MRWS rollout and offer candid reflections on what's working, what the challenges are, and what the broader lessons might be for the New Zealand rail industry as it looks to adopt more sophisticated safety technologies across an increasingly active network.
Presenter Bio:
Brendon Judd, MRWS Project Manager, KiwiRail
Brendon Judd brings over four decades of experience across the New Zealand and international rail industry, spanning locomotive operations, competency management, safety compliance, and standards development. Beginning his career in 1983 as a locomotive trainee, he progressed to hold a first-grade driving certificate before embarking on further study — completing a Master's degree in history and publishing a book based on his research into the NZ Railway Group's contribution to the North African Campaign of WWII.
Returning to the rail industry in 2001, Brendon held progressively senior roles at KiwiRail, including Occupational Competency Manager, Training Manager, Compliance Manager, and Senior Systems & Standards Advisor — giving him an unusually broad view of how operational rules, safety systems, and workforce capability intersect. He went on to serve as Operations Standards Manager at Transdev before rejoining KiwiRail in August 2025 to lead the implementation of the Mobile Radio Warning System (MRWS) on the Auckland metro network.
New Zealand's rail maintenance workforce has historically relied on full track closures to carry out work safely — but as Auckland's metro network grows busier, the window for night shutdowns is shrinking.
This presentation introduces KiwiRail's implementation of the Mobile Radio Warning System (MRWS), a German-designed SIL 4-rated rail traffic warning technology already widely used in the United Kingdom and Europe, which allows maintenance work to be conducted adjacent to live lines with real-time audible and visual warnings of approaching trains.
Brendon will explain how the system works — including its manual lookout and automatic sensor modes, the ZPW warning devices, strike-in and strike-out detection, and the fail-safe logic that ensures the system always defaults to alarm.
Beyond the technology itself, this presentation is about the human and organisational challenge of changing how rail maintenance gets done. Introducing MRWS has required careful engagement with the RMTU using a high engagement, high performance model — recognising that shifting from full-protection night work to MRWS-supported day works has real impacts on worker income, routine, and trust in the system. Brendon will share what the early trials have revealed: the system performs as designed, faults positively, but requires cultural and procedural shifts that take time to embed across BAU operations.
The session will draw on Brendon's firsthand experience leading the MRWS rollout and offer candid reflections on what's working, what the challenges are, and what the broader lessons might be for the New Zealand rail industry as it looks to adopt more sophisticated safety technologies across an increasingly active network.
Presenter Bio:
Brendon Judd, MRWS Project Manager, KiwiRail
Brendon Judd brings over four decades of experience across the New Zealand and international rail industry, spanning locomotive operations, competency management, safety compliance, and standards development. Beginning his career in 1983 as a locomotive trainee, he progressed to hold a first-grade driving certificate before embarking on further study — completing a Master's degree in history and publishing a book based on his research into the NZ Railway Group's contribution to the North African Campaign of WWII.
Returning to the rail industry in 2001, Brendon held progressively senior roles at KiwiRail, including Occupational Competency Manager, Training Manager, Compliance Manager, and Senior Systems & Standards Advisor — giving him an unusually broad view of how operational rules, safety systems, and workforce capability intersect. He went on to serve as Operations Standards Manager at Transdev before rejoining KiwiRail in August 2025 to lead the implementation of the Mobile Radio Warning System (MRWS) on the Auckland metro network.
