Downer develops world first Electrical Equipment Enclosure to support freight rail industry

23/05/2025

In April 2025, Downer’s Rail & Transit System’s team in Maryborough, Queensland successfully designed, constructed and validated four prototype Electrical Equipment Enclosures (EEEs) - the first of their kind in the world.

The EEEs serve as a primary system integration point for critical electrical systems on board freight trains and were unlike anything available globally.

The first two EEEs were completed and then sent to Berlin, Germany for validation and testing activities while the remaining two were built for installation.

Delivering this project was an incredibly challenging task. The four EEEs are highly complex, space-constrained, and unlike anything in the world - these four are the only ones of their kind globally.  

Once designed, one single fully assembled EEE compromises: 

• Over 18,500 individual parts.
• 6,000 meters of electrical cable, resulting in over 2000 terminations.
• Over 600 design drawings in total, 450 uniquely created for an EEE.
• 250 fabricated part designs for digital manufacture.
• Over 10 separate test instructions and check-sheets.

Making all four incredibly complex engineering marvels.

Speaking about the project, Steven Vassallo, Senior Engineer Mechanical, who led the efforts across the Maryborough team, said, “I can’t underestimate how complex of a project this is.”

“All four of the EEEs needed to be designed, developed, and validated within 12 months.

This was such a huge undertaking, and I want to thank everyone who provided support in getting them built,” he finished. 

^{Image: From Left: Allan Hermann, Andrew Glasspool, Shane Dodwell, Amy Genrich, Anry Van Zyl (front), Steven Vassallo, John Roberts, Jay Purser, Andrew Macaulay, Matty Anderson (back), Chep Krummel, Brendan Utz}

Compounding to the technical challenges, the team didn’t have the full electrical schematics.

Steven continued, “If the project wasn’t complex enough, we also didn’t have the full set of electrical schematics for the electricians to work off.

“But luckily, the Downer team are some of the best in the business! Our very skilled trades on-site and of course the wider Downer team, got to work and through rapid collaboration and problem-solving, we were able to build out the EEEs,” he finished.

As designs and components began arriving, the team at Maryborough quickly commenced with the project. The build process kicked off even as the heavy rail build spaces were still being established and multiple system designs were still being finalised, requiring seamless coordination between local fabricators, global suppliers, and the in-house team.

EEE1 was constructed for visual demonstration purposes, while EEE2 was prepared for thermal and short-circuit testing at a specialist lab in Berlin, Germany.

“The testing in Berlin was another challenge the team stepped up to. To be able to ship the EEE2 to Germany, the team at Maryborough had to construct an additional testing rig, specifically designed to support the testing.

“In Berlin, EEE2 passed all tests with flying colours, allowing for the build of EEE3 and EEE4 to continue development.”

EEE3 and EEE4, the fully operational enclosures, were delivered earlier this year following the team overcoming delayed parts, design updates, and a high-pressure delivery environment.

“This was, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever worked on. It was complex, fast-paced, high-pressure. It pushed us to think outside the box. And through it all, what truly made this project great was the people I had the privilege of working with.”

Well done to our Maryborough team for the dedicated work. 

^{Caption: A completed Electrical Equipment Enclosure}