Project Risk Management: A Case Study of NSW Regional Rail Fleet

This case study examines the project risk management aspects of the NSW government's initiative to replace its aging regional rail fleet. The project aims to improve safety, comfort, and reliability for passengers traveling between Sydney and regional centers. Key risks identified include cost overruns, scheduling delays, operational challenges, and external factors such as environmental threats and labor issues. A risk management framework is proposed, encompassing categorization, analysis, prioritization, planning, resolution, and monitoring. The project's rationale lies in the need to replace outdated trains and enhance the travel experience. Feasibility is assessed across technical, legal, organizational, social, and economic dimensions, concluding that the project is generally feasible with careful management of costs and potential price increases. The study emphasizes the importance of addressing associated risks to ensure the successful implementation and long-term sustainability of the regional rail system upgrade. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and project reports for students.

Running head: PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Background................................................................................................................................2
Framework Related to Risk Management of Project.................................................................3
Types of Risks........................................................................................................................3
Structure for Managing the Risk............................................................................................4
Industry Analysis.......................................................................................................................5
Rationale of the Project..............................................................................................................5
Feasibility of Project..................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Management of the risk is one of the major activities that are associated with the
development of the project. It is one of the major events that are related to the development of
the project. The current study is based on the analysis of the attributes that are related to the
enhancement of the projects that will be contributing to the strengthening of the factors that
are associated with the development of the project and identifying the potential risk that is
related to the project. This project that has been considered for the study is the change in the
regional rail fleets of the NSW government (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2019). The study will be
concerning the features that are related to the development of the various aspects responsible
for the contribution of assessing the risk and utilize the potential to minimize it. The study
will concern frameworks related to the risk management of the project along with analysing
the industrial risks and emphasize on the rationality and feasibility of the project.
Background
The NSW government has been involved in the process of replacement of the rail
fleets that will be contributing to the development of the aspect that will be improving the
enhancement of the rail fleet. There has been implication with regarding the aspect that is
related to the development of the factors that are responsible for the development of the
process that is related to the maintenance of the fleet. This project can be beneficial for the
economy as it can help in generating job and strengthen the economy of Western Australia
(Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2019). It is one of the major factors for the development of the aspect
that is related to the journey in the train as the incorporation of the project means that fleet
will be upgraded with the better comfort and reliability to the customer, which can affect the
transportation of the country. Momentum rails is the contractor for the development of the
project. Their expertise in rail services is one of the major factors that have a significant

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impact on the project. The project is identified for the improvement of transportation and
make it reliable for the customers. However, there are certain risks that are associated with
the project.
Framework Related to Risk Management of Project
Types of Risks
There are existence of the key risks that can impact the project management of the
risks that are associated with the development of the attributes to the development of the
project and implementation of the project (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The key risks that are
associated with the development of the project is stated below;
 Cost Associated Risks: This is one of the key risk that is associated with the
development of the project. It is one of the impactful risk that can influence the
development as well as the implementation of the project (Burtonshaw-Gunn, 2017).
It is important for the government to estimate the costing with the utmost accuracy to
prohibit the escalation that with regards to the development of the project.
 Risk of Scheduling: This is one of the major aspect that is related to the development
of the project. It is one of the major factor that is related to the development of the
project. Scheduling play a significant role in the project management (Schwindt &
Zimmermann, 2015). Upgradation of the rail fleet is one of the important project that
will be responsible for the influencing the life of citizens in Australia.
 Operational Risks: There is another risk that is associated with the implementation of
the project as it can impact the organization to incorporate the requisite aspects that
are related to the process of implementation of the project (Yim et al., 2015). Poor
implementation can impact the travelers of the country and this can impact the safety
of the travelers. Incorporation of the new fleet is having a significance as there is
existing aspects that are related to the advancement of the rail system in Australia.

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 Risk from External Factors: this is one of the major aspect that will be responsible for
impacting the project. The most common external threats that can impact the project
is inclusive of the factors such as environmental threats which includes the storms,
floods and any other natural disaster, other risks are civil unrest, labour problems and
vandalism (Adeleke et al., 2018).
Structure for Managing the Risk
Management of the risk is one of the major activity that will be contributing to the
implementation of the project and developing the project. So the following framework can be
used to determine the risks associated with managing the project.
 Categorizing: This is the process to analyze and categorize the risks that are
associated with the development of the project (Shrivastava & Rathod, 2017). This
will be helpful developing plan to control and neutralize the risks.
 Analysis of the Risk: This is process that will be concerning with the analysis of the
risk. It is one of the major aspect that will help in measuring the impact of the risk
(Hopkin, 2019).
 Prioritizing the Risks: It is one of the major aspect that will liable for the contribution
towards prioritizing the risks that are associated with the project (Shrivastava &
Rathod, 2017).
 Planning for Managing the Risk: It is one of the major issues that will be contributing
to the managing the risk (Shrivastava & Rathod, 2017).
 Resolution of the Risk: This is one of the major aspect that is dealing with the
development of the resolution for the risk. It is one of the significant step to minimize
the damage from the risks (Sampedro et al., 2019).
 Monitoring the Risk: It is one of the significant aspect that is related to monitoring the
risks and their severity (Sampedro et al., 2019).

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Industry Analysis
The industry of rail networks is one of the major contributors to the development of
the country. Australian Rail Industry employs more than 142,000 people and this project of
developing the rail fleet is one of the most impactful events that can impact them. The
upgradation can contribute to the industry in the form of innovation, productivity by making
the transportation more reliable. The contribution of the rail industry is significant as it
contributes $26 Billion to the economy of Australia. It is one of the major aspects who will be
liable for contributing to the development of the Australian economy.
Rationale of the Project
The project has been taken to develop the rail fleet. This project can help in
developing the aspects that will be contributing to the benefit of the customer who travels by
train. There is a definite need for the project as the old rail fleet is containing fleets of 36
years old. The fleet that has incorporated the aspects that are required such as XPT,
XPLORER and the Endeavours. These train fleets are one of the major ways of transportation
and connectivity. The project is necessary for Western Australia as it is one of the major
aspects that is related to the development of the project. This is one of the most significant
projects as it is related to the development of a reliable option for the customers to travel. The
project is also aimed toward upgrading the security of the customers during the journey along
with improving the functionality of the design. This is one of the key areas that will require
the necessary steps to provide the passengers with the necessary amenities such as toilets and
charging points. The project is also focused on the technological advancements of the rail
industry by upgrading the necessary requirements that will help in developing the aspects that
are related to the development of the infrastructure of the rail systems by increasing the
security and providing automatic doors for the safety of the passengers.

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Feasibility of Project
Feasibility of the project is one of the most important aspect that is related to the
implementation of the project. To analyze the feasibility of the project some factors needed to
be considered such as environmental feasibilities that are related to the technical, legal,
organizational, social and economic feasibility (Vilanova & Vitanova, 2019).
 Technical Feasibility: It is one of the major aspect that is related to the development
of the project. The project does incorporate technological advancements as there are
key factors that is associated with the project such as Automatic Doors, CCTV, Wi-Fi
Enabled station and many more. Thus, feasibility of such advancements is positive
(Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2019).
 Legal and Regulatory Feasibility: The project is legally feasible as the vision for the
development of the factors that will be contributing growth of the regional railways.
 Organizational Feasibility: This is one of the factors in the feasibility analysis.
Momentum Rails is the organization liable for the change in the regional railways.
The organization is capable of doing such projects (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2019).
 Social Feasibility: The project is aimed towards upgrading the aspects that will be
ultimately lead to the development of the society as it is one of the major factor that
will be responsible for the benefiting the passengers of the regional railways.
 Economic Feasibility: The expected cost of replacing the rail fleets is about $50
Million (Abc.net.au, 2019). It is one of the most economically feasible project but
there can be significant price rise after the upgradation of the regional rail fleets.
Conclusion
To summarize the study it has to be mentioned that there is a need to incorporate the
change. However, the associated risks need to be addressed and it is important for the project
to maintain the feasibility as it is one of the major aspects that are related to the enhancement

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of the regional rail systems that will, be contributing to the aspects of the regional
development.

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References
Abc.net.au. (2019). NSW regional rail fleet to be replaced, but will fares rise?. Retrieved
from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-14/private-money-sought-by-nsw-govt-
to-replace-regional-trains/8803420
Adeleke, A. Q., Bahaudin, A. Y., Kamaruddeen, A. M., Bamgbade, J. A., Salimon, M. G.,
Khan, M. W. A., & Sorooshian, S. (2018). The influence of organizational external
factors on construction risk management among Nigerian construction
companies. Safety and health at work, 9(1), 115-124.
Burtonshaw-Gunn, S. A. (2017). Risk and financial management in construction. Routledge.
Hopkin, P. (2018). Fundamentals of risk management: understanding, evaluating and
implementing effective risk management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Sampedro, F., Wells, S. J., Bender, J. B., & Hedberg, C. W. (2019). Developing a risk
management framework to improve public health outcomes by enumerating
Salmonella in ground turkey. Epidemiology & Infection, 147.
Schwindt, C., & Zimmermann, J. (2015). Handbook on Project Management and Scheduling
Vol. 1. Handbook on Project Management and Scheduling Vol, 2(2), 1-1406.
Shrivastava, S. V., & Rathod, U. (2017). A risk management framework for distributed agile
projects. Information and software technology, 85, 1-15.
Transport.nsw.gov.au. (2019). Regional Rail | Transport for NSW. Retrieved from
https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/regional-rail
Transport.nsw.gov.au. (2019). Regional Rail | Transport for NSW. Retrieved from
https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/regional-rail

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Vilanova, L., & Vitanova, I. (2019). Unwrapping opportunity confidence: how do different
types of feasibility beliefs affect venture emergence?. Small Business Economics, 1-
22.
Yim, R., Castaneda, J., Doolen, T., Tumer, I., & Malak, R. (2015). A study of the impact of
project classification on project risk indicators. International Journal of project
management, 33(4), 863-876.