Queensland Rail is replacing its CIDO

Queensland Rail is in the process of replacing its chief information and digital officer (CIDO) following the departure of Boon Beh at the end of last year.

Beh left in November 2023 after three-and-a-half years in the role, returning to Incitec Pivot as its CIO.

The CIDO position is currently held by Arnaud Franjou in an interim capacity.

The vacancy, according to Queensland Rail in a now-expired recruitment posting, comes at a “pivotal moment for both the organisation and the state of Queensland, leading up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.”

Group executive for people and culture Bec Munn told iTnews that the CIDO role was also recently “elevated to join the executive leadership team, directly reporting to the CEO of Queensland Rail, demonstrating our focus on the digital future during this pivotal time for rail in Queensland.”

Munn said the opening is an “exciting executive level role for an innovator from an operational environment to lead and govern the development of Queensland Rail's technology and digital strategies, and to ensure operational effectiveness.”

The CIDO, Munn said, “will oversee a dedicated and dynamic team structure and will play a crucial role in steering Queensland Rail's digital initiatives and technological advancements, with focus on connecting Queensland communities and becoming a world-class digital railway.”

To accommodate population growth and the upcoming 2032 Olympics, Munn added, Queensland Rail plans to integrate “$20 billion worth of new rail assets in coming years”.

Queensland Rail, which signed DXC as its IT managed services provider in 2019, last year migrated its SAP environment onto Azure, according to Microsoft’s national technical director, state government, Justin Cook.

According to its 2022-2023 annual report [pdf], Queensland Rail has also implemented an AI-based system to “conduct virtual 3D inspections of the railway to identify potential hazards” covering stabilisation work in the Toowoomba Range.

The organisation also rolled out sensors from Australian vendor Kurloo to detect land movement on the Toowoomba Range.

Queensland Rail is also part of the state government’s Smart Ticketing offering, which has been rolling out since 2020.