Shire student dedicates HSC work to train hand sanitisation

Nicholas Lewis, a Sutherland Shire Year 12 student who attends St Andrew's Cathedral School at Town Hall, has dedicated his Design and Technology project to creating a gadget designed to help keep the coronavirus at bay on the Sydney train network.

Called The Station, the gadget is a modular hand sanitisation device that is designed for use within the Sydney Trains Waratah and Tangarah rolling stock.

Nicholas said that in an era of commuter confidence having been rattled by COVID-19, The Station was an essential device that complemented other public hygiene measures such as mask wearing, and would be an in-carriage option to use in addition to the train network's existing on-station sanitisation offerings.

"With the lockdown restrictions easing in mid-October, Shire and St George residents and students will be starting to use the train network again in greater numbers and The Station will be of great use to everyone who touches the train rails to help keep their hands clean," Nicholas said.

"I have designed The Station to be an economic and environmentally-friendly product, which can be made for less than $80 per piece and can be largely composted when the life cycle is complete."

Each device can deliver approximately 1500 sprays of fluid before requiring replenishment by train staff.

The device clips onto the existing handrail structure in the main vestibule of the trains where passengers enter and exit.

"The product was tested on Sydney Trains as a simulation and I have contacted Sydney Trains for their interest in the product," Nicholas said.

"From speaking with experts such as Professor John Black, Professor of Transport Engineering at UNSW, he has suggested that a patent of the product is possible.

"I have also spoken with a local company in the Sutherland Shire about mass production."

The gadget matches the Sydney Trains orange colour scheme.