WALLAN, Australia — Two crew members are dead following the derailment of a Sydney-to-Melbourne passenger train today.
The Age newspaper reports the XPT train derailed about 7:50 p.m. local time in Wallan, about 45 kilometers ( miles) north of Melbourne. The train, which was due in Melbourne at 6:30 p.m., was running about two hours late because of early signal problems that had delayed the train.
Both crew members who died were in the cab. In addition to the locomotive, five cars were reported to have derailed, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported, with at 12 other people hospitalized with injuries. About 160 people were on board.
The diesel-powered XPT trainsets, based on British Rail High Speed Train designs, entered service between 1981 and 1984, and are capable of speeds up to 99 mph. The trains are scheduled to be replaced with new equipment from CAF beginning in 2023.
Always read the train orders when riding in the cab – and do so before movement occurs.
There are some similarities with the 2018 accident to the Amtrak Silver Star in Cayce SC. In the case of the Wallan derailment the CTC signalling was out of use due to a fire in a relay box. Trains were being operated with written orders and a pilot between Kilmore East to the north and Donnybrook to the south. The siding at Wallan was out of use since only one train was allowed in the section at a time.
This process had been operating for some three weeks but to allow some testing of signalling, trains were directed to use the siding in an additional notice issued on the day of the derailment giving new instructions that trains had to slow to 15km/h entering the siding.
It appears that the crew of the train concerned, ST23 Sydney-Melbourne, appear to have been unaware of the notice and the need to use the siding.
With the signalling inoperative and apparently unaware of the instruction, there was no warning of the need to slow to enter the siding and the train hit the siding at track speed and derailed. Only the two crew in the leading power car were killed.
The notice covered the period 2.30 PM to 9 30 PM but appears to have been issued only at 6 06 PM on the day concerned. The train had been under way since 7 45 AM and the crew changed about 2 00 PM which doesn’t give much opportunity for the instruction to get to the train.
The pilot should have known of the instruction and he boarded only minutes before the accident. However if he hadn’t seen the instruction, he would have expected the process to be the same as had occurred for the previous three weeks.
Wallan … 45 KM = 27.9 miles North of Melbourne.
It is downright embarrassing that in this booming economy the railroads are the only industry moving backwards. It takes a special kind of stupid not to participate in the best American economy possibly ever. Real stupid.
Opps. Wrong article.