2020 Wallan derailment

On 20 February 2020, an XPT passenger train operated by NSW TrainLink derailed while passing through a turnout at Wallan, Victoria.[1] Of the 160 total on board, there were two fatalities and 39 passengers were injured, three of whom sustained serious injuries.[2]

2020 Wallan derailment
XPT power car 2018 was derailed in the accident.
Details
Date20 February 2020 (2020-02-20)
19:43 AEDT
LocationWallan, Victoria
Coordinates37°24′15″S 145°01′06″E
CountryAustralia
LineNorth East
OperatorNSW TrainLink
OwnerAustralian Rail Track Corporation
Incident typeDerailment
CauseUnder investigation
Statistics
Trains1
Passengers153
Crew7
Deaths2 crew
Injuries44 (3 serious)
Route diagram
to Shepparton
to Albury
 Merri Creek
 Epping–Kilmore Road
Wallan passing loop
Wallan
Wallan–Whittlesea Road
to Melbourne
to Melbourne
Victorian broad gauge
standard gauge
narrow gauge

The service was running from Sydney to Melbourne and was passing through Wallan approximately 19:43.[3] The interim report into the accident indicated that the train had entered the turnout, with a specified speed limit of 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph), at more than 115 kilometres per hour (71 mph).[4] An investigation into the accident is ongoing.

Accident

The accident occurred at 19:43 AEDT (08:43 UTC), when the Melbourne-bound train entered a turnout near Wallan, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Melbourne, and derailed. The train, comprising power car 2018 (leading), five carriages and power car 2000,[5] was carrying 153 passengers and seven crew members.[3][6] The train was running about two hours behind schedule at the time of the accident.[7] As the train passed through the turnout, leading power car 2018 and the five carriages derailed,[6] with rear power car 2000 remaining on the track.[5]

Emergency services confirmed that 12 people had been taken to hospital and two were killed: the train's driver and co-driver, known as a pilot.[7] The injured were taken to the Kilmore Hospital, Kilmore and The Northern Hospital, Epping;[7] one person was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.[6] The interim report indicated 39 passengers and five crew members were injured, 3 seriously.[2]

Aftermath

ABC News and The Age reported that V/Line services in the Wallan area had been delayed in the weeks leading up to the accident due to ongoing faults on the North East line.[1] On 3 February, a signal hut at Wallan was destroyed by fire,[2][8] and a manual safe-working system was in operation at the time of the accident between Kilmore East and Donnybrook.[9] Passengers reported that the train had been gaining speed at the time of the accident, after being stopped due to a "signalling issue".[7]

On 23 February, ABC News reported that in the days preceding the accident, trains were scheduled to pass through the turnout in the straight ahead position. On that day, trains were instead diverted into a passing loop while work was carried out on the adjacent track. The Victorian branch of the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU) reported that V/Line drivers were refusing to traverse through the section of track that the XPT service derailed on.[9] At the time of the accident, one passenger told The Age that the train did not slow down before it derailed, and that he had seen a set of points set to divert the train from the straight ahead route.[7]

The derailment caused the closure of the North East line and the adjacent broad gauge Tocumwal railway line, impacting freight services and V/Line services to Seymour, Shepparton and Albury.[10] On 23 February, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) commenced removal of the train from the rail corridor.[11] Seymour and Shepparton V/Line services resumed on 1 March, followed by Albury services on 2 March.[12] Major speed restrictions were in turn enforced on the North East line, with NSW TrainLink temporarily terminating all Melbourne XPT services at Albury.[13]

Regularly scheduled XPT services between Sydney and Melbourne resumed on 4 June.

Investigations

Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) opened an investigation into the accident on 20 February.[6] It is being led by the Victorian Government's Chief Investigator, Transport Safety (CITS), assisted by the ATSB and the New South Wales Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI) in accordance with the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.[14] The train's data logger was recovered as part of the investigation.[5]

A preliminary report was published on 3 April. It was found that the train was travelling in excess of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) when it derailed. In the hours before the accident, a notice was circulated that trains on the North East line were to be routed via the Wallan passing loop, with a specified 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph) speed limit for entry into the loop.[4] The train had approached the loop at "about the track's line speed" of 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph), and an emergency brake application was made shortly before the train entered the turnout into the passing loop.[2]

The final report is expected to take 18 months to complete.[5]

WorkSafe Victoria

WorkSafe Victoria is also investigating the death of the train's pilot, a 49-year old man from Castlemaine.[15]

See also

Bibliography
  • Derailment of XPT ST23 Wallan, Victoria on 20 February 2020 – Preliminary (PDF) (Report). Canberra: Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 3 April 2020. RO-2020-002.

References
  1. Tran, Danny (20 February 2020). "Train driver and rail worker dead after Sydney-to-Melbourne train derails near Wallan". ABC News. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  2. Australian Transport Safety Bureau 2020, p. 5.
  3. "Sydney-to-Melbourne XPT passengers describe train derailment near Wallan in Victoria". ABC News. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. Australian Transport Safety Bureau 2020, p. 3.
  5. Patty, Anna; McMillan, Ashleigh (23 February 2020). "Wallan train crash 'could have been avoided': Rail Union". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  6. "Two dead as Sydney to Melbourne passenger train derails". BBC News Online. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  7. Sakkal, Paul (20 February 2020). "'It was horrendous': Derailed train passengers were tossed around in crash". The Age. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  8. Johnston, David (20 February 2020). "Signal hut fire near Wallan sparks lengthy delays on North-East railway line". The Border Mail. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. Longbottom, Jessica (21 February 2020). "Sydney-to-Melbourne train derailment at Wallan happened after track direction switch". ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  10. "Changes to regular V/Line services after train derailment at Wallan". Shepparton News. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. "Vic derailed train removal to continue". The Border Mail. AAP. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  12. "Resumption of V/Line train services in North East Victoria". V/Line. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  13. "Trackwork Coaches replaced the XPT service between Albury and Melbourne". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  14. "Derailment of TrainLink XPT passenger train ST23 at Wallan, Victoria, on 20 February 2020". Australia Transport Safety Bureau. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  15. Kernebone, Elspeth (27 February 2020). "Wallan train crash death investigated by WorkSafe". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

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