FAULTY signals at a level crossing have been blamed for a horror crash between a truck and a Tilt Train that killed two people in north Queensland yesterday.
Witnesses claimed the signals were not operating properly after a severe storm swept through the area hours before the train carrying 81 people slammed into the semi-trailer at an innocuous crossing over the Bruce Highway at about 2.50pm.
Two train drivers - Richard Weathrell, 54, and a man whose name has not been released - were killed and a number of passengers were injured in the collision, which snapped the truck from its trailer.
The train engine also rolled and twisted but the carriages remained upright.
Emergency crews that arrived on the scene were amazed that so many passengers and the truck driver escaped serious injury.
The crash is the latest in a string of safety problems that have plagued the iconic Tilt Train since its introduction in 1998.
The train was travelling from Brisbane to Cairns yesterday when tragedy struck about 30km south of Cardwell, where the train line crosses the Bruce Highway.
A witness travelling behind the truck last night told The Courier-Mail that flashing lights at the crossing were not working.
He said he watched the south-bound truck cross into the path of the diesel-powered train, which can reach speeds of 160km/h.
Marine Hotel owner Margaret Power said all power had been cut to Cardwell after an electrical storm passed south of the town about 1pm.
"We've got two train lines here that we have to cross over here from Cardwell to get to Ingham," Ms Power said.
"The first lights were working and the trucks all crossed over and then when they got down to this one it wasn't working.
"The truck driver's just gone into the train.
"No lights were working."
QR would not comment on whether the lights failed at the time of the collision.
But Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees state secretary Greg Smith called for an urgent review of level crossings in Queensland.
"This crossing was protected by lights and not boom gates, which is an issue we have been raising for some time," he said.
"Unfortunately it's been on the boil that something tragic was going to happen."
In Parliament last night, Transport Minister John Mickel extended his sympathies to the families of the dead men.
"I want them (the families of the victims) to draw strength from the fact that every honourable Member in this house is thinking of them in their difficult time of unimaginable grief," he said.
Mr Mickel pledged that there would be a thorough and independent investigation into the tragedy.
"We are also doing whatever we can to assist and expedite the investigation into the cause and circumstances of this accident," he said.
The crash comes almost four years to the day that 120 passengers were injured when a speeding Tilt Train derailed at Rosedale, 60km north of Bundaberg.
The official investigation into that crash found that a ham sandwich may have played a part in the crash.
The report found the driver believed he had passed a critical turn in the track and that "he may have decided to access his bag and/or get some food from the mini fridge".
The speed of the Tilt Trains was limited after that crash and the restrictions were lifted only last year back to the maximum 160km/h.
In the aftermath of yesterday's crash, paramedics set up an emergency triage to cope with the wounded passengers.
One passenger was airlifted to Townsville Base Hospital with serious chest injuries.
Uninjured passengers were taken to Townsville by bus, where they were offered counselling and accommodation on arrival.
Mayor of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council Bill Shannon said he was devastated by the "terrible tragedy".
"Two people have died and we will need to get to the bottom of this," Cr Shannon said.
"It is so preliminary but we will need to know if it was a failure of equipment or human error."
Cr Shannon said the level crossing in question was not protected by boom gates and relied on the flashing lights only.
Weather bureau forecaster Geoff Doueal said that there had been rain activity in the area early in the afternoon.
"There could have been storms and winds," Mr Doueal said.
Central Queensland University's Scott Simson, an expert in rail vehicle dynamics and driver performance, said there was nothing unique about Tilt Trains in terms of their performance in accidents, including their braking abilities.
"If this accident has occurred on a crossing then it is hard to see how the train would be at fault," he said.
Then today, after heavy rain in the area, a general freight train derailed, tipping the first loco on it's side. No one was injured.
After the past two days, I think I'll change my signature!!
[WIP] QLD Sugar Cane Set [WIP] Another Aussie project... CanAm - This ride is unsuitable for pregnant women, children under the age of 16 and whimps.
wadeo1984 wrote:This is taken from The Australian:
(...)
Marine Hotel owner Margaret Power said all power had been cut to Cardwell after an electrical storm passed south of the town about 1pm.
"We've got two train lines here that we have to cross over here from Cardwell to get to Ingham," Ms Power said.
(...)
(...)
[off-topic]
Now nobody could say that there was no power. There was at least some Power left, namely the Power who told the newspaper that there was no power.
[/off-topic]
Fortunately no more people have been killed.
Level crossings will remain dangerous at all times, no matter how hard you try to make them safe. Unfortunately it is too expensive to eliminate all level crossings, so I guess that accidents like these cannot be fully eliminated.
Most European countries require monitoring of level crossings. The usual way would be by remote monitoring, which is the preferred method in urban environments. In rural areas, this is mostly done by placing a monitoring signal inside braking distance before the level crossing, signalling proper safeguarding of the crossing (by checking lights are red or gates are down) to the train´s driver. In case the monitoring signal stays dark, the train must slow down and stop before the crossing.
Other than this, rail traffic has always priority over road traffic. I.e, truck drivers have to make sure that the crossing is free before entering.
I'm not familiar with this part of Aus but surely power outages due to bad weather are a common problem in Australia. I would have thought they would have put procedures in place to deal with such problems. As for the lack of level crossing barriers, if the power had failed they wouldn't have worked either. Most level crossing crashes are the fault of the road vehicle, but this doesn't sound the case.
The QLD government has been "planning" to put an overpass on this and the next crossing north for 4 years! That "plan" is finally going to be instigated in the new year. But, like has been said, this isn't the first LC accident, and it won't be the last.
[WIP] QLD Sugar Cane Set [WIP] Another Aussie project... CanAm - This ride is unsuitable for pregnant women, children under the age of 16 and whimps.
I'm not familiar with this part of Aus but surely power outages due to bad weather are a common problem in Australia. I would have thought they would have put procedures in place to deal with such problems. As for the lack of level crossing barriers, if the power had failed they wouldn't have worked either. Most level crossing crashes are the fault of the road vehicle, but this doesn't sound the case.
Such a system should be fail-safe: If there is no power, all trains should stop. That would be quite easy to do. Only allow a train to pass when a signal is given before a crossing. If the signal either is showing stop, or does not show anything at all (for instance due to a power failure) this would signal the driver to stop the train immediately.
Personally, I think road drivers should be aware that signalling at level crossings may fail; in other words, they should learn to watch out for trains all the time they cross a railroad, even when there are warning lights or boom gates.
I'm not familiar with this part of Aus but surely power outages due to bad weather are a common problem in Australia. I would have thought they would have put procedures in place to deal with such problems. As for the lack of level crossing barriers, if the power had failed they wouldn't have worked either. Most level crossing crashes are the fault of the road vehicle, but this doesn't sound the case.
Such a system should be fail-safe: If there is no power, all trains should stop. That would be quite easy to do. Only allow a train to pass when a signal is given before a crossing. If the signal either is showing stop, or does not show anything at all (for instance due to a power failure) this would signal the driver to stop the train immediately.
Personally, I think road drivers should be aware that signalling at level crossings may fail; in other words, they should learn to watch out for trains all the time they cross a railroad, even when there are warning lights or boom gates.
That's a bit hard to just stop all trains due to a power outage. These are diesels, and I personally can't see the storm being the reason the lights weren't working. The block signals on the line didn't have any dramas, but truckies said that the two local crossings lights had been playing up for a while. The next crossing north, the signals would go on without even being tripped by a train, and locals would just drive through. These ones just plain didn't come on. I whole heartedly agree with you on the drivers part however. Road users need to pay more attention around these rural crossings. Trains weight a hell of a lot, and take a long time to stop in an emergency. People, especially the locals who know the area better than any one, need to slow down, and approach with a bit more caution. Thats' my 2 bob worth.
[WIP] QLD Sugar Cane Set [WIP] Another Aussie project... CanAm - This ride is unsuitable for pregnant women, children under the age of 16 and whimps.
I can't see how the train being a Tilt Train, specifically, is relevant. Also, Greg Smith's assertion that boom gates might have helped is missing the point. If there had been some sort of signaling or power failure, the gates may well have remained open. This wasn't a case of a driver passing a danger signal.
Faulty level crossings are the rarest cause of accidents at crossings, and also the hardest to prevent.
Brianetta wrote:I can't see how the train being a Tilt Train, specifically, is relevant.
No, they are not relevant but when they are malfunction A LOT and cost the government A LOT of money the media is easily able to write in that the government has made another bad choice. Kind of like the Manly Jetcat.
I can't see how the train being a Tilt Train, specifically, is relevant.
It's not relevent. It's the only one in Australia, and people like to make a big thing about it. It's also the fastest I believe, with a top speed of 160km\h (operational) and reached 210km\h in testing, A LOT better than the aging British HST-based XPT, which only achieved a top of 193km/h back in 1992. It's no Acela, TGV or Eurostar, but out government reckon it's pretty darn good... /slaps KRudd.
[WIP] QLD Sugar Cane Set [WIP] Another Aussie project... CanAm - This ride is unsuitable for pregnant women, children under the age of 16 and whimps.
