GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY

Parliamentary Inquiry into level crossings

The Victorian Government’s response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Improving Safety At Level Crossings was tabled in Parliament on 18 June 2009. Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the Government was working hard to improve level crossing safety across Victoria and the committee’s recommendations would assist in this process. “I want to thank the Parliamentary Road Safety Committee for its hard work,” Ms Kosky said. “We agree with the committee’s assessment that safety at level crossings is a shared responsibility and we have invested millions over the past 10 years to upgrade infrastructure and raise awareness of the dangers of risky behaviour at crossings.”

Metro to deliver open space in CBD

NSW Premier Nathan Rees announced an iconic public square would be created in the CBD as part of construction of the Sydney Metro station at Town Hall. “The new Town Hall square will help re-create the significance of this historical precinct facing the QVB building and Town Hall,” said Mr Rees. “As commuters and tourists exit from the underground metro they will emerge into a green open space with some of our most iconic buildings front and centre.”

North-South rail line reopened

Minister for Infrastructure Graeme Sturges announced the main rail line between the North and South of Tasmania had reopened and rail freight services resumed. Services were temporarily suspended by Pacific National after a train derailment on the track near Colebrook last month. Mr Sturges said the Government had worked co-operatively with Pacific National to re-open the North-South Line in the shortest possible timeframe.

Crossings delivered across Victoria

The Victorian Government has delivered on its promise to upgrade 46 level crossings in the 2008-09 financial year through a joint funding program with the Commonwealth Government. Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky announced the completion of the safety upgrades through the Victorian Government’s annual Railway Crossing Upgrade Program. “The Brumby (Victorian) Labor Government is taking action to improve level crossing safety and in the 2008-09 financial year, 46 crossing across the state have been upgraded,” Ms Kosky said.

Recovery funds for high-speed rail

The Department of Transportation moved another step closer to realising President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail in America, publishing guidelines for states and regions to apply for federal funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “The time has finally come for the United States to get serious about building a national network of high-speed rail corridors we can all be proud of,” Secretary Ray LaHood said. “High-speed rail can reduce traffic congestion and link up with light rail, subways and buses to make travel more convenient and our communities more liveable.”

Joint plan to improve performance

The Office of Rail Regulation has welcomed the signing of a joint performance improvement plan between Network Rail and Virgin Trains aimed at improving performance on the West Coast Main Line. The plan sets out a number of steps to improve:

• the basic reliability of assets on the line
• information about the performance of assets to allow action to be taken before there is a negative impact on train services
• management focus and speed of response when incidents occur.

INDUSTRY

New track boosts coal capacity

QR’s infrastructure business, QR Network, has completed the duplication of a 10.5 kilometre section of track between Stanwell and Wycarbah, which will contribute to increased capacity for coal transport from central Queensland mines to power stations and export ports. QR Network Executive General Manager Mike Carter said the $71.5 million project was an important milestone in QR Network’s five-year $900 million investment program and would meet its customer's requirements for increased capacity and performance of the Queensland coal rail network.

ARA Fortnightly Update

The Australasian Railway Association (ARA) has released its latest fortnightly update. This issue includes:

• Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board update
• ARA Members’ Dinner
• Understanding Rail Course
• National Rail Safety Week.

Train punctuality reaches record high

The number of trains arriving on time on Britain's railways reached a new record annual high in the year to 30 May 2009, as 90.8% of services arrived punctually. This was the highest level of train punctuality since comparable records began in 1992. On 22 June Network Rail published its second monthly report on train performance, a regular four weekly round-up of how trains across all the franchises on Britain's railways are performing. During period 2 (3 to 30 May 2009) 93.4% (91.7% last year) of services across the country arrived on time with 16 of the 19 train operators seeing improvement compared to the same period last year.

ACCIDENTS

Nine dead in subway crash

The Washington DC subway had been urged to replace or upgrade aging trains three years before the 22 June crash that killed nine people, investigators have said. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the trains had continued running on the system despite a warning the NTSB had given in 2006. About 70 people were injured as a train ploughed into the back of a second stationary train in evening rush hour. Investigators said the moving train was in automatic mode at the time. The collision happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma. 

ATSB report into train derailment

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released a report into a train derailment at Pura Pura, Victoria. Freight train 1MA6Q, which was travelling from Melbourne to Adelaide, derailed on the Mt Emu Creek Bridge on 30 March 2008. Twenty-one wagons derailed, coming to rest on the track past the bridge abutment. As a result of the derailment, some containers burst spilling their contents onto the rail corridor and the adjacent public road. The investigation determined that the derailment occurred as a result of a failed rail due to fatigue cracking emanating from an unused bolt-hole.

Huge train blaze leaves one dead

A woman was killed in a fiery crash on 19 June 2009 when a CN freight train carrying a load of ethanol derailed and plowed into her stopped car north-west of Chicago. The massive fire that ensued burned out of control for several hours. The woman killed was in a vehicle that was stopped and waiting for the train to pass.