GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY

ITSRR appoints new Executive Director

The Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) has appointed Len Neist as its new Executive Director, Rail Safety Regulation. Mr Neist’s appointment is the result of a recruitment process which followed the departure of Mick Quinn in late 2007. Mr Neist is currently head of Booz Allen Hamilton's systems assurance team in Australia and New Zealand and has extensive industry experience in system safety analysis, and reliability and risk engineering, across a range of hazardous industries, including rail. In taking up his new position, Mr Neist will stand down from ITSRR's Advisory Board, where he has made a valuable contribution to the Regulator’s strategic directions since mid-2006.

Safety Alert: Retainer pin assembly for wagon couplers

The Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) has requested that accredited persons and rolling stock maintainers in NSW read a safety alert issued by FreightLink in relation to a derailment in the Northern Territory. The recent incident occurred when a coupler from a CHQY dislodged from the wagon and caused a number of CHQY and CHSY wagons to derail. The safety alert is available on ITSRR’s website.

Regional trains breaking records

Passengers are supporting the Victorian Government’s regional rail improvements in record numbers, with 950,000 trips made on the V/Line network in March, a 60 year high. Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the Government was taking action to improve regional public transport links. “These latest figures show that regional travellers are voting with their feet. We made the largest ever investment into regional rail and are committed to connecting regional and rural Victoria to the city,” Ms Kosky said.

Oaklands rail and bus interchange

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon has unveiled the South Australian Government’s $6.8 million Oaklands rail and bus interchange on Morphett Road, which will be officially opened in June. Mr Conlon announced the commissioning date while inspecting the final stages of construction in a site visit. The new interchange project - and $1.7 million in additional construction works - will deliver a new railway station, an automated pedestrian crossing of the railway tracks, new realigned track with concrete sleepers and a pedestrian-activated crossing across Morphett Road.

Tender to operate trains and trams

The Victorian Government’s worldwide tender to operate Melbourne’s train and tram system is progressing with expressions of interest now being sought from experienced mass transit operators. Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the call for expressions of interest was an important step in the tender process announced in August 2007. “The refranchising process is part of our plan to provide Victorians with the best possible public transport system,” Ms Kosky said. “With patronage on metropolitan trains at an all-time high, the number of tram passengers on the rise and an extensive infrastructure program already underway, it’s imperative that we continue to attract the best operators."

Extra safety for Springvale crossing

Safety for pedestrians, cyclists and people in wheelchairs has been significantly improved following an upgrade of a Springvale level crossing. Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the $800,000 upgrade to the pedestrian crossing at Queens Avenue near Victoria Avenue was part of the Victorian Government’s action plan to improve safety at level crossings across Victoria. “This pedestrian crossing previously had a crib arrangement with signage, without active gates or audible warning,” Ms Kosky said. “It now features active pedestrian gates triggered by the approach of a train, audible warning and improved pavement surfaces, signage and fencing.”

ACCIDENTS

High speed blamed for train disaster

Chinese authorities have blamed excessive speed for the nation's worst train crash in more than a decade, amid fears the death toll would pass well over 70 following the 28 April crash. The official Xinhua news agency cited an investigation panel saying "high speed" caused the accident. The passenger train from Beijing derailed and slammed into an oncoming train while travelling at 131 kilometres an hour, in excess of that section's 80-kilometre-an-hour limit. A local official at the scene of the pre-dawn crash near Zibo city in eastern China's Shandong province also blamed the driver of the train, which is believed to have been carrying more than 1,000 people.