GOVERNMENT AND REGULATORY

Installation of more boom gates in NSW

Over the next fortnight work will start on the installation of boom gates and other safety measures at two level rail crossings in Denman. The projects will be delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), with boom gates and other safety measures installed at eight level crossings so far across NSW as part of the ‘Boom Gates for Rail Crossings Program’.

$14 million upgrade for Tully River rail bridge

The 100-year-old Tully River rail bridge has received a $14 million upgrade, flood-proofing the structure and providing better reliability for freight and passenger trains. Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the Queensland Government project had just been completed. “As part of this project we have raised the approaches to the bridge and replaced 72 timber spans with concrete structures and earth embankments, improving the flood immunity of the bridge and reducing maintenance after floods.” Ms Nolan commended the project team for completing the upgrade work while ensuring the North Coast Rail Line remained open.

Successful maiden journey for new tram fleet

Adelaide’s new European trams are on track to enter service across the festive season with the first three making a successful journey by sea from Spain to Melbourne. Transport Minister, Patrick Conlon said these three trams were now undergoing minor modifications to prepare them for service on Adelaide’s light rail network. “We’ll see the new trams begin arriving here in Adelaide in November for trials before they commence passenger operations over the Christmas, New Year period,” he said.

Greencard for Hobart Metro

Metro’s new state-of-the-art ticketing system will start operating in Hobart from Sunday 13 September. Minister for Infrastructure, Graeme Sturges officially launched the new system today at Metro’s depot with CEO Heather Haselgrove. The launch follows the roll out of the new ticketing system in Burnie and Launceston. “The new system includes a credit card-sized smart card, the Metro Greencard, that will make travelling on Metro buses even easier,” Minister Sturges said. “The Metro Greencard contains an electronic ‘purse’ that can be added to in a number of ways. The card is read electronically when boarding the bus by placing it on a reader which deducts the correct fare automatically.”

Cutting red tape in infrastructure services

The Australian Productivity Commission's latest report, ‘Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business: Social and Economic Infrastructure Services Sector’ identifies ways to reduce the regulatory burdens on businesses in various industries including transport. The Commission found that much of the regulation in the transport sector has the desirable objective of managing risk and ensuring service quality, but it can have the unintended consequence of reducing businesses' flexibility in responding to consumer and user requirements. Inconsistency of regulations across jurisdictions in the transport sector remains a continuing concern, despite governments' agreements for reform. “Reducing red tape in these sectors is not just a matter of reducing business costs, it will improve business flexibility and allow for better, cheaper and more responsive services for consumers and users of those services”, Commissioner Angela MacRae said. The concerns with regulations raised by business to this review are varied, but many stem from broader ongoing deficiencies in regulatory processes. The Commission has recommended that there be greater transparency and consultation with stakeholders when developing and administering regulations.

AAR reports recent rail traffic gains slow in week preceding holiday

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported that recent rail traffic gains have slowed in the week preceding the Labor Day Holiday. For the week ended 5 September 2009, US Railroads reported originating 284,715 cars, down 6.7% compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 7% in the West and 6.0% in the East. Intermodal traffic of 201,239 trailers or containers on US Railroads was up 0.2% from the same week last year. Container volume fell 6.5% and trailer volume dropped 23.9%.

Muni checks security cameras in wake of attack

San Francisco Municipal Railway officials said that they do not routinely inspect the surveillance cameras on the fleet to ensure they're working; a shortcoming they are scrambling to fix after an 11-year-old boy on a Mission Street bus was stabbed. Muni staff quickly began inspecting the vehicle-surveillance system. Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) spokesman Judson True said he wasn't able to quantify equipment failures discovered so far, other than to say there have been a significant number. Among the findings are damaged cables, broken cameras and recorders, and graffiti-covered lenses. "Until now, we've only known about problems when we retrieve the video after an incident," True said. The agency hopes to conduct routine inspections and make sure the surveillance system is well maintained, by using in-house staff or an outside contractor.

INDUSTRY

Local rail lines to benefit from overhaul

The rail link between Moss Vale and Campbelltown will benefit from a 48 hour package of improvement works undertaken by Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC). The $800,000 package of works will involve track reconditioning, turnout retimbering, rail resurfacing, rail straightening and repair of any minor defects such as small wheel burns. The works will also involve boom barrier works at level crossings in Moss Vale and Bowral. ARTC CEO David Marchant explained that the works were essential for maintaining this section of the southern rail link as an efficient infrastructure asset. "These works will ensure a smoother ride for trains, both freight and passenger. Overall the works will keep the rail link at peak efficiency and remove the potential need for temporary speed restrictions," he said.

ARA fortnightly update

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

• Release of the vandalism literature review
• RISSB security handbook published

ACCIDENTS

Naphtha-laden train bursts into flames in Kutch

In an unprecedented train fire in India, 22 railway wagons carrying highly flammable naphtha were gutted when a goods train caught fire after derailing between Lakadia and Shivlakha railway stations in eastern Kutch late on 29 August. District Superintendent of Police, Wabang Jamir said that although the fire was a major incident, there were no casualties. Varsani said that the exact cause of the fire would be known only after an inquiry by railway experts, but it appears to have been caused by friction during derailment.

Heredia commuter train and bus collide in Costa Rica

The Heredia - San José commuter train that began operating in August has been involved in a collision with a bus, injuring eight. The accident occurred on 1 September when the train hit a bus in an accident about 100 metres from the Calderón Guardia hospital. Attendants responding to the emergency said that the injuries were sustained by passengers of the bus and the majority treated for whiplash. The main issue facing drivers is the lack of gates and alarms at railway crossings.

Phoenix light rail crash injures two

The 8-month-old light rail line in Phoenix had its worst accident on 5 September when a train derailed after hitting an Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that had run a red light, knocking the train from the tracks. Police said the driver of the SUV and a passenger on the train were injured. The crash also knocked down electrical poles, disrupting light rail services.

Two injured in train derailment in Israel

Two people were slightly injured when a train ran out of tracks in southern Israel on 2 September. Another 20 suffered from shock in the accident, which saw three cars of the train derailed at a railway junction near the southern town of Kiryat Gat. An investigation into the accident is underway. Israel Railways said possible causes include an operating error, a technical problem or a flaw in the track itself.

Seventeen injured as train jumps tracks

An Ekspres Sina-ran Pagi train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore jumped the tracks near the Batu Anam station, injuring 17 passengers. Two passengers suffered fractured shoulder bones and were conveyed to Segamat Hospital. The other passengers who sustained minor injuries were given medical attention at the Segamat Hospital. Segamat police chief Superintendent Abdul Majid said the accident happened as the train was switching to another track. "All five coaches jumped the tracks when the coupling broke." An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the incident.

Human error caused Dresbach train crash

Investigators have ruled human error as the cause of the December freight train collision near Dresbach, Minnesota. Twenty-six locomotive cars were derailed into the Mississippi River causing more than US$1.5 million in damage, according to a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) report. A Canadian Pacific train of two locomotive engines and 15 loaded freight cars failed to comply with an automatic block or interlocking signal telling it to stop on 17 December 2008. It slammed into a larger Canadian Pacific train of three locomotives and 100 cars at nearly 47 mph. Drug and alcohol tests for each train's conductor and engineer came back negative. The cause ruling falls in line with national trends, with human errors the leading cause of train crashes in 2008, accounting for 36% of incidents.

Freight train collision at Leigh-on-Sea

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into an incident involving a freight train collision at Leigh-on-Sea on 26 April 2008. At approximately 6.30am an engineers’ train involved in track renewal work struck the rear of a similar, stationary train at approximately 22 km/h whilst being positioned within the engineering possession for the work. Two wagons were severely damaged, and a locomotive sustained minor damage, but there were no casualties. The immediate cause of the collision was that the train driver did not limit his speed in accordance with the engineering supervisor’s instructions. As a consequence of this accident, the RAIB has made seven recommendations targeted at Network Rail, Balfour Beatty and the Rail Standards and Safety Board. These relate to the planning, risk assessment and use of engineering trains within work sites and the means of communication about the movement of such trains.

Metro asked to raise accountability

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) board has asked the metro management to raise its level of alertness and accountability with two derailments taking place in a short span of time. The metro management, which briefed the board members about the two derailments within a month, told them that the incidents were due to human error.

52 injured as steam locomotives collide in Germany

Two old-fashioned steam trains have collided in Germany's Radebeul, Saxony, leaving 52 people injured, four critically. The locomotives were taking about 250 enthusiasts on a trip to mark the local railway's 125th anniversary, when the incident happened. An investigation was launched into the cause of the collision as work began on 13 September to pull the wreckage of the historical trains off the tracks, near Dresden. "The reasons are not clear at the moment, we know that four people were injured seriously," Police spokesman Joerg Weyand said. "We cannot say if human error or technical failure caused the crash," he added.

Boston South Station commuter train crash injures eighteen

An engineer controlling the commuter train into Boston from Worcester, has mistimed his entry into South Station and hit a metal back stop at the end of the first track known as a bumping post. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) spokesman, Joe Pesaturo said the train was traveling at less than 5 miles per hour. A preliminary investigation has ruled out problems with signals, dispatching and equipment, and appears to point to operator error. “What I’ve heard is that there was judgment error on the part of the engineer, but we haven’t gotten anything definitive,’’ said William A. Mitchell Jr., acting general manager of MBTA.