COAL train giant Pacific National could be slugged with the bill for repairs to 600m of rail track after one of its trains derailed south of Tamworth last year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) released its investigation report on Thursday afternoon into the Pacific National train which derailed after passing Ardglen, near Murrurundi, on August 28 and found the company was at fault.
The fully loaded coal train left Maules Creek and was headed for Port Waratah when a wheel failure occ- urred on the 19th wagon.
The impact of the derailment damaged more than 590m of the rail track, including 963 sleepers, after the train continued to travel “until a damaged inter car brake cable activated the train’s brakes”.
The train was travelling down the track towards the Pages River when the leading right-hand wheel on the wagon failed, and moved off the wheel seat, which eventually caused the other wheels on the bogie to derail, the report said.
Investigators found the wheel had multiple cracks in the wheel rim and said Pacific National’s wheel inspection processes “were not effective” in detecting cracks.
“An increasing level of wayside alerts, starting a month before the derailment, indicated the likelihood of the fault being present then,” the ATSB said.
“Despite the increasing impact level readings, no immediate action was taken to inspect the wheel before it eventually failed.
“It was found that the wheel inspection processes were not effective in detecting surface damage or cracks.”
Because investigators found the company at fault for the derailment, Pacific National could be liable for the costly repairs to the track.
“Under our access arrangements, Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has the ability to recover the costs associated with an incident from rail operators (in cases where the rail operator is determined to be at fault),” an ARTC spokesperson confirmed.
The ATSB said since the derailment, the rolling stock operators for Pacific National have begun removing wheels at risk of fracture.
“Pacific National also intends to improve their internal standards to include revised criteria and actions for thin rims and wheel impacts,” investigators said.
The Leader contacted Pacific National for comment but it did not respond on Thursday.
