Collision between an xpt passenger train and a track-mounted excavator near Newbridge, New South Wales

FACTUAL INFORMATION

Overview

During the course of the investigation, a similar incident occurred near Wards River, New South Wales. At about 0850⁴ on 17 March 2011, two work groups had to hurriedly vacate their on-track worksite due to an approaching train. There were no injuries.

Both incidents occurred despite the fact that the work groups had been authorised to occupy a defined portion of track for a specified period. That is, Track Occupancy Authorities (TOA) had been issued. Due to the similarities between the two occurrences, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) decided to examine the issues associated with the incident at Wards River in conjunction with the investigation into the fatal collision that occurred near Newbridge.

Location

The track in both areas was owned by the Country Rail Infrastructure Authority (CRIA), but managed and maintained by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) under a lease agreement with the New South Wales Government⁷. Train movements were controlled by a fixed signalling system using Rail Vehicle Detection (RVD)⁸ and operated by an ARTC Network Control Officer (NCO) located in the Broadmeadow Network Control Centre using the Phoenix control system. The Phoenix control system was a non-vital⁹ system that provides real time monitoring and control of field hardware including signals, points, track circuits and the associated management of train movements. Signal, points, track and train movement data was captured by the Phoenix event logger. This data could be replayed to assist with the reconstruction of events and the examination of incidents.