Rail safety performance

All safety-related occurrences are classified and recorded and investigation of serious occurrences is closely monitored.
Of special concern to us is trespassing, which can easily result in a serious or fatal injury.
A frequent type of occurrence is the collision with animals on the main line, especially livestock.

A frequent view from the locomotive's cabin - cattle on the track, especially south of Alice Springs

Another type of a dangerous occurrence is the collision with a motor vehicle abandoned on the main line.

A car abandoned on the railway line in Alice Springs was smashed by a passing freight train.

In 2006 there were two serious LX collisions between a train and a road train.

The first collision occurred on 20 October 2006 at the DME Access Rd LX adjacent to the Channel Island Road (20 km south of Darwin) and involved a freight train and a double road train.

The second collision, involving The Ghan and a B double road train, occurred on 12 December 2006 at the Ban Ban Springs LX (150 km south of Darwin). The collision resulted in 2 serious injuries, to a train passenger and the truck driver.
Both accidents are being investigated by ATSB.

In addition to the two collisions, there has been an increase of incidents, in particular “near misses” involving road vehicles and trespassers.  The Government’s initiatives to address those issues have been introduced.

Everyone should remember that:   TRACKS ARE FOR TRAINS !

Ban Ban Springs LX collision

 

NT Rail Safety Committee

The committee was established in 2001 as a forum for discussion of all issues related to rail safety in Northern Territory.

The Committee’s meetings are held twice a year and are attended by all major stakeholders in NT including the Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Emergency Services, St John Ambulance, Department of Planning and Environment, WorkSafe and railway organisations accredited in NT such as Freight Link, Genesee Wyoming Australia, Great Southern Railway, Pacific National Rail, EDI Rail and BJB Joint Venture.

The main purpose of the meetings is to facilitate the opportunity for discussion, cooperation and consequently solving any arising problems/issues. 

The Desktop Emergency Exercise held in August 2006 in Alice Springs is the best example of a very fruitful cooperation between all stakeholders in regard to the rail safety.  The exercise was organised by NT Emergency Services in close cooperation with Freight Link and was attended by 35 participants from different organisations.

Some important lessons were learnt during the exercise and as result of that, a field Emergency Exercise is being planned to be held in April 2007 to check the preparedness of all stakeholders for a major Emergency on the railway line in practise.