Glenbrook train disaster
Encyclopedia
The Glenbrook rail accident occurred on 2 December 1999 at 8:22 am in New South Wales
, Australia, in which seven passengers were killed and 51 passengers were transported to hospital with injuries. The accident occurred when an interurban train collided with the rear wagon of the Indian Pacific. It happened on a curve of track east of Glenbrook railway station on the CityRail
network between Glenbrook
and Lapstone
.
to use onboard radios to contact train control).
In the accident, an interurban passenger train restarted with authority after stopping at the still failed red signal at Glenbrook platform and collided shortly after with the rear of the Indian Pacific long distance passenger train still waiting at a failed red signal in the following block. A number of factors were involved, from equipment breakdown to poor phrasing of the safeworking rules. The most important factor was that the interurban picked up too much speed after restarting from the signal at stop, and was not able to see the rear of the Indian Pacific around a sharply curved and deep cutting
in order to stop in time to avoid the collision.
If the curve had been a right hand curve, on a wide embankment, then visibility would have been better than average.
Both trains obtained permission from the Signalman at Penrith to pass the first failed signal. The driver of the Indian Pacific obeyed an operational rule requiring him to proceed with "extreme caution", and to stop at the second failed signal for a set period of time. In contrast, the driver of the interurban train was unaware of or did not obey the operational rule, and instead proceeded "normally". In consequence, the Indian Pacific had not cleared the second signal before the interurban arrived.
The Commission of Inquiry found fault with a number of procedures, their application by railway employees, and the training those employees had received. Among other factors, it found that:
The black box event recorders
were either yet to be installed or were not activated.
so that the guard knows what is going on. When passing such a signal, especially one positioned at a platform, the driver is so accustomed to accelerating to normal speed out of habit, that it may be difficult for the driver to remember to keep the train's speed to a slow speed. This is very dangerous. It is up to the guard to observe the train's speed and to apply the brakes if necessary.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia, in which seven passengers were killed and 51 passengers were transported to hospital with injuries. The accident occurred when an interurban train collided with the rear wagon of the Indian Pacific. It happened on a curve of track east of Glenbrook railway station on the CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
network between Glenbrook
Glenbrook, New South Wales
Glenbrook is a suburb of the Lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 70 kilometres west of Sydney in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains. At the 2006 census, Glenbrook had a population of 5,138 people....
and Lapstone
Lapstone, New South Wales
Lapstone is a small village on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. Lapstone is located 62 kilometres west of Sydney in the local government area of the City of Blue Mountains and is part of the federal electorate of Macquarie. The village consists mostly of...
.
Overview
Prior to the accident, the Indian Pacific passed a failed red signal at Glenbrook platform and came to a stand at a second failed red signal. The driver of the train alighted to use the lineside signal telephone to call the Area Train Controller for authority to pass the signal at danger, however as there was no dial tone the driver incorrectly believed the phone to be out of service. A delay of approximately seven minutes resulted despite the fact the locomotive was equipped with a radio (at that time it was not procedure for the privately owned National Rail CorporationNational Rail Corporation
The National Rail Corporation was a rail operator in Australia. The Australian Government, New South Wales and Victoria established the National Rail Corporation in 1992...
to use onboard radios to contact train control).
In the accident, an interurban passenger train restarted with authority after stopping at the still failed red signal at Glenbrook platform and collided shortly after with the rear of the Indian Pacific long distance passenger train still waiting at a failed red signal in the following block. A number of factors were involved, from equipment breakdown to poor phrasing of the safeworking rules. The most important factor was that the interurban picked up too much speed after restarting from the signal at stop, and was not able to see the rear of the Indian Pacific around a sharply curved and deep cutting
Cut (earthmoving)
In civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock material from a hill or mountain is cut out to make way for a canal, road or railway line....
in order to stop in time to avoid the collision.
Visibility
The track was curved to the left, the train was using the lefthand track, and the driver was sitting on the left side of the front car of the train. The track was in a narrow rock cutting. These four factors contributed to less than average visibility.If the curve had been a right hand curve, on a wide embankment, then visibility would have been better than average.
Accident
Seven people were killed in the accident. A Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Peter McInerny investigated the accident.Causes
The Commission of Inquiry found that the accident occurred after a power failure disabled two consecutive signals. Due to the signals' fail safe design, both automatically exhibited danger (red).Both trains obtained permission from the Signalman at Penrith to pass the first failed signal. The driver of the Indian Pacific obeyed an operational rule requiring him to proceed with "extreme caution", and to stop at the second failed signal for a set period of time. In contrast, the driver of the interurban train was unaware of or did not obey the operational rule, and instead proceeded "normally". In consequence, the Indian Pacific had not cleared the second signal before the interurban arrived.
The Commission of Inquiry found fault with a number of procedures, their application by railway employees, and the training those employees had received. Among other factors, it found that:
- the Signalman was unable to monitor the position of the Indian Pacific, so was unaware it had not cleared the second signal;
- the communications between the Signalman and the two drivers were informal
- the Train Controller in Sydney told the driver of the interurban train by radio, "it's only an auto... just trip past", thereby probably misleading the driver into believing that the block was in fact clear; the Signalman in Penrith was not aware of this exchange
- the procedures for dealing with signal failure failed to consider the precise situation which arose;
- the driver of the interurban train failed to proceed with "extreme caution", as required by the operational rule, and so was unable to stop in time to avoid the rear end collision.
Effects
All seven people who died were in the front compartment of the first carriage of the interurban train. After the driver saw the stationary Indian Pacific, he ran through the front compartment (the dead-man's brake was automatically activated) to the lower deck of the carriage telling the passengers to get down. The driver was badly injured but survived because of this. As the driver ran through, a man from the front compartment ran to the upper deck to warn the passengers there and he survived as well.The train
The train was a 4-car standard interurban V set, labelled V21. The leading motor carriage, DIM8067, received critical damage to its front and lower compartments. Rather than scrapping the car, due to a shortage of motor carriages in the fleet, the car was repaired and reconstructed. To avoid any reference and insensitivity to the victims of the accident, DIM8067 was re-numbered DIM8020.The black box event recorders
Event recorder
A Train event recorder is similar to the flight data recorder found on aircraft. It records data about the operation of train controls and performance in response to those controls and other train control systems.Data storage is provided by magnetic tape, battery-backed RAM and, most recently,...
were either yet to be installed or were not activated.
The guard
When passing a signal at stop, the driver and the train guard exchange bell signalsDing-ding, and away
Ding-ding, and away is a slang expression used by the UK Media and railway enthusiasts to describe an incident in the British railway industry where a train driver is incorrectly given a bell code or green flag telling him to start the train despite the platform starting signal being at danger, and...
so that the guard knows what is going on. When passing such a signal, especially one positioned at a platform, the driver is so accustomed to accelerating to normal speed out of habit, that it may be difficult for the driver to remember to keep the train's speed to a slow speed. This is very dangerous. It is up to the guard to observe the train's speed and to apply the brakes if necessary.