On 20 February 2020, an XPTpassenger trainoperated byNSW TrainLinkderailed while passing through a turnout at Wallan, Victoria. Of the 160 total on board, there were two fatalities and 39 passengers were injured, three of whom sustained serious injuries. The service was running from Sydney to Melbourne and was passing through Wallan approximately 19:43. The interim report into the accident indicated that the train had entered the turnout, with a specified speed limit of, at more than. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.
Accident
The accident occurred at 19:43 AEDT, when the Melbourne-bound train entered a turnout near, about north of Melbourne, and derailed. The train, comprising power car 2018, five carriages and power car 2000, was carrying 153 passengers and seven crew members. The train was running about two hours behind schedule at the time of the accident. As the train passed through the turnout, leading power car 2018 and the five carriages derailed, with rear power car 2000 remaining on the track. Emergency services confirmed that 12 people had been taken to hospital and two were killed: the train's driver and co-driver, known as a pilot. The injured were taken to the Kilmore Hospital, Kilmore and The Northern Hospital, Epping; one person was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The interim report indicated 39 passengers and five crew members were injured, 3 seriously.
Aftermath
ABC News and The Age reported that V/Line services in the Wallan area had been delayed in the weeks leading up to the accident due to ongoing faults on the North East line. On 3 February, a signal hut at Wallan was destroyed by fire, and a manual safe-working system was in operation at the time of the accident between and. Passengers reported that the train had been gaining speed at the time of the accident, after being stopped due to a "signalling issue". On 23 February, ABC News reported that in the days preceding the accident, trains were scheduled to pass through the turnout in the straight ahead position. On that day, trains were instead diverted into a passing loop while work was carried out on the adjacent track. The Victorian branch of the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union reported that V/Line drivers were refusing to traverse through the section of track that the XPT service derailed on. At the time of the accident, one passenger told The Age that the train did not slow down before it derailed, and that he had seen a set of points set to divert the train from the straight ahead route. The derailment caused the closure of the North East line and the adjacent broad gaugeTocumwal railway line, impacting freight services and V/Line services to Seymour, Shepparton and Albury. On 23 February, the Australian Rail Track Corporation commenced removal of the train from the rail corridor. Seymour and Shepparton V/Line services resumed on 1 March, followed by Albury services on 2 March. Major speed restrictions were in turn enforced on the North East line, with NSW TrainLink temporarily terminating all Melbourne XPT services at. Regularly scheduled XPT services between Sydney and Melbourne resumed on 4 June.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau opened an investigation into the accident on 20 February. It is being led by the Victorian Government's Chief Investigator, Transport Safety, assisted by the ATSB and the New South Wales Office of Transport Safety Investigations in accordance with the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003. The train's data logger was recovered as part of the investigation. A preliminary report was published on 3 April. It was found that the train was travelling in excess of when it derailed. In the hours before the accident, a notice was circulated that trains on the North East line were to be routed via the Wallan passing loop, with a specified speed limit for entry into the loop. The train had approached the loop at "about the track's line speed" of, and an emergency brake application was made shortly before the train entered the turnout into the passing loop. The final report is expected to take 18 months to complete.
WorkSafe Victoria
is also investigating the death of the train's pilot, a 49-year old man from Castlemaine.
