‘Abolish this practice’: AFMEU calls on Queensland Rail to ban long end leading after Westwood collision

The AFMEU instituted a long end leading ban in response to a fatal train collision at Westwood and wants Queensland Rail to follow suit.

Long end leading obscures vision by requiring train drivers to look through the small windows at the side of a locomotive, down the length of the train, rather than through the main windscreen.

A union has called on Queensland Rail to permanently ban long end leading – driving trains from the rear with the length of the locomotive in front of the driver – because of safety concerns.

The Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees, introduced a long end leading ban in response to a fatal train collision at Westwood earlier this year.

Queensland Rail was operating the train involved in that incident for tuition.

On Thursday, the AFULE’s state secretary Mick McKitrick posted a statement online calling on Queensland Rail to “abolish this practice” except for heritage trains and during shunting manoeuvres, emergencies, or “heavily-controlled” situations in which there is no alternative and a risk assessment has been completed.

“It has come to my attention that Queensland Rail are conducting a ‘safety’ investigation with the purpose of making recommendations about how to make long end leading safe,” Mr McKitrick said.

“It will never be safe to long end lead at road speed in a loco that is not designed for that purpose.

“Even the smallest of operators have come to the party on this ban and worked with us to ensure we never lose another human life as the result of long end leading.”

Mr McKitrick told The Morning Bulletin that long end leading was widely used the 1970s and 80s, and that ideally, two locomotives would be driven back-to-back to prevent the need for it.

At the moment, he said, there was a lack of locomotives for that purpose, and turning facilities, or angles, had fallen into disrepair across the rail network.

As for why long end leading had not been banned before the collision at Westwood, he said the union was not aware of the extent to which it was practised at track speed for long distances.

“If we had have known that, we would have shut it down immediately,” Mr McKitrick said.

“It sort of got through to the keeper.”

Disagreement with the union’s stance was “baffling”, he said.

“We don’t go throwing around bans,” Mr McKitrick said. “It’s simply safety.

“What happened at Westwood would never have happened if these guys were looking out the front windscreen instead of looking out the tiny little pilot windows.”

Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy. Photo: Dan Peled

Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy said long end leading had been suspended on its mainline network, “except in very limited and controlled circumstances that align with those put forward by the union”.

That suspension was implemented, Queensland Rail said, as a result of the Westwood crash, after which the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator asked operators to review the risks associated with long end leading.

Queensland Rail said that it met these requirements, which included risk assessments with the involvement of unions, but that it was not currently completing a safety investigation into long end leading, as claimed by Mr McKitrick.

It did not comment on whether it supported a permanent ban.

Investigations into the collision at Westwood continue.