Australian Transport Safety Bureau release final report into Wallan derailment

The deadly derailment of the Sydney to Melbourne passenger train happened on a stretch of track that had a maximum speed of just 15km/h due to signalling issues, a report has found.

The train driver killed in the catastrophic derailment at Wallan was only given a piece of paper to warn him of a major route change and he was not required to confirm he understood it.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report into the February 2020 crash, which was released on Wednesday, noted the Melbourne-bound train was travelling 100km/h over the speed limit before it derailed.

NSW express passenger train driver John Kennedy, 54, and co-driver Sam Meintanis, 49, were both killed in the crash that seriously injured eight passengers and left almost 60 others with minor injuries.

Evidence suggested that both Mr Kennedy and Mr Meintanis were fit for normal functioning and were not incapacitated at the time of the derailment, and it was instead likely Mr Kennedy was unaware of a route change.

The Sydney to Melbourne train was travelling 100km/h over the speed limit before it derailed. Picture: Australian Rail Track Corporation

Due to signalling issues on the usual route’s straight section of track, the train was diverted through the Wallan loop track, which has a maximum speed of just 15km/h.

But the train, which toppled over as it entered this section, was travelling at speeds of between 114km/h and 127km/h.

Mr Kennedy hit the emergency brakes about 150m before the turnout, but it wasn’t enough time to wipe off the speed required to navigate the turn.

The report noted that a fire in a signalling hut earlier in the month led to the rail infrastructure manager instead handing out paper documents to train drivers in place of the regular system.

ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said in the 12 days prior to the accident the Mr Kennedy had operated the service through Wallan eight times, and on all occasions the crossing loop was not used.

“This has led us to believe they probably expected to remain on the straight track, where the speed limit was 130km/h through Wallan,” Mr Mitchell said.

“However, there was no protocol in place to confirm the driver’s understanding of the revised instruction, with no requirement for the driver to read back or confirm the instructions to the network control officer.”

Transport Safety Chief Inspector Mark Smallwood said several factors, including a reliance on manual processes, contributed to an increased safety risk.

“There were several available and practical risk controls that were not used, and there continues to be a high reliance on administrative controls and a slow take up of technological solutions by the rail infrastructure manager to improve safety,” Mr Smallwood said.

Just hours before the deadly crash, two V/Line services travelled through the Wallan loop without incident.

In contrast to the NSW train, V/Line had appropriately briefed their crews.