Transcontinental line blocked

[DownSouth]

…by this derailment of a SCT Logistics mixed freight train…

[youtube]-8aaFOtyh_g[/youtube]

The remote location and heavy damage to the infrastructure has made it necessary for ARTC to decide on building a deviation track around the site immediately and then get started on the cleanup and rebuild.

So far it looks like a textbook case of heavy rain causing a track washout without the train having done anything to cause it - another washout not too far away was repaired without incident. The interesting part of the ATSB investigation will be the question of whether or not ARTC knew the area was prone to undermining and what recommendations will be made to improve things in the future.


ARTC = Australian Rail Track Corporation, government-owned below-rail operator of the interstate network infrastructure roughly equivalent to Network Rail.
ATSB = Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

 

[tranzitjim]

I am surprised to see this first here in a UK based forum site.

 

[DownSouth]

I didn't know until I did a search myself - and that was purely thanks to driving past SCT's terminal on the Northern Expressway and wondering why it was full of trains at both the start and end of the day. That terminal is rarely full thanks to SCT's business growing at such a rapid pace that they are paying Aurizon to haul what they can't fit in their consists.

At this point it looks like the line will reopen on a temporary deviation this Friday, MP and SP trains can start departing on Thursday.