Derailment at Trawalla 28/04/06

VL29 (1129/1229) entered revenue service on April 21, 2006 and derailed
seven days later!


The Age - Two killed in Ararat fast-train crash

By Stephen Moynihan and Andrea Petrie
April 29, 2006

Two people were killed and dozens injured, one seriously, when a V/Line
passenger train was derailed after colliding with a truck in country
Victoria yesterday afternoon.

One of those killed was a Pacific National employee who was travelling
in the train driver's compartment and was returning to Melbourne after
making a freight run earlier. It is believed a passenger also was
killed.

The 56-year-old train driver was flown to The Alfred hospital last
night with serious head, chest and leg injuries. He is in a critical
condition.

All other passengers were taken by bus and ambulance to Ballarat Base
Hospital. One man was admitted and had surgery for serious leg injuries
late yesterday. Other passengers were treated for cuts and fractures.

The two-carriage V'Locity train with 36 passengers was travelling from
Ararat to Melbourne when the accident occurred at 4pm. The high-speed
train hit the trailer of a B-double truck at the Ercildoune level
crossing at Trawalla, about 40 kilometres west of Ballarat, derailing
it.

The truck was knocked on to its side, and a large boulder it was
carrying was thrown from the trailer.

Lorna Gibson, travelling from Ararat to Melton to attend a friend's
18th birthday, was sitting in the middle of the second carriage. "I was
reading and I looked up, saw the truck, and thought, 'that's not going
to stop'. And then there was a jolt and I ended up on the floor. I just
thought we were going to die."

Simon Barley, who was travelling from Horsham to Melbourne, said: "I
slammed into the opposite seat and the first thing that made any sense
was I could hear the driver calling 'there's someone hurt' so I started
climbing over the seats and started trying to help. One of them (a
passenger) was conscious and we were trying to free his legs and I was
also trying to hold the head of one who was unconscious."

A witness, identified only as Dennis, told the ABC the crash scene was
a mess. "The truck is completely demolished," he said. "The train is
off the track, both carriages, and there's a number of people sitting
there."

Police, ambulance, SES and CFA crews attended. Ballarat Base Hospital
CEO Andrew Rowe said the hospital coped well. It applied its emergency
procedures, extra staff were called in, theatres put on standby and
beds readied for potential admissions. "Fortunately, only two people
have been admitted."

The manager of the nearby Burrumbeet Hotel said the level crossing had
no lights or boom gates. "The trains blend in with the colour of the
roads - they don't stand out," she said. In the past decade there have
been at least 20 deaths at level crossings in Victoria.

Last night, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor visited the accident
scene and offered his sympathy to the families of the dead and injured.
"This is a terrible tragedy," he said. "It is too early to speculate on
the cause of the accident, but there will be a full investigation." The
Western Highway was closed for a short time and reopened about 6.30pm.
Rail services to Ararat have been suspended and will remain so until
after an investigation and a clean-up of the accident scene.

The V'Locity trains are the latest addition to the V/Line fleet to
complement the State Government's regional fast rail project. They
carry a maximum of 144 passengers.

Passenger rail services to Ararat were revived in July 2004 as part of
a State Government plan to reinvest in country rail, but the service to
Ararat is not considered part of the regional fast-rail network.

David Bramwells, whose daughter Alana Nobbs was killed by a train at
Melbourne's Bentleigh station, has campaigned for improved safety at
level crossings across the state. "There is absolutely no justification
for this accident to have happened and it should never have happened,"
Mr Bramwells said.

The high-speed V'Locity trains began service on the Bendigo, Geelong
and Latrobe Valley lines early this year.

With AAP

Unprotected crossings on high speed lines spell DISASTER!

MichaelJ wrote:
> VL29 (1129/1229) entered revenue service on April 21, 2006 and derailed
> seven days later!

It wasn't a "derailment". A two-car V/Locity set ran into a truck
which, for whatever reason, was on a level crossing.

Paul Westcott

MichaelJ wrote:
> Unprotected crossings on high speed lines spell DISASTER!

Although a V/Locity set was involved in the collision, the Ararat -
Ballarat line is not "high speed". That line is not part of the
Regional Fast Rail network. The Ercildoun Road level crossing, at which
the collision occurred, is an "open" one.

All level crossings on the Regional Fast Rail lines are being given
"active" protection (lights and barriers).

Paul Westcott

Paul Westcott wrote:
> MichaelJ wrote:
> > VL29 (1129/1229) entered revenue service on April 21, 2006 and derailed
> > seven days later!
>
> It wasn't a "derailment". A two-car V/Locity set ran into a truck
> which, for whatever reason, was on a level crossing.
>
> Paul Westcott
And discussion has been locked at Railpage Australia but if you like
you can discuss it ether at Railmedia,Railzone or here

Greg: ABC radio in Brisbane said that the train was a SPRINTER! A train
is a train, to the media. Sprinter, Vlocity, the media don't care.

Anyhow, describing the crossing smash as a derailment, is very
misleading.

John Coyle

"railjohn" <tramwayjohn2m> wrote in message
news:1146273776.692488.323440@e56g2000cwe. o...
> Greg: ABC radio in Brisbane said that the train was a SPRINTER! A train
> is a train, to the media. Sprinter, Vlocity, the media don't care.
>
> Anyhow, describing the crossing smash as a derailment, is very
> misleading.

Yes and No. While the accident was a collision between two vehicles, the
train was derailed. Reporters unfortunately will report the *first* thing
that comes to their attention. If the initial information stated the trains
was derailed, it is reasonable to initially report a derailment.

The initial report I saw from *news.com.au* showed a sprinter. I was unsure
of what type of vehicle was involved until I saw Fox News. THe image on
news.com.au was "file footage" and should have been marked as such. I guess
the idea at the time is to break the story and keep people up to date that
an *incident* has occured.

What gets up my nose is when they refuse to correct the information as the
details become clearer. The telegraph in NSW still refers to the Tangara
involved at Waterfall as the "G7 type Tangara" *sigh*

Tony.

> John Coyle

MichaelJ did mention on Railpage about the colour of the front of the
train. Since Railpage does not allow such discussion( whic I respect
and enforce), I came here where I can discuss it, to further his ideas.

Would it have helped in this case ? I have no reliable information at
the moment to suggest it would have.

It issue on the truck. specualtion yes right here.

Whenever a truck crosses a level crossing it is like any other road
user, at speed. You look either way as you approach a level crossing.
Be it a truck or car their speed and interia will determine if the
driver ses the train in time, or judge they can either beat it, have to
stop, or not see atrain. Ie their acceration, braking will work out
what they will do in event of seeing atrain in such a situation.

But have the same truck/car slowly traverse the level crossing, ie stop
to look, things get different. Will acar/truck have time from
stoppioing to goingover & clearing the crossing - that depens on the
time taken to get moving and cross, which is also related to the time
taken for the train to appear and be at the level crossing. This time
may be less tha the time taken by a truck to cross.

the sighting of the level crossing is another factor. You may have
100m+ view, but that is so little space if a train si doing say
100km/hr round a slight curve, and a truck trying to pull it's load
from a slow or stnaginf start across the crossing.

Would a yellow or bright front have helped ? Do the headlights dazzle
and provide enought wanring, I must say I see headlight long before I
see a train's front, whatever colour it is.

Tomny /gatt Craig etc all offer places to discuss this. Thankyou for
that. But we can discuss it here rather than waste time talking about
just one website that has decided not to. that is fair. that is why
I'm tlaking here, yet have clamped down on that other site. I'm being
sensible about it by using what I can where I'm allowed. If I may I
might go to these other sites to read and perhaps contribute. rail
is OK if we all are serious, but it is a sandpit where I have seen so
much junk and insensitivity.

So what do you think about the timing issues, speed of a truck, speed
of a train, time to cross the level crossing, warning time, and
visibility.

Whatever I say here. TYhere are people having to pull bodies out of
that train, and have to do the real work of working out what happened,
wheat led to it, and what might have stopped it, and clean up the
scene. Again, my thought to all who have direct involvment inthis, to
the families , friends, and workmates.

Soberly,
David Head

By the way I hope something comes of this. First for me there was
Benella where many here, Tony, myself lost a good friend Ian Pettersen.
That tragedy was overshadowed by the Bali Bombing. And I think nothing
has happend as the wheels of justise do work slowly to come to a
conclusion. This incident reminds me of that. That is why I'm wrting a
bit here. I do not wish this on anyone.

That's all guy, I have written enough, Have to get off the PC to cheer
myself up.

David Head

Is it still on the tracks? No - therefore it is a derailment.