RO-1999-109

At approximately 1140 hours on Friday, 21 May 1999, northbound Train 902 operating as the Southerner passenger express overran its track warrant limit by approximately 2 km between Mosgiel and Wingatui on the main south line. The overrun occurred when the locomotive engineer was possibly distracted by other events after planning a track warrant renewal for a location which differed from the normal pattern. The safety issues addressed in this report include the resilience of the track warrant system to accommodate deviations from established patterns, and the relieving of staff involved in operating irregularities.

Two safety recommendations were made to the operator.