This report examines 3 separate track buckle occurrences on the South Island coal route during the summer of 2001/2002. Two of the track buckles resulted in derailments. Safety issues identified by these incidents included:
• the need for staff training to ensure they recognise and respond to visible track defects
• the need to protect continuous welded rail, formed at unknown neutral temperature
• the need to control tamping and lining to ensure track is not realigned leaving increased compressive stress in the rails.
In view of the safety actions taken and the safety recommendations previously made to the operator to address these issues, no further safety recommendations are included in this report.
[Safety recommendations 020/01, 021/01 and 022/01 repeated from report 00-118.]
