On Sunday 16 February 2003, at about 1823, seven wagons at the rear of northbound express freight Train 380 derailed while negotiating a right-hand curve between Taumarunui and Okahukura on the North Island Main Trunk. The curve was covered by a temporary heat restriction of 40 km/h and the train was travelling at about 85 km/h when the derailment occurred. A track buckle was triggered by the passage of the train travelling much faster than the authorised speed.
The safety issues identified included:
· the excessive speed of the train
· the train controller not recognising a fast run and advising the locomotive engineer
· the effectiveness of crew resource management
· a section of track left in a stressed condition for a significant period of time
· the non-standard set up of the locomotive event recorder
Two safety recommendations have been made to the Chief Executive of Tranz Rail to address the issues.
