Executive summary
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.
Related Recommendations
Ensure all operating staff understand the principles of crew resource management and that all train crew ... attend formal crew resource management training by 31 December 2004. [This SR repeats or is similar to SR 006/01 (investigation 00-106), and 001/99 (investigation 98-107)]
Reinforce with all train controllers the need to monitor actual running times against the scheduled time to complete a track section, and immediately contact the locomotive engineer and his manager when a fast run is identified.
Ensure all operating staff understand the principles of crew resource management and that all ... train controllers attend formal crew resource management training by 31 December 2004.