RO-2005-123 Empty passenger Train 4356, overrun of conditional stop board without authority, following an automatic air brake valve irregularity, Meadowbank, 6 October 2005

On Thursday 6 October 2005 at 1451, the locomotive engineer of empty passenger Train 4356 was unable to operate fully the automatic air brake valve to stop the train at a conditional stop board erected at the entrance to an infrastructure work area near Meadowbank. The locomotive engineer operated an emergency brake button instead, but the train overran a conditional stop board by about 170 metres.
There was no damage or injuries.
Safety issues identified included:
• the procurement, inspection and maintenance of safety-critical components
• the control of standards for locally manufactured safety-critical components
• the continued operation of a train before establishing why a critical system had failed
• an independent overview of the construction and commissioning of a new passenger train concept
• the extent of regulatory oversight of the rail transport industry in New Zealand.
Safety actions taken and safety recommendations made to the Director of Land Transport New Zealand address these issues.