Executive summary
On Friday 31 March 2006 at about 0520, the locomotive engineer of empty passenger Train 4306 noticed the air brake system operating below normal performance while driving the train between Westfield and Otahuhu at the start of operations for the day. After the train had reached Otahuhu, the locomotive engineer examined the brake system and decided to return to Westfield rather than continue passenger operations.
There was no damage or injuries.
Safety issues identified included:
• purging of contaminants from a locomotive’s air brake piping
• scheduling the reconditioning of brake control valves
• standards for tracking and monitoring safety-critical components.
Because of safety actions taken by Toll NZ Consolidated Limited, no safety recommendations have been made. The Commission made a safety recommendation to the Director of Land Transport New Zealand as a result of Rail Occurrence Report 06-101, relating to the tracking and monitoring of safety-critical components. This recommendation is equally applicable to this occurrence, so no new safety recommendation has been made to address this issue.