Rail transport operators and registered training organisations are urged to review and validate their rail safety worker competency assessments, in response to an investigation into a grain train collision near Tamworth, New South Wales.
On 6 January 2022, three banking locomotives were added to the rear of a loaded grain train at Werris Creek, to assist it up a steep uphill gradient later in its journey.
During transit, the banking locomotives separated from the train. Shortly afterwards, the train stopped, and the locomotives collided with the rear of the train, resulting in significant damage to the rear wagon and the front banking locomotive.
A transport safety investigation was conducted by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI), which investigates rail accidents in New South Wales on behalf of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The investigation found the train separation was highly likely due to the knuckle on the bottom operated coupler of the lead banking locomotive remaining unlocked after coupling.
Notably, it was found the train crew had not performed a 'stretch test' after attaching the banking locomotives.
"A stretch test would have identified that the knuckle on the bottom operated coupler of the lead banking locomotive had remained unlocked after coupling," OTSI's Acting Chief Investigator Jim Modrouvanos said.
"It was also found that while the train crew had been assessed as competent in shunting during both vocational education and training (VET) and enterprise-based assessments on several occasions, the supporting evidence collected was usually limited to a single check box that the task had been 'performed correctly'."
