Article: Ash blamed for slippery tracks

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Ash blamed for slippery tracks

Ash blamed for slippery tracks
Article from: Herald Sun

Ashley Gardiner

March 18, 2009 12:00am

HEAT, leaves, vandalism and hungry passengers have all been blamed for causing havoc with Melbourne trains - now the latest culprit is soot.

Trains overshot stations six times in four weeks, including four times the day after Black Saturday.

The Herald Sun believes investigators are considering whether dirty and greasy tracks played a role.

Soot is one of several possible causes being investigated, sources said.

Extreme weather conditions could have been responsible for the incidents, five of which involved Siemens trains.

Brake failure has been eliminated as a cause of the overshoots and the trains have returned to service.

Siemens vice-president Paul Bennett told the Herald Sun that investigations by Siemens, Connex and the Department of Transport had ruled out a brake malfunction.

"If we at any time considered them to be unsafe, we would immediately . . . recommend the trains be withdrawn from service," Mr Bennett said.

"If the overshooting was caused by one single element, such as brake failure, we would expect authorities to act in accordance with safety regulations and remove the trains from service."

He said many factors could influence overshooting . . . "including track adhesion, human machine interface, train speed and weather".

Mr Bennett said Siemens maintained all 36 of its trains operating in Melbourne.

Three of the overshooting incidents occurred at Ormond station on the Frankston line, and the state of the track there is being investigated.

Overshoots also occurred at Murrumbeena, Noble Park and Yarraman stations on the Dandenong line.