Derailment at Redlynch

[ozbob]

From News.com.au click here!

240 caught as scenic Kuranda train derails near Redlynch, Queensland

240 caught as scenic Kuranda train derails near Redlynch, Queensland

    * From: The Cairns Post
    * March 26, 2010 12:00PM


    * Scenic train derails in Queensland
    * More than 240 passengers on board
    * Emergency services called to the scene

THE Kuranda Scenic Railway train has derailed near Redlynch in far north Queensland, with more than 240 passengers on board.

Emergency services were called to the scene just before 10.30am, Cairns.com.au reports.

It's understood the engine derailed, and the front carriages are also off the rails.

- More to follow

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Train carrying 200 derails in north Queensland

Train carrying 200 derails in north Queensland
CAMERON ATFIELD
March 26, 2010 - 11:25AM

A train on the Kuranda Scenic Railway train in far north Queensland has derailed near Redlynch.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 10.30am.

A Queensland Rail spokeswoman confirmed there had been an "incident" at the railway, but had no further details.

It is understood more than 200 passengers were on board.

More to come...

[ozbob]

Cairns Post click here!

[ozbob]

UPDATE: A landslide is to blame for the Kuranda Scenic Railway derailment
this morning, Queensland Rail says.

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2010/03/26/102361_local-news.html

Been heavy rain overnight and this morning in Cairns.

[curator49]

All very melodramatic media reporting. "Locomotive and carriages off the line....250 people stranded, people injured etc etc".

The lead locomotive derailed, when coming around a blind curve it ran into a mudslide. The second locomotive and carriages REMAINED on the track. The second loco was uncoupled from the lead locomotive and pushed the cars slowly back to Redlynch. The train would not have been travelling at any great speed.

Another Kuranda train had passed over the line one hour earlier and a Hi-Rail had twice inspected the track this morning.

A most unfortunate incident and thankfully no-one appears to have been seriously hurt. The sudden stop would not have been pleasant.

[ozbob]

Here is another over-reaction, a characteristic of today's over regulated society ...

Too easy,  pilot hi-rail ...

From the Courier Mail click here!

Safety concerns may cause Kuranda line to be closed

Safety concerns may cause Kuranda line to be closed

   * James O'Loan
   * From: The Courier-Mail
   * March 28, 2010 6:36PM

LAST Friday's tourist train crash near Cairns could wipe millions from the local economy and trigger a historic line's closure.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway's 500-tonne locomotive, carrying more than 200 passengers, slammed into earth blocking the track after heavy rains caused a landslide.

While five people were injured, none seriously, the landslide came four years after two rockslides smashed the train's path.

There is widespread agreement that landslides or rockfalls will continue to blight the train's path from Cairns to Kuranda as fierce seasonal downpours take their toll.

The latest incident and an impending engineers' report has renewed speculation the route will be permanently closed.

QR yesterday refused to say if it was considering closing down the service for good, or realigning it.

The service takes about 1600 people daily to and from nearby Kuranda, a village reliant on day trippers that lost millions of dollars when the route was cut for repairs after 2007's rockfall.

QR said it will reopen the line as soon as it is safe, but it was too early to predict when that would be.

Aside from routine maintenance, the rail corporation has spent $6 million stabilising the Kuranda Range since 2000.

Linda Cooper, Cairns councillor for Redlynch, where the train starts and ends its journey, said QR had a tough call to make.

"It's going to be very hard for them to make that determination but unfortunately (closure) may be the reality," Cr Cooper said.

QR was criticised by Kuranda business owners in 2007 for delaying the track re-opening.

An observer inside the industry told The Courier-Mail that some of the turns were virtually blind, leaving the train with no time to stop before it collided with fallen debris.

[ozbob]

Media Release 29 March 2010

Queensland:  Rail safety balance needed

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has said media reports of a potential closure of the Kuranda line are a knee-jerk and excessive response (1).  An obsession with rail safety is approaching absurdity.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The rail line up to Kuranda is an engineering masterpiece.  Landslides, avalanches, earthquakes and tidal waves are a fact of life on earth. The rail line is essential to the local economy and besides millions of tourists have safely made the trip.  A minor incident is not cause to close the rail line.  The provision of a pilot track vehicle running ahead of the tourist train would allow the identification of any recent landslips, a rare event in any case.  The obsession with rail safety is out of hand. Mayhem, injury death and destruction continues unabated on the nation's roads, as a community we should be maximising rail travel not reducing it."

"To often it seems we face shut-downs and loss of service due to claims of 'rail safety'.  For goodness sakes, rail travel is at least 40 times safer than road.  Any risk assessment soon identifies that replacing a rail service with a road service is dangerous to the extreme."

"Plans to close Traveston railway station again send the wrong signal (2).  It matters little that few people use the station, partly because of the very poor train frequency.  Rather than close the station, more trains and an upgrade would mean better utilisation by the community. Victoria has done this with their VLine country services and patronage is booming (3). Queensland is just interested it seems in rail cutbacks, which in turn increases the road trauma and damage debit list."

"It is time that a long hard look was taken at the so called rail 'safety policies' that are causing interference to perfectly safe workings. Constant disruption and loss of service for so called safety reasons is wearing thin."

References:

1. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/safety-concerns-may-cause-kuranda-line-to-be-closed/story-e6freoof-1225846582527

2. http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2010/03/25/qr-sounds-death-knell-on-traveston-rail-stop/

3. http://www.vline.com.au/index.aspx?sid=0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ozbob]

http://www.media.qr.com.au/Home.aspx

KURANDA RANGE INCIDENT - Update 3 (as at 1.30pm)

QR crews are working alongside geo-mechanical engineers on site at Redlynch to clear the track that was affected by a landslide on the Kuranda Scenic Railway last Friday.

Paul Scurrah, QR Passenger Executive General Manager, said the locomotive that derailed in the incident was yesterday towed back to Cairns, allowing crews to start work to reopen the line.

"QR crews are now working to stabilise the slope and are using three excavators to clear material from the track. Special rail wagons will cart the material off site," Mr Scurrah said.

"Crews are working as quickly as possible to reopen the line and will work through the Easter break, however wet weather is hampering recovery efforts.

"At this stage we have cancelled services until 4 April - it is too early to say whether services will be cancelled beyond this time.

"QR and geotechnical experts Golders & Associates will carry out a full review of the rail corridor before the line is reopened.

"Safety is our number one priority and we will not compromise the welfare of our passengers and staff," he said.

Mr Scurrah said Kuranda Scenic Railway was a popular tourist attraction of Far North Queensland and a service QR was immensely proud to operate.

"Kuranda Scenic Railway is one of the world's iconic rail journeys and an integral part of the North Queensland tourist industry.

"We understand that the closure impacts on both visitors and businesses, but our priority is the safety of passengers and staff.

"QR has been proactively contacting industry partners and community representatives and we are very grateful for their support and understanding.

"We would like to apologise to all those people impacted by the disruptions on this line and thank them for their patience and understanding," he said.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway continues to operate and numerous coach tour operators offer a variety of touring options that include Kuranda.

[ozbob]

The famous landslide on the Victorian Narrow Gauge line to Gembrook (2'6") is but a memory ..

http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/images/12800/12800-00001-000173-300.asp

Landslides happen ...  several trains a day run through this location, a motor trolley does a clearance run in the morning before the first passenger service.

Zero harm might be best expressed as little harm as practical ...  zero harm will never be attained so has the policy failed?

If the 'zero harm' policy was applied to roads nothing would move ...  

[ozbob]

QR Media Release click here!

Kuranda Range Incident – Update 4 (as at 2.30pm)

08 April 2010

Continued wet weather has delayed necessary safety inspections of the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

Although the landslip has now been removed, geo-technical inspections have been delayed, which will require services on the line to be suspended until at least April 16.

Paul Scurrah, QR Passenger Executive General Manager, said while QR apologised for the delay, it would not compromise on the safety of its passengers or employees.

"Inspections of the area, reviews and soil remediation continue and we remain committed to keeping our customers and industry informed," Mr Scurrah said.

"Further information will be available on April 16; we will assess that information and provide an update accordingly.

"We understand the importance of the Kuranda Scenic Railway to the local community, and the local economy.

"It is a challenging and spectacular rail line and it is our intention to reopen it as soon as it is safe to do so."

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway continues to operate and numerous coach tour operators offer a variety of touring options that include Kuranda.

For information on other alternative transfer options please call QR on 4036 9333, email KSRres@qr.com.au or visit www.ksr.com.au.

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Parliament Hansard click here!

Kuranda Scenic Railway

Mr WETTENHALL (Barron River—ALP) (9.55 pm): On Friday, 26 March 2010, a landslide on the Kuranda Range caused the Kuranda Scenic Railway service to derail at a location about 16 kilometres from Cairns which was thought to have experienced particularly heavy localised rainfall at that time. Two hundred and twenty-four passengers were on board and six Queensland Rail crew, including two drivers, were also on board. Six passengers received minor injuries and there was some minor track and rolling stock damage.

The response from the Kuranda Scenic Railway staff was outstanding. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff for handling a difficult situation calmly and professionally. I also want to thank all the emergency services workers who swung into action, applying the training and knowledge gained through Exercise White Tail in February 2009.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway route travels through extremely steep and rugged terrain. In addition to an annual track maintenance budget of $3.9 million, an extensive and continuing program of geotechnical stabilisation works is being carried out at a cost of $8.5 million between 1999 and 2013. The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a truly iconic tourist attraction for the region and carries about 400,000 passengers per year. Notwithstanding its popularity, the service is not cheap to run. Operating costs exceed revenues by a significant amount and these losses are absorbed by Queensland Rail.

Therefore, I would not accept any suggestion that the state government, through QR, is not providing adequate support to the scenic rail business or the track on which it runs. Quite the contrary is obviously the case. Even though, in effect, the Kuranda Scenic Railway is a subsidised tourist business, it is nevertheless so much a part of the experience of visiting the tropical north that it is almost inconceivable that it would not continue.

It is true that the majority of businesses in Kuranda depend upon day visitors carried by train, the Skyrail cableway, bus and private transport for their livelihood. Any rail stoppage can be expected to have an impact, although I note that some business owners have reported their best Easter ever. Much of the credit for results like that can go to the efforts of Tourism Kuranda led by chairperson Melanie Wicks and executive officer Marc Sleeman, who have worked tirelessly and effectively to promote Kuranda.

The line is to be closed at least until 16 May to enable safety inspections to be completed. Although I want the service up and running as soon as possible, I understand that that cannot occur until we are completely satisfied that the service is safe to operate. I hope that the Kuranda Scenic Railway will continue to delight passengers for many years to come.

[ozbob]

Funny isn't?  Roads are a real and current risk it is open slather.  Double standards?  

Current road toll

A real burden and cost apart from the road toll per se is the injury toll ...  massive.

Serious injury due to land transport accidents, Australia, 2006–07

--> http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/reports/2009/injcat129.pdf

[ozbob]

http://www.fionasimpson.com.au/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=694

Fiona Simpson MP
Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Transport
LNP Member for Maroochydore

Kuranda's train stalled by Labor's inaction

Friday, 16 April 2010

THREE weeks after a landslip closed Kuranda's iconic scenic railway the track has still not been reopened.

Shadow Minister for Main Roads and Transport Fiona Simpson  has called on the State Government to explain why despite promises the track would be open and operating in seven days, there has still been no guarantee when the railway will get the green light to recommence operations.

"Local tourism operators were warning the Bligh Labor government about track maintenance issues well before the March landslide," Ms Simpson said.

"Tourism is a major industry in Cairns which is already one of Queensland's unemployment hotspots.

"The Kuranda railway is a major attraction in itself and a major source of vistors to Kuranda township and for access to the cable car.

"The loss of income from this three week closure will have a devastating impact on local tourism and tourism operators are becoming increasingly concerned about when the railway might reopen.

"They need to be reassured about a timeframe to open the track and to carry out maintenance on what they have assessed as necessary works.

"Playing a waiting game is creating uncertainty for local jobs and for the economic viability of businesses in the Kuranda locality."

[ozbob]

QR Media click here!

Kuranda Range Incident – Update 5 (as at 8.30am)

16 April 2010

QR will meet with tourism industry representatives in Kuranda next week, to brief them on efforts to reopen the Kuranda Scenic Railway following the March landslip.

The company will receive geotechnical advice tomorrow (Friday, April 16), as part of a complete risk assessment for future services.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway will not reopen until that assessment is complete, which is expected to take at least four weeks.

QR Passenger Executive General Manager Paul Scurrah said the review would require further delays to reopening the service, but said the safety of passengers and staff was paramount.

In the interim, QR was working on other short-term tourism options, Mr Scurrah said.

"The thoroughness of the safety investigation and risk analysis we have underway requires a further delay.

"I know this will cause further disruption and for that I apologise, but we will not compromise on safety."

Mr Scurrah said the advice of geotechnical experts was essential to completing a full risk assessment.

"With 33km of track this is a complex, thorough and incredibly important assessment.

"I appreciate how frustrating this uncertainty is to the Cairns community and I apologise for that. QR is working as hard and as fast as it can to resolve these issues but no one would expect us to compromise on safety."

QR will provide a further update next week.

[ozbob]

QR Media click here!

Boost for local tourism with schuttle services to start on Kuranda Line

30 April 2010

Shuttle services on the Kuranda Scenic Railway - designed to give tourism operators an extra local drawcard - will start today at 10am, giving a boost to local industry.

Children will ride for free on the 30 minute services between Kuranda and Barron Falls – a scenic part of the journey chosen after discussions between QR and local businesses.

Adult tickets on the service will cost $11 and will be available from the Kuranda Scenic Rail booking office or Tourism Tropical North Queensland travel partners.

QR Passenger's Executive General Manager, Paul Scurrah, said the new services would give tourists the chance to experience the unique scenic railway, while giving Kuranda businesses much needed assistance.

He said the all clear to commence the shortened services came after careful consideration after the March 26 landslip.

"Since this event occurred, we have been very conscious of the concerns of the local tourism industry, including businesses at Kuranda," Mr Scurrah said.

"We have been working closely with local tourism representatives to keep them fully informed.

"We have been sympathetic of the impact the rail line closure has had on the local community and tourist operators. We have needed to carefully balance our strict safety requirements and believe we have come up with a good option.

"Local tourism operators have told us these new services would help the local business community, it gives another option to tourists, and to local residents.

"The trip between Kuranda and Barron Falls is not the full Kuranda Scenic Railway journey, but it covers some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, seen from one of the most iconic railways.

"These services will be running six times per day, giving passengers the change to experience Kuranda; the rainforest, the range and the village."

Mr Scurrah said the reopening of the full Kuranda Scenic Railway service, from Redlynch to Kuranda, would remain suspended until the completion of the full safety assessment.

"It is our intention to reopen the full Kuranda Scenic Railway as soon as possible, however QR will not compromise on safety," Mr Scurrah said.

For those travelling to Kuranda, the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway continues to operate and numerous coach tour operators offer a variety of touring options that include Kuranda.

Further information can be obtained from the Kuranda Scenic Rail booking office on (07) 4036 9333 or visit the website http://www.ksr.com.au

[ozbob]

Kuranda Scenic Rail Service to Recommence Friday

06 May 2010

The iconic Kuranda Scenic Railway will reopen on Friday morning after QR Passenger's head of safety gave the service the all clear today (Thursday, May 6).

The first service will leave Cairns on Friday at 8:30am, and QR is encouraging tourists and local residents to get on board.

Greg Ford, head of safety at QR Passenger, said a final test run today confirmed the service was safe to operate.

"We have always said our intention was to reopen the service as soon as possible, but we would not compromise on safety," Mr Ford said.

"Since the landslip on 26 March we have had an extensive geotechnical review of the track, we have undertaken a full risk assessment of our operations, and today we have completed test runs along the track.

'Where required we have put in place additional safety measures such as speed restrictions and increased track inspections."

Andrew Kennedy, QR's General Manager Tourist Trains, said QR, staff and local tourism operators were pleased to see the full service returning to operations.

"The shuttle services that we operated in the past week have been a welcome boost to local businesses, but we are very pleased to be able to announce the full Kuranda Scenic Railway is back on track.

"Now it is full steam ahead – tourists and local residents can be assured this operation is as safe as it is spectacular."

Barron River MP Steve Wettenhall welcomed the service's return in time for the peak tourist season during the winter months.

"Tourists flocked to shuttle services between Kuranda and Barron Falls over the long weekend, with more than 1700 passengers," Mr Wettenhall said.

"Local businesses told us the shuttle services were a welcome boost, but they are looking forward to the full service reopening.

"I am pleased to see that will happen tomorrow, and I am looking forward to the many thousands of tourists who will get to experience this incredible attraction," he said.

QR is working with industry partners including Tourism Kuranda, Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Queensland to promote the service reopening.

QR is also supporting Tourism Kuranda with financial support of upcoming promotional events.

Tickets on the service are available from the Kuranda Scenic Rail booking office or Tourism Tropical North Queensland travel partners.

Further information can be obtained from the Kuranda Scenic Rail booking office on (07) 4036 9333 or visit the website http://www.ksr.com.au

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