Cleveland line: Power restored to trains

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Power restored to trains

Power restored to trains
Tony Moore | January 9, 2008 - 10:31AM

Peak hour train commuters heading home to Cleveland tonight can rest easy as repairs were completed to the line late this afternoon, Queensland Rail has said.

A spokesperson for Queensland Rail said that services will run as usual this evening.

Trains were stranded on the Cleveland line east of Lindum Station from 8am after overhead power cables became tangled with the power connection on top of a train as it approached Lindum station.

Six trains became stuck behind the train at Lindum station.

The incident caused massive disruption to the Citytrain network on the Cleveland line.

It is the third major incident on the Queensland rail network since December.

Eight freight carriages came off the lines on the northern side of Petrie station on December 11 and two rail workers were killed in a rail accident in Mackay earlier in December.

It prompted the State Opposition to call for an independent study into maintenance on the Queensland rail network.

Today power has gradually been restored to part of the Cleveland line, however power has been unable to pass Lindum station, a Queensland Rail spokeswoman said.

"We currently have trains running through from Central to Murrarie," she said.

"After that, then they will be taken by bus."

However Queensland Rail is still unable to tell why the power lines became tangled.

"They are still trying to negotiate that," the spokeswoman said.

"We have had a lot of transit officers sent out to try to work that out."

She said Queensland Rail hoped to be able to provide power to the Cleveland line before the afternoon peak hour, but said it depended on how the electrical work proceeded this afternoon.

"We would hope so, but it really depends on how the work progresses."

Shadow Transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said there were now 350 train services cancelled in Queensland each month.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Double hit of commuter chaos causes peak-hour delays

Double hit of commuter chaos causes peak-hour delays
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Michael Wray and Jodie Munro O'Brien

January 09, 2008 11:00pm

LONG-suffering City commuters were disrupted again yesterday after a train became entangled in overhead wires near Wynnum and a gas leak forced a mass evacuation at Fortitude Valley.

No one was injured in the separate incidents which combined to create chaos for both morning and afternoon travellers.

At 8.05am power was cut on the Cleveland line after the rooftop connection of a train became tangled with overhead wires between Lindum and Wynnum North stations, southeast of the city.

A Queensland Rail spokesman said seven city trains were delayed as the tangle cut power to other lines, disrupting six other trains which remained stationary at various points along the Cleveland line, and causing delays on the network.

Passengers were transferred to buses before power was eventually restored.

"An analysis of the equipment involved is underway so we can fully understand the cause in a bid to prevent it happening again," the spokesman said.

Later, a gas leak near a Fortitude Valley strip club forced authorities to evacuate buildings, close streets and limit access to a train station.

Brunswick and Wickham streets were completely closed and a 100m exclusion zone set up around Scores Gentleman's Club about 3.35pm after workmen cut through a gas pipe with a concrete cutting saw.

Natural gas continued to escape as two QFRS pumper trucks and five specialist vehicles sealed off the area.

Traffic diversions were put in place to move traffic away from the area.

The Valley train station remained open but access from Brunswick St was blocked.

QFRS Fortitude Valley senior operations co-ordinator Inspector Paul Simmons said the lack of wind stopped the gas travelling too far as firefighters shut down all gas mains in the area.

Mr Simmons said emergency services worked well together to seal the area, stop the leak and re-open the streets by about 5pm.

"It was a good outcome," he said.

No one was overcome by fumes, Mr Simmons said.