An interim report has been released on the investigation into an accident in New South Wales where the driver of a freight train was fatally injured while outside the cabin.
The investigation into the August 2022 accident, which occurred between Yass and Goulburn, is being undertaken by the NSW Office of Transport Safety Investigations (OTSI), which investigates rail accidents in the state under a collaboration agreement with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The report details that two SCT Logistics locomotives, crewed by a driver and driver’s assistant, were hauling a containerised freight train that was enroute to Queensland when the fatality occurred.
The driver was found on the footplate on the exterior of the train and had suffered a fatal injury after leaving the cabin to check on equipment during an in-line fuelling operation.
OTSI acting CEO and chief investigator Jim Modrouvanos said the interim report detailed factual information established in the investigation’s evidence collection phase and had been prepared to provide an update to the rail industry and the public.
“As such it does not contain any analysis or findings, which will be detailed in the final report on the investigation,” he said.
Modrouvanos said investigators would continue to review the rolling stock operator’s management of the in-line fuelling system and whether any permanent lineside structures contributed to the driver’s injury.
The investigation will also consider enterprise training for the in-line fuelling system.
The report noted that the train operator had taken proactive safety actions since the accident, including issuing an updated instruction for in-line refuelling, as well as an updated procedure prohibiting crew from exiting the locomotive cabin while the train is in motion.
