The driver of a train that derailed in floodwaters near Gympie in February should have been told tracks were underwater more than half an hour before the crash, but critical warnings were never read or passed on, a report has found.
The Aurizon freight train struck the flooded line at Traveston just before 3.30am on February 23, just days before the town of Gympie would be devastated by record-breaking river rises that led to the inundation of hundreds of homes.
The driver suffered minor injuries, and was trapped in the train for about three hours as emergency services were hampered by heavy rain and flood conditions.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has now published its preliminary findings into how the crash occurred, and why the driver had no idea what lay ahead of the train.
40 minutes of warnings, no action
The report found a monitor on the tracks 200 metres from the crash site was sending data and alarms to computers at Queensland Rail's centre at Bowen Hills in Brisbane from 2am — 40 minutes before the crash.
These were not received or read by Queensland Rail staff.
The ATSB found that was because staff "had to open the application to view readings and the warning and critical alarm messages".
Other Queensland Rail offices in regional areas had the warnings appear on the screen, but these too were not passed on.
There was also a second system that should have been automatically sending warnings and alerts about the flooded rail line by SMS or email — but Queensland Rail had not entered any staff contact details.
"The automated messages were not broadcast, as no recipients were defined," the report found.
Qld Rail says changes have been made
ATSB director transport safety Dr Michael Walker said the alarms were being sent to Queensland Rail's system but staff were unaware.
"This meant the network control officer and train driver were not alerted that floodwater had overtopped the track ahead of the train," he said.
In a short statement, Queensland Rail head of south-east Queensland Scott Riedel said he welcomed the report and its findings.
He said measures were now in place to prevent such a crash from happening again.
Those measures included reviewing how its system sends warnings, and considering how it would ensure key staff are alerted when problems arise.
Freight train owner Aurizon said it co-operated with the investigation, and noted Queensland Rail's work to improve how it operates.
The ATSB reports that it will continue to investigate Queensland Rail's procedures for weather-related warning and alarm messages, how it handles hazards from weather events, and how its computer system sends warnings or alerts to staff.
