The Hines Hill train collision occurred on the Eastern Goldfields Railway on 14 January 1996 at Hines Hill, Western Australia. Two trains entered a passing loop simultaneously in opposing directions, although signals at the end of the passing loop were correctly showing red for stop.
The National Rail train in one direction misjudged the stop, and went past the red signal, hitting the last wagons of the Westrail train. These wagons were tankers containing diesel which burst into flames, destroying the train data recorders that might have explained what speed the train was travelling at.[1] Locomotive AN10 was derailed.[1] The driver and a teenage guest passenger were killed. Another person received severe injuries.[2] National Rail locomotives AN10 and DL37 were written off due to being damaged beyond repair.[3] A relay control room which was close to the fire was also destroyed.[1]
The accident happened at night, and there were no distance boards which might have helped the driver of the NR train judge the distance to the stop signal showing red.[citation needed]
Aftermathedit
In June 1998, Westrail was fined $95,000 with $85,000 in costs.[1] An appeal heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia set aside the original conviction and Westrail was awarded $23,000 in costs.[1]
The signalling was later altered to prevent trains entering the passing loop simultaneously.
The accident illustrates the hazard of having passing loops only just long enough to hold the two trains. If the loop had been longer, the safety distance from the red departure signal to the fouling point with the arriving train would have been larger and the other train would have cleared the single line section, so avoiding the collision by some vital seconds.
Loop lengtheningedit
Since the accident, the passing loop at Hines Hill has been lengthened for longer 1,800 m trains. The loop is now 2,304 m long, which is considerably longer than the normal longest train. The extra distance provides both a safety margin and allows a train entering the loop to clear the single line at a higher speed. It is not known if the simultaneous arrival signalling has been restored.
^ abcde. Department of Commerce: Prosecution Database. Government of Western Australia. 5 March 1999. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
^Explosives And Dangerous Goods Division. "Summary Of Accident Reports 1996" (PDF). p. 28. ISSN 1038-6254. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
^Oberg, Leon (2007). Locomotives of Australia: 1854 to 2007. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 410. ISBN978-1877058547.
December 15, 2023
hines, hill, train, collision, occurred, eastern, goldfields, railway, january, 1996, hines, hill, western, australia, trains, entered, passing, loop, simultaneously, opposing, directions, although, signals, passing, loop, were, correctly, showing, stop, detai. The Hines Hill train collision occurred on the Eastern Goldfields Railway on 14 January 1996 at Hines Hill Western Australia Two trains entered a passing loop simultaneously in opposing directions although signals at the end of the passing loop were correctly showing red for stop Hines Hill train collisionDetailsDate14 January 1996LocationHines Hill Western AustraliaCountryAustraliaOperatorNational Rail CorporationIncident typeCollisionCauseSignal passed at dangerStatisticsTrains2Deaths2 Contents 1 Overview 2 Aftermath 2 1 Loop lengthening 3 See also 4 ReferencesOverview editThe trains involved were National Rail Corporation s 5SP5 intermodal Sydney to Perth freighter and Westrail s 7025 Perth to Kalgoorlie freighter The National Rail train in one direction misjudged the stop and went past the red signal hitting the last wagons of the Westrail train These wagons were tankers containing diesel which burst into flames destroying the train data recorders that might have explained what speed the train was travelling at 1 Locomotive AN10 was derailed 1 The driver and a teenage guest passenger were killed Another person received severe injuries 2 National Rail locomotives AN10 and DL37 were written off due to being damaged beyond repair 3 A relay control room which was close to the fire was also destroyed 1 The accident happened at night and there were no distance boards which might have helped the driver of the NR train judge the distance to the stop signal showing red citation needed Aftermath editIn June 1998 Westrail was fined 95 000 with 85 000 in costs 1 An appeal heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia set aside the original conviction and Westrail was awarded 23 000 in costs 1 The signalling was later altered to prevent trains entering the passing loop simultaneously The accident illustrates the hazard of having passing loops only just long enough to hold the two trains If the loop had been longer the safety distance from the red departure signal to the fouling point with the arriving train would have been larger and the other train would have cleared the single line section so avoiding the collision by some vital seconds Loop lengthening edit Since the accident the passing loop at Hines Hill has been lengthened for longer 1 800 m trains The loop is now 2 304 m long which is considerably longer than the normal longest train The extra distance provides both a safety margin and allows a train entering the loop to clear the single line at a higher speed It is not known if the simultaneous arrival signalling has been restored See also edit nbsp Australia portal nbsp Railways portalRailway accidents in Western AustraliaReferences edit a b c d e Prosecution Details Department of Commerce Prosecution Database Government of Western Australia 5 March 1999 Archived from the original on 11 May 2013 Retrieved 9 July 2013 Explosives And Dangerous Goods Division Summary Of Accident Reports 1996 PDF p 28 ISSN 1038 6254 Retrieved 9 July 2013 Oberg Leon 2007 Locomotives of Australia 1854 to 2007 Rosenberg Publishing p 410 ISBN 978 1877058547 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hines Hill train collision amp oldid 1158108646, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
