Summary of track condition and safety The ARTC has adopted a combination of both short and long term treatments to remediate the track problems that have developed between Melbourne and Sydney. The short term treatments were intended to manage the problems until long term solutions could be applied. The ARTC recognised that track geometry defects were developing at a higher rate than the inspection requirements (documented in the code of practice) could manage. Consequently, the ARTC adopted an increased inspection and maintenance frequency, especially during wet weather. Where geometry defects were identified, actions were applied as specified in the code of practice. These included the application of speed limits to ensure the safe passage of train operations plus spot maintenance works to manage the defects until corrective actions could be applied. Safety of the Melbourne to Sydney line is being maintained largely through the application of temporary speed restrictions, although increased maintenance activities and speed restrictions have resulted in extended train running times along the corridor. Lost time running increased through 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was more significant in Victoria than in New South Wales. While the application of temporary speed restrictions may in general control the safety risk, the system still relies on prompt identification of track condition hazards before the control measures can be implemented. If the track is performing in a constantly poor and degraded condition, there is an increased risk that defects compromising safety are not immediately identified. In this case, the ARTC have increased the inspection regime to mitigate this risk. However, if the system was performing well, it is likely to be inherently safer since it would place fewer burdens on the defect identification process. A number of issues were identified in the ATSB Interim Report, where the opportunity existed to further improve the safety of operations across the ARTC rail network. These were associated with the process and application of temporary speed restrictions. The ARTC advised that a combination of improved TSR management and the implementation of a Ballast Rehabilitation Plan had improved track condition and significantly reduced the number of TSRs on the Melbourne to Sydney line. The works conducted over the 15 months since late December 2011 had improved lost transit times by about 50%.
Summary of track condition and safety The ARTC has adopted a combination of both short and long term treatments to remediate the track problems that have developed between Melbourne and Sydney. The short term treatments were intended to manage the problems until long term solutions could be applied. The ARTC recognised that track geometry defects were developing at a higher rate than the inspection requirements (documented in the code of practice) could manage. Consequently, the ARTC adopted an increased inspection and maintenance frequency, especially during wet weather. Where geometry defects were identified, actions were applied as specified in the code of practice. These included the application of speed limits to ensure the safe passage of train operations plus spot maintenance works to manage the defects until corrective actions could be applied. Safety of the Melbourne to Sydney line is being maintained largely through the application of temporary speed restrictions, although increased maintenance activities and speed restrictions have resulted in extended train running times along the corridor. Lost time running increased through 2008, 2009 and 2010 and was more significant in Victoria than in New South Wales. While the application of temporary speed restrictions may in general control the safety risk, the system still relies on prompt identification of track condition hazards before the control measures can be implemented. If the track is performing in a constantly poor and degraded condition, there is an increased risk that defects compromising safety are not immediately identified. In this case, the ARTC have increased the inspection regime to mitigate this risk. However, if the system was performing well, it is likely to be inherently safer since it would place fewer burdens on the defect identification process. A number of issues were identified in the ATSB Interim Report, where the opportunity existed to further improve the safety of operations across the ARTC rail network. These were associated with the process and application of temporary speed restrictions. The ARTC advised that a combination of improved TSR management and the implementation of a Ballast Rehabilitation Plan had improved track condition and significantly reduced the number of TSRs on the Melbourne to Sydney line. The works conducted over the 15 months since late December 2011 had improved lost transit times by about 50%.
ri-2011-015_final.docx