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LEAF matter on tracks caused wheel slippage on a train that crashed into Cleveland station in January, an initial investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has found.
The report said the driver of train service T842 to Cleveland did all he could to stop the train but because of poor adhesion to the track, the train did not stop.
The train crash occurred four days after a weekend of wild weather in the Redlands during the Australia Day long weekend.
The strong winds had resulted in roads and parks being littered with small tree branches and leaves and in some areas, the film of small tree branches and leaves was so thick that car tracks were carved through the debris on the road.
The Wellington Point to Cleveland section of the train runs through this heavily eucalyptus-treed area.
The ATSB report said preliminary results of an analysis of a film of black scale type material deposited on the rail showed leaf tissue, iron oxide, a combination of natural oils and hydrocarbon oil, solid lubricant additive and woody particles.
The report said when this material was on the track it reduced levels of wheel/rail adhesion under certain climatic conditions.
The report also noted that Queensland Rail did not take sufficient action to reduce the risk of slippage because of the leaf matter on the tracks and said this was a significant safety issue.
The ATSB investigation also found that during the period immediately following the collision, there were a series of communication issues which resulted in incomplete information being provided to key personnel.
“This resulted in the train control operator and train guard miscommunicating the status of the downed overhead power lines, leading to the guard permitting some passengers to exit the train before emergency services had ensured it was safe to do so,” the report said.
The report recounted the days leading up to the incident.
The Cleveland rail line had been closed to rail traffic between Wellington Point and Cleveland station from Sunday afternoon on January 27 after a tree crushed the pole holding the powerlines at Ormiston station.
Rail services to Cleveland station remained suspended until the night of, January 30 when an inspection of the overhead wiring was made by Queensland Rail maintenance staff.
On January 31, services on the Cleveland line recommenced with the first train arriving at Cleveland Station at 4.40am and later departing at 5.51am.
A further 11 services arrived and departed Cleveland before service the fateful T842.
On the morning of the crash, train passengers on earlier trains on the Cleveland line had contacted the Bayside Bulletin to report earlier trains over shooting the station platform at Ormiston.
