LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF QUEENSLAND PARLIAMENTARY TRAVELSAFE COMMITTEE BRISBANE’S CITYTRAIN NETWORK — PART ONE — SAFETY OF THE RAIL SYSTEM AND INFRASTRUCTURE Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee Report No. 23 Released pursuant to Section 4(2)(c) of the Parliamentary Papers Act 1995 (December 1997) PARLIAMENTARY TRAVELSAFE COMMITTEE 48TH PARLIAMENT 2ND SESSION CHAIRMAN: Mr J Goss MLA, Member for Aspley DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: Mr T Sullivan MLA, Member for Chermside MEMBERS: Mr B Dollin MLA, Member for Maryborough Mr J Hegarty MLA, Member for Redlands Mr R Mitchell MLA, Member for Charters Towers Mr B Nunn MLA, Member for Hervey Bay RESEARCH DIRECTOR: Mr R Hansen RESEARCH OFFICER: Mr R McBride EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: Miss T Jackman BRISBANE’S CITYTRAIN NETWORK - PART ONE - SAFETY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND RAILWAY SYSTEM PREFACE PREFACE This is the committee’s first report from its inquiry into passenger safety and security on the Citytrain rail network, which is the committee’s first inquiry as part of its public transport reference. This report examines the safety of the network’s infrastructure and operating systems. Within the greater Brisbane Area, the Citytrain Rail network represents a major transport infrastructure investment by the government, and carries in excess of 40 million passenger journeys annually. The committee’s work has highlighted the low level of risk to passengers on the network, which is one of the great benefits of rail travel. Queensland Rail has a long tradition of engineering excellence and, overall, has a robust safety management system. There are, however, a number of important issues for Queensland Rail that need to be addressed. These include: the risk to passengers of being trapped in closing train doors; the high incidence of trains passing red stop signals; the lack of a fail-safe system to prevent train-train collisions in the Brisbane Suburban Area; the lack of equitable access to stations and rollingstock; problems with safety statistics; and the lack of consultation with passenger interest groups. Issues for Queensland Transport, as railway manager, include: the need to improve safety at railway level crossings through education and enforcement; the need for a safety audit of level crossings and a strategy to prioritise safety upgrades; the need to report railway safety data periodically; and issues concerning documentation used in safety audits of Queensland Rail. The committee thanks all the groups and individuals who assisted with this inquiry by making submissions, appearing at public hearings and otherwise providing information. Mr John Goss MLA Chairman BRISBANE’S CITYTRAIN NETWORK - PART ONE - SAFETY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND RAILWAY SYSTEM PREFACE BRISBANE’S CITYTRAIN NETWORK - PART ONE - SAFETY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND RAILWAY SYSTEM TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... I LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................V ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... VII SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................IX PART 1 ~ INTRODUCTION................................................................................................1 THE TRAVELSAFE COMMITTEE ...................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF THE INQUIRY ................................................................................... 1 SCOPE OF THIS REPORT.................................................................................................................. 2 INQUIRY PROCESS.......................................................................................................................... 2 RESPONSIBILITY OF MINISTERS ...................................................................................................... 3 PART 2 ~ THE CITYTRAIN NETWORK............................................................................5 PART 3 ~ HOW SAFE ARE CITYTRAIN PASSENGERS?................................................7 THE RELATIVE SAFETY OF RAIL TRAVEL ....................................................................................... 7 FATALITIES ON THE NETWORK....................................................................................................... 7 Passenger Fatalities ............................................................................................................................... 9 Public Fatalities ................................................................................................................................... 10 Fatality Rates Compared With Other Australian Railways.................................................................... 11 NON-FATAL PASSENGER INJURIES................................................................................................ 11 Common Injuries to Passengers ............................................................................................................ 12 FALLS INJURIES TO PASSENGERS.................................................................................................. 13 Types of Falls Injuries .......................................................................................................................... 13 PASSENGER INJURIES IN EXTERNAL TRAIN DOORS....................................................................... 14 Issues Raised in the Media and Submissions ......................................................................................... 14 Recorded Injuries ................................................................................................................................. 15 Response by Queensland Rail ............................................................................................................... 16 Door Sensors and Traction Interlocks................................................................................................... 16 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 17 PAGE I BRISBANE’S CITYTRAIN NETWORK - PART ONE - SAFETY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND RAILWAY SYSTEM TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. PART 4 ~ TRAIN ACCIDENTS.........................................................................................20 Passenger Train Collisions and Derailments in the Brisbane Suburban Area........................................ 22 FACTORS IMPACTING ON THE RISK OF TRAIN-TRAIN COLLISIONS................................................. 24 Signal Passed at Danger (SPADs)......................................................................................................... 24 The Audible Warning System (AWS)...................................................................................................... 26 Limitations of AWS as a Safety System.................................................................................................. 27 AWS Faults........................................................................................................................................... 27 The Case for Automatic Train Protection (ATP).................................................................................... 29 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 30 COLLISIONS AT RAILWAY LEVEL CROSSINGS ............................................................................... 31 Incidents Involving Motor Vehicles at Level Crossings Recorded by Queensland Rail .......................... 32 Measures to Improve Level Crossing Safety.......................................................................................... 34 Road Traffic Legislation and Enforcement at Railway Level Crossings in Queensland.......................... 35 Offences Detected by the Queensland Police Service............................................................................ 36 Camera-Based Enforcement ................................................................................................................. 37 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 38 Responsibility for Level Crossing Safety ............................................................................................... 39 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 40 TRAIN COLLISIONS WITH TRACK OBSTRUCTIONS ........................................................................ 41 PART 5 ~ ACCESSIBILITY OF THE CITYTRAIN NETWORK ......................................46 Differences Between Carriage Floor and Platform Heights................................................................... 46 Anti Discrimination Legislation ............................................................................................................ 48 Draft Accessible Transport Standards................................................................................................... 48 Responses by Railways.........................................................................................................................