ATSB on scene of fatal XPT derailment- Australia

[David Benton]

ATSB on scene of fatal XPT derailment
https://www.railexpress.com.au/atsb-inv ... derailment
"Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators are on the scene of an XPT train derailment north of Melbourne. The derailment claimed the lives of two rail employees and injured several passengers on Thursday evening."

[MACTRAXX]

DB (and Everyone:)

Interesting and unfortunately sad news about this NSW XPT wreck with two employee fatalities...

A question that I have is about the title of "Pilot" - would that be the equivalent
of a North American "Conductor"?

I know that "Driver" would be known as an "Engineer" in North American rail terminology.

The line that this occurred on is the standard gauge Melbourne - Sydney route from
what was written. Does the wider gauge Victoria VR trains use the same or adjacent
tracks on this route while in Victoria?

How many miles is it between Melbourne and Sydney noting that the XPT route takes about 12 hours?

I am aware that the XPT design is based on the UK HST design - with stainless steel coaches.

The most interesting feature from viewing videos and pictures of this equipment is
their gold tinted windows - is this a type of see-thru mirror glazing?

From the mention the XPT trainsets date from the early 1980s and may be retired later
in this decade - any idea what new replacement equipment may be?
Could the XPT trainsets be used elsewhere after retirement - and will there be any
preservation effort in the future?

MACTRAXX

[NorthWest]

The pilot was a pilot engineer, similar to those in the United States when trains are detouring. Due to a signal failure, pilots were taking trains through the section where the signal system was down. The crew were told to ignore signals due to the failure, and so hit a misaligned switch at speed and derailed.

This is adjacent to the V/Line broad gauge.

[RRspatch]

Thread concerning this derailment from Railpage Australia -

https://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11400959.htm

Thread has both pictures and videos.

Railpage Australia is the Australian version of Railroad.net

[David Benton]

I can't remember how tinted the windows were when i rode (maybe 12 -15 years ago ), I don't remember them been gold from the outside. Possibly done in a later overhaul.
The XPT's were originally intended for service in New South Wales only. They did not go to Melbourne or Brisbane , until maybe 2000 or so . They were derated to 100 MPH, which they rarely hit anyway , due to track conditions. With altered suspension , they rode pretty well on the "colonial" track.
A small number of Sleeping compartments were added when the services were extended to Melbourne , as the Xpt's replaced the day train, and the Budd style night sleepers.
Sydney - Melbourne is 600 miles, no real attempt has been made to speed up the journey over the years. Its relatively flat , but there are still many curves that could be straightened. The scenery is not spectacular, speeding it up would enhance the journey , I feel .

[Train60]

An interesting ABC (Australia) news report on the condition of the line.

"Train driver killed in derailment had warned of issues with line"
https://youtu.be/s7QQS3A5Kes | ABC (Australia)

And here's a link also to Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) site for this accident:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/in ... -2020-002/

[Pakenhamtrain]

The ATSB has released thier interim report into the derailment.
https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5779839/r ... report.pdf