Safety Alert

1. Issue 025
Hi-Rail Vehicles & Derailers Safety Alert
Incident
A recent incident involving a Hi-Rail
Crane truck de-railment
The truck was being piloted by a
Protection Officer who was walking
ahead of the vehicle in the middle of
the 4 foot and did not see the
derailing mechanism sitting on top of
the rail.
The operator stated that he did see
the derailer however it was too late
to bring the vehicle to a stop and
therefore the Hi-Rail vehicle derailed
when the front left Hi-Rail wheel
came into contact with the derailing
mechanism.
Although there are many different
types of derailers the below derailing
mechanism is called a ground frame
derailer.
Immediate Action
A full engineering analysis was
conducted by a third-party engineer on
the Hi Rail inclusive of a crack test
report. The outcome of these actions
cleared the Hi Rail assembly of any
damage or cracking. PO RIW card was
removed by Sydney Trains.
Probable Causes
The Protection Officer Level 2 piloting
the vehicle was unaware of such a
device on track and was not holding
the appropriate qualifications to
disable the derailer on track.
The operator was not familiar with the
device and the location of the derailer
was not communicated during the
brief nor did both PO and operator site
the mechanism on track whilst piloting
the vehicle on track
They were traversing prior to daylight
so visibility could have been better
Limited information in TMO training
package relating to derailing
mechanisms on track.
Actions
Recommendations are as follows:
• Hi Rail operators must always be
vigilant even when being piloted by
a PO of any obstructions or
abnormal items on or around
track.
• Amend Safe Work Method
statement to include constant
visual inspection of track when
traversing forward or back.
• Toolbox talk with operators
referring to their obligation to be
vigilant when traversing Hi-Rail and
not just relying on the PO piloting
the vehicle
Good Practice:
• TMO driver should always be
vigilant of track up ahead or
when reversing.
• Never just rely on Protection
Officer piloting your truck
Bad Practice
Assuming the track is always clear of
foreign objects, signals are oriented in
correct fashion and derailers are not
enabled.
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