RO-2004-109

On Sunday 28 March 2004, at about 1541 shortly after entering the Otira Tunnel Train 804, the Greymouth to Christchurch Tranz Alpine passenger express, with 268 passengers and 6 crew on board, stalled and slid backwards. The locomotive engineer eventually brought the train under control but when he attempted to move forward again the locomotives could not develop traction and the train stopped.

After a second unsuccessful attempt to move the train forward, the locomotive engineer was authorised by train control to set back to Otira where extra locomotive power was attached for the trip through the Otira Tunnel to Arthurs Pass.

Contributing factors and safety issues identified included:

· the loss of traction experienced by the locomotives
· the failure of the locomotive sanding equipment to operate correctly
· a residue of coal dust and moisture on the railhead within the tunnel
· the inability to establish radio communication between the locomotive engineer and train controller
· the imbalance of axle weight distribution on locomotive DCP4801
· the lack of filtering of locomotive sand
· the loss of situational awareness by the locomotive engineer.

Two safety recommendations were made to the Chief Executive of Toll NZ Consolidated Limited.