A COAL train derailment near Muswellbrook in New South Wales is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The Bureau confirmed it is looking into what caused the train to come off its tracks at Baerami (in the Upper Hunter) on Wednesday of last week.
According to the ATSB, about 3.25am, a Pacific National coal train travelling towards Newcastle derailed as it was travelling through a section of the network that was under a temporary speed limit of 20kmh.
The speed restriction was imposed to mitigate risk due to a measured series of track defects.
The last six wagons of the loaded train derailed and came to rest adjacent to a stationary train. Damage was found spanning about 2km of track.
As part of the investigation, the ATSB is to obtain a track engineering report and locomotive datalogger information as well as interviewing the train crew.
A final report is to be released after the investigation.
“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify those affected and seek safety action to address the issue,” the Bureau stated.
