The track maintenance teams affected by the issues at Newport have been briefed on the technical aspects of the AK Car including how it measures and reports locations in and around Newport. This included an explanation of the manual mode and non-GPS recording and how that relates to the actual locations on the ground.
In addition, the Track Recording Team are attending toolbox talks throughout the network to alert key personnel (Team Managers, Track Inspectors and Work Group Leaders) of the limitations of the AK Car location when recording long and short kilometres. An extract from the presentation presented at the toolbox talks is displayed in the AK Car.
ARTC also advised that a new GPS location system is being developed for the AK Car that will handle difficult areas such as long and short kilometres and changes in the kilometre count direction. ARTC advised that testing was underway and that the new system will be rolled out in early to mid-2016.
ATSB is satisfied that effective implementation of these safety actions will address the safety issue.