Collision between Freight Train 5MA5 and Passenger Train 206A

Executive summary

On Thursday 30 September 2005 at about 0800 hours (Central Standard Time) steel plate, part of a load that had shifted on Pacific National freight train 5MA5, struck a TransAdelaide passenger train 206A at Eden Hills railway station platform. There were no injuries and only minor damage to both trains and track infrastructure.

Eden Hills is located in the Adelaide Hills region approximately 14 km from Adelaide on the Belair railway line which forms part of the Defined Interstate Rail Network corridor. Within the railway corridor there is a standard gauge line managed by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and an adjacent broad gauge line managed by TransAdelaide.

The investigation concluded that the collision occurred as a result of the movement of inadequately secured metal plates on a Transi-flat container located approximately 1250 m from the front of train 5MA5. Based on available evidence, the shifted load had been out-of-gauge from Murray Bridge, 85 km from the point of collision. In addition, the ARTC track at Eden Hills station platform was up to 140 mm closer to the TransAdelaide track than the design clearance. Given the inadequate load securing methods, and the forces to which the load had been subjected during its carriage, there was a relatively high risk of a load shift resulting in an out-of-gauge collision.