GWI Coal Hauling - Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator

Genesee & Wyoming Australia:
Scope of Operations and
Emergency Experiences
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
October, 20141
Our Business
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Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA) is a wholly
owned subsidiary of international rail operator
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI)
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Established in 1899, GWI now encompasses 112
railways worldwide with operations in the United
States, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and
Australia.
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5000 employees, 2000 customers, >1000
locomotives and 22,000 wagons.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Our Core Purpose
To be the
safest and
most respected
rail service
provider
in the world.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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GWA – The Australian Business
Genesee & Wyoming
Australia (GWA)
•
3,500+ km of owned track (2,200 km Tarcoola to
Darwin)
•
•
•
Accredited rail operator in six states
540+ employees
100 locomotives and 1,000 wagons
Commodities
•
Bulk Products
– Iron Ore
– Grain
– Gypsum
– Manganese
– Copper
•
Adelaide-Darwin / Intermodal – six services
round trip each week
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Infrastructure trains
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Intermodal Overview
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Services departing Adelaide and Darwin 6 Days per week.
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Container Services (both refrigerated and general).
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Piggyback Services (bulk liquids trailers).
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Services routinely carry dangerous goods (various classes) and
occasionally uranium ore.
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Main terminals in Alice Springs and Berrimah (Darwin) with freight
forwarding facilities in Tennant Creek and Katherine.
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Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Tarcoola-Darwin railway deemed to be critical infrastructure.
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GWA Depots, Workshops and Facilities
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Significant presence in regional South Australia (Eyre Peninsula, Mid
North, and the Murray Lands).
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Head Office located at Keswick in Adelaide.
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Main depots in SA at Dry Creek, Port Augusta and Whyalla.
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In NT main facilities at Berrimah (Darwin) and Alice Springs.
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GWA undertakes track and civil infrastructure maintenance, rollingstock
maintenance, train operations and shunting, terminal operations, logistics
and train control.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience – Exercises
2009 – Exercise Freight Train
Scenario based on collision of loaded freight train at Dry
Creek with consequent damage to Port Wakefield Road
bridge and release of gas from ruptured ISO container.
Learnings included:
•
Inability of agencies to gain access to certain parts of the
yard
•
Confusion about multiple track owners and risk to
attendant personnel
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience – Exercises
2007 – Exercise Tracks R4 Trains
Scenario based on collision between train and bus at a railway crossing on the Hugh River Stock
Route. Bus and crew car casualties.
2005 – Exercise Alberga
Scenario based on derailment of freight train at remote location. Requirement to deal with spilt
uranium ore.
2003 – Exercise Northern Tracks
Scenario based on derailment of a passenger train at remote location with substantial numbers of
casualties.
Critical learning: Significant strain that a large accident in a remote
location can have on the resources of Emergency Services and the
Health system.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience - Reality
2011 – Edith River (NT)
Accident summary:
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Loaded intermodal train derailed on 27.12.2011 in
flood waters on Edith River Bridge after
unprecedented flood event.
Consequences
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One employee injured and hospitalised.
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Significant damage to bridge.
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Closure of track and disruption to services.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience - Reality
Findings
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After successfully implementing its cyclone
response plan, GWA was caught out by the
subsequent extreme weather event.
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Disconnects between agencies involved in issuing
and elevating warnings.
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Lack of ‘rail awareness’ on the part of local
police.
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GWA Emergency Response Plan effectively
applied.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience – Reality
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Emergency Experience – Reality
Initiatives
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Extreme weather process developed. Training delivered to all GWA rail safety workers. Adopts a
risk-based approach linking forecasts to sections of the network, risk levels and actions.
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Forecasts ( 1 day and 3 day) issued by text message to extensive list of GWA staff.
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Warnings issued by text message and email.
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Wayside detectors and river height gauging stations installed or re-instated.
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Efforts made to establish closer links with NT emergency service organisations.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Contacting GWA
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In the event of an emergency GWA Transport Control is the first point of contact in
GWA. They will act as liaison between train crew at the scene and emergency
personnel. They will also close the affected section of the network to traffic.
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Transport Control operate 24/7
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GWA operates 2 dedicated emergency telephones:
(08) 8262 5424
0419 819 136
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Things to Know
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We consider that the operations which present the greatest degree of risk to our business are
the Ghan and our Intermodal services. Collisions at level crossings also attract a high risk rating.
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The network is broken up into sections and we use km markers to report location and progress.
Transitioning towards GPS.
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Access to the railway corridor can be problematic.
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Many modern wagons are permanently coupled making it impossible to detach platforms in an
emergency with implications for segregation of loading.
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Majority of intermodal and long distance services utilise crew cars that contain resting crew.
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Many yards contain track which belongs to more than one operator.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Things to Know
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If a locomotive is shut down, air pressure in
the airbrake system will no longer be
generated.
Over time the air within the brake system
will bleed off and the air brakes will release.
If sufficient handbrakes have not been
applied, the train can run away.
Lac-Megantic, Quebec 2013
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Further Information
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For further information on GWA’s emergency and security
arrangements please contact:
Scott MacGregor, Director of Risk and Compliance
[email protected]
Tony Moore, National Risk Manager
[email protected]
Wayne Robertson, National Rail Safety Manager
[email protected]
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
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