Page:ATSB RO-2018-004 - Collision of passenger train A42 with buffer stop.pdf/7

ATSB – RO-2018-004

Platform 2 in the distance. He said he was aiming for a smooth stop before the buffer at Richmond Station (Figure 2).

At 0951:06.1, the driver applied the power/brake control handle from 50% to brake (39%) just above the minimum brake demand level. The train was travelling at 52 km/h and the distance to the buffer stop was 270 m.

Somewhere past the home signal RD5, which displayed a green over red (caution) indication, but sometime after the action of applying the brake, the driver reported that he ‘felt dark, dizzy and powerless, and that my body had no control over me. I felt complete black, dark. I don’t know what happened to me after that.’ According to event recorder analysis from other similar trains, drivers usually make a number of brake applications during this time, which change the rate of deceleration.

The distance from the end of East Richmond platform to the start of Richmond platform is approximately 506 m; run 150-E took 46 s to travel this distance. As the train approached Richmond Station, the guard, who was preparing to finish his shift, had packed his bag and was standing near the door on the platform side of the train. He said he was looking at the internal CCTV screen as the train entered the platform. This screen displays multiple views from various cameras located in the passenger areas and on the train’s exterior.

Meanwhile, the passengers inside the train were preparing to disembark at this end-of-the-line stop. Many had left their seat and were making their way to, or were already in, the vestibule area near the doors. There was no announcement of the impending collision and the passengers had no warning that the train was about to collide with the buffer stop. There were 24 passengers and two crew members on board the train at the time of the collision. The majority of the passengers were in the front half of the train. There were seven passengers in car 1 and seven in car 2, two passengers in car 3, five passengers in car 4, two passengers in car 5 and one passenger in car 6.

At 0951:15.6, the leading car of A42 passed the Sydney-end of Platform 2 at Richmond Station at a speed of 47 km/h. The train was timetabled to arrive at 0952. A42, under the effect of electro- › 3 ‹