Incident
On the day of the disaster, a Tangara interurban train service, set G7, which had come from Sydney Central Station at 6:24 am, departed Sydney Waterfall railway station moving south towards Port Kembla Station via Wollongong. At approximately 7:15 am, the driver suffered a sudden heart attack and lost control of the train. Consequently, the train was travelling at 117 km/h (73 mph) as it approached a curve in the tracks through a small gorge. This curve is rated for speeds no greater than 60 km/h (37 mph). The train derailed, overturned, and collided with the rocky walls of the gorge in a remote area south of the station. It was reported that rescuers had to carry heavy lifting equipment for more than 1.5 km (0.93 mi) to reach the site. Two of the carriages landed on their sides and another two were severely damaged in the accident. In addition to the seven fatalities, many more passengers were injured.
The subsequent official inquiry discovered the deadman's brake had not been applied. The train guard's solicitor stated that the guard was in a microsleep for as much as 30 seconds just prior to the accident. The experienced human-factors accident investigator determined the organizational culture had the driver firmly in charge, making it psychologically more difficult for the guard to act.
Read more about this topic: Waterfall Rail Accident
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