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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-27 Daily Xml
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TRAM AND TRAIN DERAILMENTS

The Hon. P.F. CONLON (Elder—Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Energy) (14:05): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: We will talk about that bridge today, Marty. I do hope you ask me a question about it. I rise today to table rail investigation reports from TransAdelaide—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Please do ask a question today; I have some very good answers.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Well, stop interjecting then, goose! I rise today to table rail investigation reports from TransAdelaide—

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr McFetridge interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: No; you will enjoy this Duncan. I loved the article about you in Cycling SA; it was very good.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: Mr Speaker, this is totally out of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! As are members on my left who have interjected consistently on the minister. The Minister for Transport will not respond to interjections.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Thank you, sir. I rise today to table rail investigation reports from TransAdelaide regarding the South Terrace tram derailment on Tuesday 6 November 2007 and the Adelaide yard train derailment on Thursday 27 September 2007. There has been misinformation from the Leader of the Opposition and those opposite regarding both incidents, and I am pleased to inform the house of the results of both investigations.

The cause of the Melbourne Cup day derailment was a tram proceeding through a red signal when departing the South Terrace down platform. The report finds that tram 842 was operating a Glenelg-bound service when it entered the South Terrace siding before the switches had returned to the main line. This initial error caused the rear bogey of the tram to foul the track switch. The driver then made a further forward movement causing the tram to derail. The driver was not told to make this movement. The report states:

The primary factor leading to the derailment was the Glenelg-bound tram proceeding through a red signal and then a further breach of instructions.

The tram network was disrupted for six hours and affected thousands of Melbourne Cup patrons. TransAdelaide arranged for five articulated buses and four rigid buses to service the network, while a number of 22-seat minibuses were also used, where possible.

The investigation has found that the long delay in returning services was due, partly, to the need to take greater care when re-railing the new trams compared with the old rattlers. However, the report also found there was some confusion among work crews regarding the new overhead power system. I am advised that this problem has been addressed. TransAdelaide has advised that a number of other steps have also been taken in response to the derailment, including a review of signal positions across the tram network to ensure best practice sighting standards are in place.

I now move to the detail of the train derailment. The cause of the Noarlunga-bound train derailment was an infrastructure failure that allowed the track to become 'out of gauge', derailing bogies on the third and fourth railcars. The report finds that the failure occurred at a fishplate that was installed in February 2000, following a heat buckle. It was understood at the time that this fishplate should have been removed before the following summer, and it was not.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: A very good question: why not? What was your minister doing at the time? To further aggravate the problem—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: The year 2000.

The Hon. M.D. Rann: The year 2000: was that Diana Laidlaw?

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Yes, that's right. It wasn't Trish. How did that politician get it so wrong? The year 2000.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: To further aggravate the problem, excess ballast was used at the time to cover the fishplate, contrary to TransAdelaide's code of practice. I am advised that the excess ballast meant that track inspections had not identified the failure of the screw spikes at the fishplate in the seven years prior to the derailment. The report states, 'The extended use of the fishplate'—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: You should have seen the first version of this. The report states:

The extended use of the fishplate and the failure of track inspectors to detect the over-gauge risk because of excessive ballast in the location have been identified as the key factors in this derailment.

This derailment was caused by mistakes made in the year 2000.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am sorry, sir, but they are the facts of the matter. We had the opposition saying that I had to take responsibility for being the minister, but the truth is that, unless these people believe that the people doing the investigation do not tell the truth—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The SPEAKER: If you have a point of order, stand up and stop interjecting.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: A point of order, Mr Speaker. I will make a point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The minister is debating the statement.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will contain himself when he speaks to the chair. There is no standing order that says a minister is unable to debate in a ministerial statement. The minister has been given leave, and it is up to the house to decide whether to continue to allow leave. But there is no standing order that prevents a minister from debating in a ministerial statement.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: Come on, Marty, suck in the good air; blow it all out.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will get on with his ministerial statement.

The Hon. P.F. CONLON: I am advised that TransAdelaide has undertaken inspections of the rail network to ensure that these errors have not been made in other locations. Several operational procedures have also been changed as a result of the derailment to improve the integrity of the inspection processes. Some 15 people were injured in the derailment, and thousands of commuters were delayed on their ride home from work. TransAdelaide and the government were heavily criticised for the immediate response.

The report identifies many shortcomings in emergency procedures and the communications of TransAdelaide staff. I am advised that many actions are already being undertaken to ensure that staff are now better equipped. I can announce today that the government has allocated $11 million for immediate improvements as a result of this investigation.

The Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure will spend $9 million on the upgrade of ageing telemetry and cabling around the rail network, and a further $1.9 million will be spent on the installation of digital public address systems in all 83 suburban stations. This investigation will allow for commuters to receive timely and accurate information in the unlikely result of a delay in the rail network. I table the investigation reports.

The SPEAKER: I remind members on both sides that, if they have a point of order, there is an orderly way to draw it to my attention, and that is to get up and call out 'Point of order'. I will not respond to members—and members on both sides have done this—who call out to me while the member is speaking, drawing my attention to a point of order. I will not respond to calling out. If you have a point of order, it is quite simple: get up on your feet and draw it to my attention in the proper way.

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