Hines Hill train collision

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Hines Hill is a crossing loop on the Perth to Sydney transcontinental main line in Australia.

On January 14, 1996, two trains entered the crossing loop simultaneously in opposing directions, although signals at the exit from the crossing loop were correctly showing red for stop.

The trains involved were National Rail's 5SP5 intermodal Sydney to Perth freighter, and Westrail's 7025 Perth to Kalgoorlie freighter.

The National Rail train in one direction misjudged the stop, and went past the red signal, hitting the last wagons of the Westrail train. Unfortunately, these wagons were oil tankers which burst into flame, destroying the "black boxes" that might have explained what speed the train was travelling at. The driver and a teenage guest passenger were killed. National Rail locomotives AN10 and DL37 were written off due to being damaged beyond repair.

[edit] Aftermath

The signalling was later altered to prevent trains entering the crossing loop simultaneous.

The accident illustrates the hazard of having crossing loops only just long enough to hold the two trains. If the loop had been longer, the safety distance from the red departure signal to the fouling point with the arriving train would have been larger and the other train would have cleared the single line section so avoiding the collision by some vital seconds.

The accident illustrates the hazard Anticipating signals Drivers should drive according to signals & have the train under control & prepared to stop prior to a red signal if a Driver fails to do this there is a real risk of this type of accident occurring again & altered signaling will not prevent this.

[edit] Loop lengthening

Since the accident, the crossing loop at Hines Hill has been lengthened for longer 1800m trains. The loop is now 2304m long, which is considerably longer than the normal longest train. The extra distance provides both a safety margin and faster crosses, since a train entering the loop can clear the single line at a highish speed rather than very slowly.

The extra distance is to accommodate longer trains & has nothing to do with faster crossings as have other crossing loops on the Avon to Kalgoorlie Line

Drivers still have to drive according to signals.