The operator of the XPT passenger train and the Australian Rail Track Corporation, ARTC, have been fined a total of more than $500,000 over the 2020 derailment of the XPT near Wallan that killed two men and injured 66 passengers.
NSW Trains and the ARTC were charged with breaching Victoria’s rail safety laws as a result of the crash on February 20, 2020.
Driver John Kennedy and rail worker Sam Meintanis were killed, while eight passengers were seriously hurt and 58 others sustained minor injuries.
Both operators pleaded guilty over the derailment and their sentences were handed down in the Melbourne Magistrates Court last Wednesday.
The XPT passenger train derailed when it was diverted to a section of track without the driver’s knowledge. The diverted track had an entry speed limit of 15 kilometres per hour, but the train was travelling in excess of 100kph.
Track changes were made due to signalling equipment being damaged by a fire on February 3 2020. A 24km stretch from Kilmore East to Donnybrook was then managed using an alternative system.
The court heard track authorities had made those track changes the previous night and the information was contained on a piece of paper in the driver’s cabin, which Mr Kennedy had not read.
No verbal checks were conducted with the driver to confirm he was aware of the changes, and no track-side signs were present to alert him to the reduced speed limit.
Magistrate Brett Sonnet’s written judgement spanned 63 pages. However he delivered a 10-minute summary.
He said the operators’ failures exposed multiple people to the risk of death and serious injury He also praised Mr Kennedy, saying the driver’s actions in breaking heavily in the last second averted an even more catastrophic outcome.
He also acknowledged victim impact statements made by the partners of the two deceased and the “tremendous shock and pain” felt by the families of those affected.
“There is no penalty the court can impose which can truly reflect what happened on that day,” he said.
The magistrate imposed fines of $375,000 against ARTC and $150,000 against NSW Trains, and ordered both parties to each pay half of the prosecution’s legal costs.
The maximum penalty for the offences is $1.5 million, although the ceiling on the fine was reduced to just $413,000 for both NSW Trains and the ARTC because the case was heard in the Magistrates Court, rather than a higher court.
