HYDE RAILWAY SMASH

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 January 1944, Page 2

HYDE RAILWAY SMASH

> ALCOHOL TO BLAME 1, WELLINGTON, January 19. The Board set up by the Minister of Railways to inquire into the Hyde railway smash reported that the cause of the derailment' was the overturning of the engine through the operation of the centrifugal force resulting from the-engine entering a curve at excessive speed. Answering the question, “Was any employee m the service of the Railways Department guilty of any dereliction of duty which directly or indirectly contributed to the derailment?” the Board commented that though the evidence as to the quantity of liquor consumed by the engine-driver, Corcoran, was very conflicting the Board was satisfied that he had a number of drinks on the morning of June 4 in the bar of the Ranfurly Hotel, and that he carried some bottles of beer on the engine. The Board was of the opinion that before Corcoran commenced duty he had taken a quantity of alcohol sufficient to affect his judgment and sense of resposibility to a marked degree, and that during the journey he took more alcohol, which still further impaired his judgment, and was the cause of his reckless driving over the final stages. The evidence as to breaches of regulations regarding speed limitation was clear and uncontradicted. “The guard, Robert Pratt (or Parata) admittedly consumed at least five glasses of beer between 10 a.m. and 11.45 a.m. on June 4 before going on duty,” said the Board. “The evidence does not justify us in concluding that he was noticeably under the influence of alcohol, but the facts: (a)’ that he apparently did not notice that the train was travelling well above permitted speeds before it reached Hyde, (b) That he did not remark to the engine-driver at any stopping station about the speed of the train, (c) That he did not apply the emergency brake from his van shortly before the time of the derailment, when on his own admission the train was travelling unusually fast and was lurching, (d) That he did not follow the usual practice of going though the train after he had taken charge at Ranfurly; and (e) Hat he had omitted to make the usual entries in his train record of a number of arrival and departure times at stations between Ranfurly and Hyde, all indicate that his condition was not normal, and' that his judgment and alertness had been impaired. The Board is of the opinion that, although the derailment was caused by the reckless manner in which the engine-driver, Corcoran, drove his engine, Guard Pratt, if he had been fully alert and alive to his responsibility might have averted the disaster by (a) drawing the engine-driver’s attention to his speed, or (b) reporting to the stationmaster at an intermediate stopping station, who might have investigated the matter on the spot, and Taken appropriate action to hold the train, or (c) by applying the emergency brake when the speed became unduly high.

“The fireman, Hollow, had two glasses of beer between 11.30 a.m. and 11.45 a.m. on June 4. There is no suggestion in the evidence that he was under the influence of alcohol, and he apparently relied on the judgment of his superior officer, the engine-driver, regarding speed. We do not consider that there was any dereliction of duty on his part tha't contributed to the derailment.

“The stationmasters at the stopping stations between Ranfurly and Hyde had no occasion to come closely into contact with the engine-driver, Corcoran, and had no reason to suspect his condition. In the opinion of the Board no blame is attachable to any of them.

RECOMMENDATIONS

“As the primary cause of the derailment was intoxication on the part of the engine-driver, it appears to the Board that -members of the engine crew when reporting for duty at a station where no senior member of the locomotive branch is located should be booked on in the presence of the stationmaster or senior officer on. duty. At present no requirement of this nature exists, and an engine crew at a station such as Ranfurly take over their engine without any formality. Such a requirement would enable the officer whose duty it was to book on the engine crew to judge whether, for any reasons, a member of the crew is unfit for duty. In its absence there is no check except the men’s own sense of discipline and responsibility, which the Board gladly concedes is usually of a high standard. Proposed amended

regulations, submitted in draft form, make more adequate provision for dealing with members of the Railways’ staff who become unfit for duty as a result of indulgence in liquor or drugs. They provide also for immediate suspension for this cause of a member of one branch of the service by the senior present of another branch, and they set out in clear form the respective responsibilities of the guard and engine-driver for the safety of a train. The Board recommends the adoption of amended regulations. The Board is of the opinion that such restricted use of speed recorders would give useful results without an exorbitant outlay. The Board is not satisfied that the safety of the public would be materially safeguarded by a more extended use of speed recorders than is implied in this recommendation, nor does it consider it desirable that a large expense should be incurred in fitting speedometers on engines exclusively employed on goods trains. In general, it is considered that the use of these instruments on the lines suggested above is desirable, though not abso- , lutely essential; that such instru-

ments, if their use is adopted, should be reasonably free from mechanical failures and maintenance difficulties, and that they should indicate with a fair standard of accuracy the rates of speed, over the full, range likely to be covered in practice.”