A partial train derailment on a key section of rail continues to affect freight services across the country.
Emergency services were called to a section of the East West railway line in South Australia between Port Augusta and Port Pirie about 5:40pm on Tuesday.
No-one was injured during the derailment but the incident means a crucial section of the railway line is expected to be out of service until Saturday evening, affecting all services linking the east-west coasts and north-south coasts.
Here is what we know so far.
Where did the train derail?
According to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) the Pacific National train derailed between Mambray Creek and Winninowie, about 270 kilometres north of Adelaide.
In a statement a spokesperson for the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), which operates and maintains the national rail network, said 11 wagons “partially derailed”.
SA Country Fire Service (CFS) deputy state controller Brenton Hastie said crews attended the scene.
“Our crews were there to make sure that the drivers were OK and that none of the hazardous materials were leaking,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“Thankfully there was no HAZMAT risk that our crews needed to assist with.”
What services are affected?
While the recovery works are underway the ARTC said all rail services travelling between Sydney and Perth, Melbourne and Perth, and Adelaide and Darwin that use that section of railway would be affected.
SA Freight Council chief executive Jonathon Wilson said the incident occurred in a “bad location” because that section of track was integral to all trains travelling between all coasts of the country.
“Any transcontinental trains are affected by this,”
he said.
“It does show that even though our freight supply chains are really important, there is a level of fragility to them that we need to continue to see addressed.”
An SA government spokesperson said it was monitoring the situation but it was “unlikely this incident will have an impact on the state’s freight supply”.
He said resilient freight networks were important in a country like Australia because “freight is what everyone needs for their food, for their medicines. It’s so central to our way of life,” the spokesperson said.
Travellers who were due to board the Perth-bound Indian Pacific in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon were informed about the derailment as they checked-in.
Valentin Schrayvogel, who is on his honeymoon, said he had wanted “to see the countryside”, Nullarbor Plain and desert during the journey, and was not too concerned about any disruptions along the way.
“We don’t mind, we will have beverages and food here and it will be fine,” he said.
In a statement, Journey Beyond, which operates the Indian Pacific, said it was “monitoring the situation closely”.
“There is the potential that there will be impacts to services. We will know more today and will advise guests as soon as practicable of any potential impacts,” the statement said.
