TasRail implements $11m digital train tracking system
A new digital control system to track Tasmania's freight trains to improve safety has been rolled out across the state.
Tasmania is believed to be the first state in Australia to switch on the technology, which it hopes will prevent incidents like a recent derailment in the south of the state.
Train driver Darrell Coolie said since the late 19th century, railway controllers have been plotting the position of Tasmania's freight trains on graph paper.
"We used to just write down on a piece of paper where we were going to, train controller had one as well, then we'd read it back," he said.
The graph paper has now been replaced by a $11 million GPS-based system.
Train controller Matthew Patten said the digital technology allowed controllers to track the location and speeds of trains and better communicate with drivers.
"See whereabouts all of the trains are, if there's any problems, they're more immediately apparent and we can make better decisions," he said.
In November, a freight train derailed near Colebrook causing $3 million damage.
A preliminary Transport Safety Bureau report found the driver was travelling at 64 kilometres per hour around a bend, almost double the speed limit.
TasRail chief executive Damian White said he hoped the system would help stop derailments.
"It knows how fast the train should be going, it would know if it's approaching another train or another track gang," he said.
Mr Coolie said: "If we go past that [speed] limit, we get an alarm, and that alarm also goes through to the network controller".
The system has been trialled for several months on the north-west coast, and was switched on statewide on Sunday.
