Driver sent troubling email before fatal train derailment
The driver of the train which derailed en-route to Melbourne had emailed a friend about his concerns with the train service just over two weeks before the fatal accident.
John Kennedy, a 54-year-old train driver from Canberra, died alongside his 49-year-old pilot from Victoria when the five-carriage, Sydney to Melbourne XPT train derailed last Thursday.
On board at the time of the derailment were 153 passengers, 11 of which were also injured.
Mr Kennedy had expressed his concerns with the service to a friend, Clive Williams, through an email on February 3, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“My last six Melbourne return trips have been very late or cancelled mainly due to train fault issues,” he explained in the email.
“On 3 of the six runs I was down to one engine, on another trip I had no speedo, and the only trip without a train fault was disrupted by the big derailment last week,” part of the email said.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Williams said his late friend “half expected” the train to derail when first started driving down to Melbourne, due to the “violent sideways movement on some sections of the track”.
“But he assumed the speed limit had been set by engineers who had calculated the safe speed for trains using those sections,” said Mr Williams who is a rail enthusiast and a law professor.
Mr Kennedy’s sister Catherine has also spoken out since the derailment. Speaking to Alan Jones on 2GB she defended her brother.
“John loved train driving, he’s always wanted to be a train driver his whole life,” Catherine said.
“I just can’t believe that he would have taken unnecessary risks with people’s lives. He took his job seriously.”
Over the coming days the wreckage will be removed from the tracks at Wallan by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and Transport NSW.
"Over the next few days equipment including sleepers, rail and signalling equipment will be delivered to the site to repair the rail infrastructure once the XPT is removed," an ARTC spokesperson said to AAP.
On Saturday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examined the scene, looking at the maintenance of the train and railway, in addition to signalling data.
Some passengers who were on board have said the train was speeding at the time of the derailment, however it has been reported the train was supposed to slow down to 15km/h as it diverted through a different part of the track near Wallan Station.
Buses have replaced all train services to Seymour, Shepparton and Albury.
with AAP
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