Severe weather impacts train services

The impact of extreme weather conditions across the State is impacting train services, particularly across the North West and West Coast.

Chief Executive Officer Damien White said train loading operations were continuing at TasRail’s terminals but reported that TasRail had taken a proactive approach and temporarily suspended train services on the Melba Line and West of Western Junction. Other train services are being closely monitored.

TasRail is in regular contact with its customers and will continue to keep them updated as conditions are assessed. “Any disruption to train services and our customers is regrettable, but unavoidable given current weather conditions”, Mr White said. “The safety of train operations must be a priority”.

“We are seeing a lot of trees, tree limbs and storm debris falling across the tracks”, he said. “Track obstructions are a real concern because of the risk of a train derailment and/or collision”.

Flooding is also an issue in some areas of the network, particularly across the North and North West of the State. “We’ve already seen a number of washaways, but our teams are continuously assessing the condition of the network and, as an added safety precaution, Temporary Speed Restrictions are being imposed in affected areas”, Mr White said.

With the extreme weather forecast to continue for at least another 36 hours, TasRail would not predict when full services would resume.

“We are working hand-in-glove with our customers to minimise any impacts”, Mr White said. “As soon as weather conditions ease, TasRail will be in a better position to make a final assessment and to complete necessary repairs as quickly as possible”.

TasRail would like to publicly acknowledge the efforts and commitment of staff who were working in difficult weather conditions to ensure the safety of the network.
TasRail Chief Executive Officer Damien White