TranzAlpine train stranded in tunnel after electrical failure as gas alarm sounded

Résumé détaillé

A toxic gas alarm sounded after 177 passengers were left stranded inside a dark mountain tunnel when a train suffered an electrical malfunction, a report has found. The Transport…

A toxic gas alarm sounded after 177 passengers were left stranded inside a dark mountain tunnel when a train suffered an electrical malfunction, a report has found.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has released an interim report into the incident, which involved a TranzAlpine passenger train becoming disabled inside a tunnel near Springfield on May 30 this year.

At 9.27am that day, the locomotive-powered train entered an isolated section of the Midland Line, which runs between Rolleston and Stillwater, near Greymouth.

The train, with 177 passengers, a locomotive engineer, and six crew members on board, had an electrical failure when a gear driving the locomotive’s equipment blower fan broke.

Without cooling air from the fans, the locomotive then experienced a subsequent rectifier fault.

For safety, all pulling power was cut, and the train entered Tunnel 9 travelling at 22km/h.

The train then halted to a stop inside the tunnel 100m from the western entrance and 250m from the eastern entrance.

A ‘Hot Diode’ fault warning appeared on the locomotive’s control panel, which indicates that parts of the locomotive were overheating.

The locomotive engineer secured the train by applying the brakes and placing an emergency call to train control on the radio.

Début de l'article, extrait de NZ Herald. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.