The successful management of an emergency event from a remote location is critically dependent on clear and effective communication protocols. Communications within train control, and between train control and Cleveland station, were not sufficiently coordinated and resulted in misunderstandings at the Cleveland station accident site.
Queensland Rail has implemented an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRP) for all City Network Stations. Training has been conducted and a process put in place to ensure the contents of the EPRP are reviewed and discussed regularly at focus group meetings and toolbox talks.
Queensland Rail continues to develop and implement a single integrated process to address communication protocols within the network control centre and between the network control centre and an emergency site. The process includes incident management, site preservation and protection during response and recovery.
The ATSB notes that Queensland Rail continues to develop effective internal communication protocols to prevent misunderstandings between staff during an emergency incident response.
