The procedures for measuring, assessing, and remediating rail creep in spring did not ensure creep defects were addressed in a timely manner and prior to the onset of hot weather. A creep defect identified by the spring measurements was not corrected before the derailment.
The proactive action taken should address the safety issue.
V/Line advised that the network standard for the inspection and assessment of lateral stability has been amended to include the requirement to measure and correct Stress Free Temperature (SFT) prior to the onset of the summer period (1 November to 31 March), with additional controls for any loss of rail stress detected during the summer period. The Technical Maintenance Plan has been amended to ensure creep measurements are completed 3 weeks prior to the summer season, to permit sufficient time for creep condition assessment and stress free temperature testing and correction.
