Contemporary Australian industry rail standards did not include requirements for ground-level access to or egress from driver's cabs in the event of a rollover.
The review of rail industry standards addressing driver’s cab access and egress is considered an appropriate safety action. The safety issue is retained as open to provide for reporting on the outcome of this review on the ATSB website.
The Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board advised that in response to this safety issue it will review AS 7522 Access and egress.
The relevant standards (AS7522 – Access & Egress and AS7520.1 – Body Structural Requirements – Locomotive) are already included within our 2024/25 Work Plan, and are scheduled to commence next month. Depending upon the complexity and the interest and responses from the Public Consultation process, we expect the reviews to be completed by early 2025.
Action satisfactory and continue to monitor.
The review of the relevant standards (AS7522 – Access & Egress and AS7520.1 – Body Structural Requirements – Locomotive) have commenced and the scope of change includes findings from the said ATSB report. The project is progressing well, once the drafting is completed, the product will be made available for public consultation.
It is expected to be completed middle of 2025.
Action satisfactory and continue to monitor.
