Runaway BHP Train Under Investigation in Australia
After traveling about 55 miles, it was deliberately derailed by a company control center in Perth, according to ATSB.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating a Nov. 5 incident in Western Australia where a BHP train loaded with iron ore traveled about 55 miles with no personnel on board.
ATSB posted a few details of the incident, noting that the train consisted of four locomotives and 268 railcars. The engineer had left the locomotive to inspect an issue with an ore car, and the train then began moving.
It was deliberately derailed by a company control center in Perth, according to ATSB, which reported that it expects to complete this investigation in the second quarter of 2019.
The train was traveling on BHP's rail line from Newman to Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There were no injuries in the derailment, but the train was extensively damaged. The Guardian reported that BHP has suspended rail operations in Western Australia but expects to resume them in about a week.