Safe Rail Bridges !

The New South Wales rail system began to serve this state back in the steam age.   Steam trains were then breaking edge technology and one of the early lines was the slow and dangerous link between Sydney and Wollongong that enabled coal to serve the new colonies energy needs.   Today that line follows much the same alignment with electrification replacing steam trains.

We were assured that Transport NSW had in place a Bridge Management System  ( BMS ) to maintain checks for load capacity on the entirety of the rail bridges across this state.   It came as a shock to discover that there are gaps and that of the 825 bridges listed, no report s available on 207 such structures.    Without relevant information on what is needed, the works programme to repair and replace bridges is simply without credibility.

NSW rail lines share the traffic load between the commuter passenger trains and the movement of heavy freight and those bridges vary from mammoth structures crossing rivers to very tiny crossings spanning gaps across mere creeks.  Changing industry needs means that the mix of rail freight is ever changing and it is important that rail bridges are capable of handling whatever load is imposed.   At the moment that can not be guaranteed.

In particular those regular commuters who ride the trains between Wollongong and Central on the Illawarra line have good reason to wonder how safe the bridges over which they travel really are.   At one stage, all trains cross a massive viaduct and that is never attempted at anything above walking speed.   They also know that the line is subjected to slippage after even moderate rain, and without warning rail movement is cancelled and replaced with buses, making the journey even longer.   We are asking a rail line constructed in the pick and shovel era - when the overburden was moved with horse and cart transport - to keep serving with modern carriages capable of higher speeds.

The ultimate nightmare would be the derailing of a packed commuter train because of a bridge failure.  The worst accident was the Bold street bridge disaster, when a commuter train brought down a road bridge on top of a passing train and crushed several carriages.   When the Sydney Harbour bridge was completed the state demonstrated its capacity by bringing a huge mass of trains to a halt on the rails crossing the bridge to give a visual demonstration that impressed most people.

Bridge certification inspections must now be urgently carried out on those bridges which lack current paperwork.  Replacement of the Illawarra line is long overdue and it will be costly.   It  w ill require a very long tunnel through the escarpment to achieve the grade and capacity for speed necessary to serve the twin cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour and their growing hinterland.

Discovery of over two hundred rail bridges lacking oversight should be a wakeup call.   What else has a question mark hanging over it ?   Perhaps this is a good time for a long, hard revision of how we  check safety on the entire rail system to find any other loose ends that need to be tidied up !