Kuranda Scenic Railway train off the rails
THE iconic Kuranda Scenic Railway could be closed indefinitely in the wake of yesterday's derailment, with engineers to assess the route's safety following a landslide.
More than 200 passengers were on board the service’s second daily service, which ploughed into a large mound of dirt lying across the track at a blind corner.
Pictures: Kuranda Scenic Rail derailment
The first service of the day had passed the site without incident an hour earlier.
The crash happened about 10.10am, 10km along the track, the train having left Cairns that morning at 9.30am.
The incident happened just before the first tunnel on the popular tourist line, forcing the crew to detach locomotive one, which was partially buried, and reverse the carriages back down the range using a second locomotive.
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Five of the 224 passengers on board were taken from the train at a Queensland Rail infrastructure track and bridge depot at Redlynch and transferred to Cairns Base Hospital for medical treatment.
The rest of the passengers disembarked at Freshwater Railway Station about 12.55pm. One passenger requiring wheelchair access was also then taken to hospital for treatment.
By 4pm yesterday, all passengers taken to hospital had been discharged.
A geotechnical engineer from Golder Associates was yesterday reviewing the site where the diesel locomotive ploughed into the landslide.
Coffey Geotechnics’ John Eckersley, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years, said if the safety report found the risks of further landslides to be too high, services could be advised to be close indefinitely.
He said Queensland Rail would make the final call.
"There has been historical evidence of landslides along the Kuranda rail line," the Townsville-based engineer said.
Queensland Rail Passenger Executive general manager Paul Scurrah said a routine safety check of the lines was completed before services started yesterday and he could not say when the corridor would re-open.
"A routine inspection of the rail corridor was carried out earlier this morning and the all-clear was given by Queensland Rail track staff," he said in a statement.
"At this stage it is too early to say when the line will be reopened and services will resume.
"The drivers stopped the train as quickly and as safely as they were able when they spotted the landslide across the track."
Read more about the derailment in The Weekend Post today.
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Aerial footage of the landslide and Kuranda Scenic Railway derailment.
Derailed: The Kuranda Scenic Railway hits a large landslide on the Kuranda range yesterday. Picture: MARC McCORMACK
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