The Rovos Rail 2010 accident report is available on the RSR website at
http://www.rsr.org.za/RSR/railway_safet ... ail+Report
On 21 April 2010 Rovos Rail Train number 18601 was enroute from Cape Town to Capital Park in Pretoria. it was hauled by Transnet Freight Rail electronic [sic] locomotives from Cape Town to Centurion. At Centurion Station, the electronic locomotives would be exchanged for a steam locomotive, to haul the train on the final leg of its journey to Capital Park in the north of Pretoria.In the process of exchanging locomotives, the detached coaches started to roll and ran away downhill towards Pretoria and derailed at the Southern entrance to Pretoria Station at approximately 11H25. Seventeen of the nineteen coaches derailed, resulting in four fatalities on the train.
Of particular interest:
2.6 Immediate/Direct Cause
The detached load (Rovos train) was not adequately secured after being stopped at the station, uncoupled from the TFR locomotives and awaiting the coupling of the Rovos steam locomotive...
2.7 Root Cause of the Incident
Inadequate management of the interface between TFR and Rovos Rail led to the TFR train crew not following the procedures for the securing of detached loads, as well as the Rovos crew being allowed to operate systems affecting the safe movement of the train without the necessary competence and the supervision by a competent person. In all likelihood the Rovos crew proceeded to manually release the train vacuum brakes in preparation for departure before the train had coupled to the steam locomotive.
2.8 Contributory Causes
The business approach of Rovos Rail that the client comes first in all respects resulted in the train crew being very conscious of arrival and departure times, which in turn resulted in substandard safety acts including the probability of releasing the train brakes at inappropriate times to expedite preparation for departure.
As most knowledgeable observers surmised at the time, it seems the wires on the vacuum brake cylinders were probably pulled by a Rovos staff member before the locomotive coupled onto the train.
