Overloaded excavator blamed for fatal rail maintenance incident near Launceston

An investigation into a fatal railway maintenance incident near Evandale in July 2022 found that the modified hi-rail excavator involved was operating beyond its working load limit.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation revealed the excavator became unstable and tipped over while lifting an infrastructure trailer on July 20, killing the operator and injuring a bystander working nearby.

ATSB Transport Safety Director Kerri Hughes said the investigation found the total load lifted, combined with the excavator configuration, exceeded the working load limit in both civil and hi-rail modes.

“Based on signage inside the excavator, it was very likely that the excavator regularly exceeded the working load limit for road and rail modes for the works,” she said.

The investigation also found that a suspension sway lock system, designed to provide stability and prevent unintended movement during lifts, was disabled at the time of the incident.

Hughes said the site supervisor was trained and qualified to operate the excavator, but may have limited experience with that specific model.

In response to the incident, TasRail implemented several safety measures, including an immediate ban on the use of excavators for road-rail vehicles in hi-rail mode.

The company also held an industry forum to develop a safe approach to resuming excavator operations, resulting in a process flowchart for using earthmoving equipment as a lifting device and a compliance checklist.

“This accident reiterates the critical need for equipment to be operated by qualified, experienced operators and for workload limits to be actively validated before beginning a task,” Hughes said.

“Additionally, selecting appropriate, fit-for-purpose equipment reduces the risk of administrative risk controls becoming a last line of defense.”