ARTC Statement – Kankool derailment update 2 – Sunday February 15, 2015 – 8pm
Late this afternoon the Kankool derailment site was handed back by the rail safety regulators and planning for both removal of the derailed wagons and rectification of the track is underway.
Kankool is between Ardglen and Willow Tree on the ARTC’s Hunter Valley network. It is a single line section of track.
19 wagons of the 82-wagon train derailed.
The rear section of the train and locomotives will be released from the site tomorrow morning.
Heavy cranes will arrive on site tomorrow morning to undertake wagon recovery.
A preliminary forecast for reopening is late Friday 20 February.
Given the nature of the site and its proximity to the highway ARTC asks that motorists take care driving past the site. Traffic management is in place, however there have been a number of near misses with people stopping without warning to view the site.
We would like to thank our customers for their patience while we work to return services as quickly and safely as possible.
The derailment occurred at around 5.15am on Sunday morning, 15 February.