Monday, November 15, 2004

AUSTRALIA – 128 people have been injured, 5 seriously so, in a high-speed train derailment in central Queensland. Police said the tilt train came off the tracks near Bundaberg (about 400 kilometers north of Brisbane) at 12.06am AEST.

Queensland Transport Minister Paul Lucas visited the site, and reported that the black box recording device on board the train would be sent back to Brisbane for analysis, in order to determine the cause of the accident.

Premier Peter Beattie and Queensland Rail CEO Bob Scheuber said that there were no current plans to halt other tilt train services. “That will depend entirely on the investigators, they’ve not made any recommendations yet — some of them are still arriving. If they recommend that that is the course of action, then of course it would be suspended,” Mr Beattie was quoted as saying.