A truck driver who caused a freight train to derail in southern New South Wales will not serve jail time.
Ian Richard Wishart, 55, was behind the wheel of a semi-trailer carrying ballast in March 2023 when he slowed down but failed to stop at a level crossing on Canola Way in the NSW Riverina town of Old Junee.
His truck collided with an empty freight train which derailed and caused the rail line to close for three weeks.
Ian Wishart pleaded guilty to charges arising frm the crash. (Supplied: Facebook)
Wishart pleaded guilty in November to endangering the safety of person/s on the railway and not stopping at a level crossing.
He was sentenced to a community corrections order of two-and-a-half years and fined $2,500 in Wagga Wagga District Court on Wednesday.
Justice Gordon Lerve said it was good fortune nobody was seriously injured.
“That stop sign is visible, he should not have slowed to 20 kilometres per hour, he should have come to a complete stop,” he said.
Justice Lerve said the crash was a serious example of the offence of not stopping at a level crossing.
“The simple error was extremely costly and traumatic,” he said.
“[It came with a cost] of $3.5 million to the tax payer”.
Wishart’s defence attorney, David Barron, said his client sought mental health treatment of his own volition and had shown remorse since the incident.
Mr Barron also said Wishart drove the level crossing on a regular basis and “it reminds him every time”.
Wishart said, “No-one got hurt, no-one was hurt” outside the court on Wednesday morning when asked for comment.
Costs pile up
Southern Shorthaul Railroad director Jason Ferguson, whose company owns the derailed train, said he was still feeling the financial effects of the incident.
“It knocked us for six, it was the biggest incident we’d had in 20 years,” he said.
Jason Ferguson says he is still counting the cost of the derailment. (Supplied: Jason Ferguson)
He said the crew sustained minor injuries but were able to climb out of the train and had since returned to work.
Mr Ferguson said the derailment had a huge economic impact.
“All up it cost us $16 million,” Mr Ferguson said.
“Some of that’s covered by insurance but there’s gaps there that we still need to deal with.”
About 220 metres of the rail line at the crash site also had to be rebuilt.
Mr Ferguson said the freight line closure cost the business community about $100 million.
There were no serious injuries as a result of the collision. (ABC Riverina: Gary-Jon Lysaght)
“It affected the grain that we would normally get along that line from places like Coolamon, Grong Grong [and] Narrandera,” he said.
Mr Ferguson said there was an alternate route from Griffith via Temora to Cootamundra but it was longer and had extensive delays.
“We can sometimes wait eight hours to get a train pass through there normally, let alone if the other line is closed,” he said.
He said Griffith commuters and wine growers who would normally use rail to freight their wine to Melbourne were also impacted.
“None of that could operate,” he said.
A locomotive damaged in the crash had to be rebuilt. (Supplied: Southern Shorthaul Railroad)
Upgrades in progress
Transport for New South Wales public transport safety manager Luke Wilby said there had been 65 recorded collisions between trains and vehicles in the state since July 2014, resulting in nine deaths.
“We know collisions at level crossings have the potential for catastrophic outcomes with significant trauma involved,” Mr Wilby said.
He said in addition to the human cost, and affecting people’s ability to travel, there was extraordinary financial impact to the state when a level-crossing incident blocked a railway for long periods.
Mr Wilby said the department was upgrading 23 level crossings across the state as part of a $56 million project.
He urged road and rail users to prioritise their safety.
“These risks are considerably high when people make mistakes,” he said.
“Do the right thing to make sure everyone returns home safely.”
