A locomotive engineer experiencing brain fog in the wake of a Covid-19 infection likely played a role in a KiwiRail coal train’s near miss with another train in the South Island early last year, an investigation has found.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report concluded the locomotive engineer was likely to be cognitively impaired when he ran a stop signal and narrowly avoided a collision with a train coming in the opposite direction near Arthur’s Pass.
The loaded coal train bound for Lyttelton departed Arthur’s Pass on February 27, 2024, with the locomotive engineer taking over Train 850 at the pass station.
Before departure, there was an instruction about another train due at Cora Lynn, around 15km east of Arthur’s Pass station.
A yellow intermediate signal on approach to Cora Lynn indicated the next signal would be at red, requiring the engineer to stop.
However, Train 850 ran this red signal, entering the main line at 44km/h.
The report said a collision with Train 833, which was stationary on the loop line, was only avoided because points were set for Train 850 to remain on the main line.
“While the engineer could offer no explanation for not stopping at the arrival signal, they had very recently been unwell with Covid-19 while on annual leave,” the TAIC report said.
“The engineer stated that, in hindsight, they should not have returned to work while still suffering the after-effects of a Covid-19 infection.”
Concerns were also highlighted in the report about the impact of acute illness such as Covid-19 on cognitive functions such as memory and concentration.
“Medical advice received by the commission was that potential effects of Covid-19 on cognitive impairment (‘brain fog’) are well documented and can be long-lasting, continuing after the infection has cleared,” it read.
“The [locomotive engineer] could not remember the indication on signal 10530 and were unaware that signal 10244 had been passed at stop. Symptoms of cognitive impairment because of a recent Covid-19 illness can include temporary lapses in concentration and a reduced capacity for situational awareness.”
The report concluded it was likely the incident occurred due to cognitive impairment following a Covid-19 illness, ruling out other factors such as weather, equipment failure and the engineer deliberately running the light.
The engineer was an experienced driver and instructor and had been employed by KiwiRail for over a decade.
KiwiRail chief safety health and wellbeing officer James House said the operator treats all SPAD (signal passed at danger) occurrences seriously and regularly reviews risk mitigation processes.
“As the decision to return to work following any illness sits with the individual and their manager, managers will continue to remind safety-critical workers to consider potential after-effects of acute illnesses when deciding to return to work.”
