Two rail companies have been fined a total of $525,000 over a deadly crash which resulted in a passenger train flying off the tracks at high speed on Melbourne’s outskirts.

Driver John Kennedy and his co-worker Sam Meintanis were killed, and 61 people were injured in the derailment at Wallan on February 20, 2020.

The XPT passenger train was in the final stages of a journey from Sydney to Melbourne, and came to grief when it was diverted to a section of track without the driver’s knowledge.

The alternate track had an entry speed limit of just 15 kilometres per hour, but Mr Kennedy’s train was hitting speeds in excess of 100kph.

Track authorities had made the track change the previous night and the information was contained on a piece of paper in the driver’s cabin, which Mr Kennedy had not read.

No verbal checks were conducted with the driver to confirm he was aware of the changes, and no track-side signs were present to alert him to the reduced speed limit.

In February, operators NSW Trains and the Australian Rail Track Corporation pleaded guilty to breaches of the Rail Safety National Law.

NSW Trains had responsibility for the XPT ST23 train, while the corporation was in charge of managing the track. 

The maximum penalty for the offences is $1.5 million, although the ceiling on the fine was reduced to just $413,000 for each guilty party because the case was heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and not a higher court.

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