Our Brother Died In Vain
Sun Herald
Sunday January 30, 2000
RAIL worker Rodney Fox would not have seen nor heard the fast-moving Tangara as he directed cranes on what were supposed to be unused rail lines between Burwood and Strathfield.
In a split second, he was crushed while working a late shift as a contractor dogman for LBJ Cranes and Rigging 20 months ago.
Now his brother is demanding an inquiry into rail safety standards.
Ray Fox described Rodney, 38, as ``one of the most safety-conscious workers in the industry".
The close-knit brothers shared a house in Liverpool at the time of the tragedy.
``There was no warning, no lighting except the headlights of the cranes, no flagmen, no safety barriers, no risk assessment no detonators, nothing," Ray said.
``No-one even knew they were out there and they had been told they were working beside a dead track.
``And all the related bookwork was apparently burnt in a fire."
WorkCover head of legal affairs Greg McCann said that the results of a WorkCover investigation into Rodney's death had recently been forwarded to the Coroner to be reviewed alongside other safety complaints.
``There's been so many deaths on the railways that it is still in the preliminary stages," he said.
A spokesperson for Rail Services Australia said an inquiry had been conducted into Mr Fox's death and forwarded to the Coroner last September, as well as police and WorkCover inquiries.
``We co-operated fully with all inquiries and it is now up to the Coroner to determine the cause of death and whether further inquiries need to be conducted," the spokesperson said.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union official Steve Dixon described the tragedy as ``certainly one of the worst examples of negligence".
He said there had been a ``total disregard" for the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
``The worst thing is, no individual will ever be blamed for it," Mr Dixon said. ``It's a real growth industry killing people on railway jobs, the railway system has been neglected to the point where it borders on criminality. Part of the problem is the breaking up of the railway system into business units, so that half the time the workforce doesn't know who they're working for.
``I met guys working at the time of Rodney's death who just had a mobile phone number as their employer."
Ray and his other brother, Brad, 36, have accused the Rail Services Authority of a ``massive cover-up".
``We don't care about the money, we just want to know what happened," Ray said. ``Because he had no wife and kids, they've just wiped their hands of it. We've had no acknowledgement, no letter of condolence, no contact. They've just cleaned it up and carried on as though nothing had happened.
``It would be a bit easier if safety standards had been overhauled as a result but in 20 months, nothing's happened."
Ray has lodged a personal injury claim with solicitors, using witnesses, police and WorkCover testimonials, many of which allege negligence.
He said the train driver involved had also launched legal action, blaming the accident for his marriage breakdown, depression, lack of sleep and loss of job.
``It was a senseless death, it should never have happened but we just want to know the truth, so his death will not be in vain," Ray said.
``You just feel like he was killed for nothing."
Deadly Railways
MAY 19, 1998: Drivers Wayne Dunstan, 31, of Mt Warrigal, and John Anderson, 38, of Albion Park, died instantly when the locomotive of their National Rail freight train struck debris on the track and flipped, 4km east of Robertson.
MAY 23, 1998: Private contractor Rodney Fox, 38, of Liverpool, was hit by a train as he worked as a dogman, preparing loads to be lifted by cranes in darkness on the tracks between Burwood and Strathfield.
AUGUST 18, 1998: Gangers Darren Easter, 31, of Wauchope and Trevor Ratcliffe, 50, of Gloucester, were killed when an unladen 33-wagon coal train slammed into the back of their four-wheel-drive utility.
OCTOBER 15, 1998: Ganger Andrew Biley, 32, was killed at Bell.
OCTOBER 27, 1998: A FreightCorp employee, 45, from Parkes, was crushed to death between train carriages at Trangie.
JANUARY 27, 1999: A ganger, 57, of Ryde, was killed at Redfern by the Penrith-bound Tangara.
JULY 30, 1999: A painter was killed at Sydenham.
© 2000 Sun Herald