Runaway train in the Hunter Valley

Speaking of Australian trains, there was some adventures further north in the state over the weekend, as reported by the ABC: Railway safety officials are looking into an incident involving a runaway coal train in the Hunter Valley. The fully laden coal train was unmanned and travelled several kilometres, including through level crossings. Gulp. Can you imagine? Sitting there waiting for the boom gates to go back up, only to see one of the heaviest trains possible cruising through the intersection without a driver? I suppose if I saw that, I’d assume it was under some kind of remote control. The fact a train could get into that state in spite of all our modern safety systems and affordances is a sobering thought. The ABC understands the fully laden train started rolling independently downhill during a crew change at Camberwell between Singleton and Muswellbrook just after midnight on Saturday morning and that it reached speeds in excess of the safe operating speed of 60 kilometres per…