On Tuesday at 10.30am, a train derailed at the Coppabella Yard, the main staging point for coal trains in the Goonyella coal rail system southwest of Mackay.

A Queensland Rail spokesman told International Longwall News yesterday the train derailed after colliding with stationary wagons.

He said both train drivers in the lead locomotive were given the all clear by paramedics and did not require hospitalisation, however the Coppabella Yard is expected to be closed for recovery operations until 10pm last night.

While the Hail Creek branch of the Goonyella rail system serving Rio Tinto’s Hail Creek coal mine and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s South Walker mine reopened at 3pm Wednesday, the spokesman said the network will ramp up to full operation by late Friday.

“Any further repairs required will be identified once the wagons have been removed,” he said.

A DBCT spokesman told ILN one or coal two trains arrived Wednesday night, but now the issue at port was in-loading due to the derailment.

Earlier in the week the issue was out-loading as most of the 21 ships at DBCT fled south to avoid Cyclone Hamish, which was travelling off the coast in a southeasterly direction.

While the cyclone did not cause any direct damage, the rough ground swells also caused delays with returning ships being unable to make their berths at the terminal.

The spokesman said the two separate events have impacted DBCT’s normal operations from Sunday to Wednesday.

All 21 ships have now returned to the terminal.

DBCT serves 10 northern Bowen Basin mines and is operated by Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group.

The QR spokesman said an urgent inquiry into the derailment was underway and included independent expertise.