Train derailed at Kembla Grange after abandoned car crash

Police are investigating if a car was deliberately parked on rail tracks before derailing a train and leaving three people in hospital.

A train has derailed at Kembla Grange. Picture: TNV

Police say a car parked on rail tracks near Wollongong before a major train derailment on Wednesday morning had been reported stolen just hours earlier.

Three people were taken to hospital after the four-carriage train with 13 people onboard collided with the car on the South Coast Line at Kembla Grange level crossing about 4.20am.

The front carriage detached on impact and rolled onto its side, leaving the 39-year-old train driver trapped inside with back injuries.

The driver of the train had to be freed from the overturned carriage. Picture: TNV

Three train passengers were also taken to hospital. Picture: TNV

Wreckage seen on the tracks. Picture: TNV

Twelve people, most of whom were tradies heading to a job site further south, were evacuated. A train guard and another a passenger were also taken to hospital.

Police Superintendent Craig Ireland said the car, a Nissan El Grande, had been reported stolen by a resident who lives in the southern Illawarra suburb of Flinders last night.

“Part of the police investigation will focus on exactly how and why that car came to be left on the tracks,” he said.

Superintendent Ireland said one of the tradies on the train had witnessed a man running from the scene just moments before the collision.

“This does not appear to be the case of a simple breakdown and the fact someone has run from the scene prior to it indicates it was deliberate or some sort of misadventure driving the car in that area,” he said.

Police are now examining the vehicle for forensic evidence and looking over CCTV from the train station in a bid to identify the man.

Sergeant Ireland said he hadn’t seen an incident quite like this in his career, and that it was lucky the collision wasn’t a tragedy.

“The injuries are not severe, which is a bit of a miracle looking at the damage caused by the derailment,” he said.

“It’s a miracle someone wasn’t killed or at least seriously injured.”

NSW Ambulance chief inspector Norm Rees said it was incredible no one had been seriously injured, or worse.

“When you hear train derailment your first thought is whether it’s a freight train or passenger train and when it was reported to be a passenger train, you immediately start to think worst case scenario,” he said.

“Thankfully the injuries sustained by the two passengers and two employees were minor.”

“It was a chaotic scene when emergency services first arrived with the front carriage completely off the tracks and on its side and the second tilting.”

The incident has affected train services in both directions between Wollongong and Albion Park where buses are replacing trains.

It’s expected this could be the case for a few days, with a crane planned to remove the damaged carriages from the train line.

There are currently no flow on effects to other lines as Sydney prepares for commuter chaos due to planned industrial action.

The carriage on its side. Picture: TNV

Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW members are set to strike over what the union claims is senior management’s refusal to meet with them as they negotiate a new bargaining agreement.

“Last month rail workers were forced to take the step of stopping our train network for the first time in decades, out of sheer desperation at the complete silence and disrespect from the NSW Government,” RTBU secretary Alex Claassens said.

“Unbelievably, the silence and disrespect has continued.”
A spokeswoman for new Transport Minister Rob Stokes said his first meeting in the position had been with the RTBU.

She said former transport minister Andrew Constance had also met with them repeatedly, as had Transport for NSW senior executives.

Transport NSW said that negotiations were being carried out in “good faith” but added that commuters could expect major disruptions on Wednesday.

The workers are refusing to operate trains on the Sydney Train and NSW TrainLink network, causing some services to be cancelled and others to operate on a reduced timetable.

Some suburban lines will operate every 30 minutes and will stop at every station, meaning extra travel time will be needed.

Among the changes: buses will replace trains between Bankstown and Lidcombe station while services on the Bankstown line between Liverpool and the CBD will run at a reduced frequency.