Train closes on mum’s arm before taking off with baby on board at Southern Cross station

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. A distraught mum’s arm was caught in a closing train door, before she was forced to watch it take off from one of Melbourne’s busiest stations — with her pram and baby on board.

A mother was separated from her baby at Southern Cross station. Picture: Nicole Garmston

A distraught woman has been reunited with her baby after they were separated when a peak-hour train left Southern Cross station without the mother.

Witnesses say train doors closed on the woman’s arm as she put the baby in a pram on board.

But the woman was hopelessly forced to give up hold of the pram with her arm caught in the door, watching on as the Lilydale train left without her about 5.20pm last Friday.

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“The train started to move and there was like a commotion at the end of the carriage,” witness Anthony McAleer told 3AW.

“There were guys who pressed the intercom button for the driver and were asking him to stop. “Eventually he did stop but he had passed the platform.”

Some good Samaritans looked after the baby until the train reached the next station, Flagstaff, where the child was collected and returned to the mother by Metro staff.

The station master at Southern Cross travelled with the mother to Flagstaff to collect the child.

“The mother was quite distraught, I saw her outside the carriage windows,” Mr McAleer said.

Metro Trains’ safety and security manager Anthony Fewster said it was a distressing incident but staff responded as quickly as they could.

“This was a frightening ordeal for the mother and child involved, with Metro employees acting quickly to reunite them as soon as possible,” he said.

“The safety of our passengers and employees is always the No.1 priority.”

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