Martin Stewart recalls train accident that cost him an arm and a leg as fight rages in NSW over rail safety
Harrowing details of a tragic accident that left a blind man without an arm and a leg have been laid bare.
A blind man who lost a leg and an arm in a train accident has urged the NSW government to do whatever it takes to ensure train staff can keep passengers safe.
Martin Stewart, 59, thought he was stepping into the doorway of a train but instead stepped into nothingness, into the space between two carriages, and ended up under the train.
Mr Stewart was dragged 250 metres and left bleeding on the tracks, missing his right leg. His right arm was so badly damaged it had to be removed by doctors.
He has maintained the accident, which happened 20 years ago in Melbourne, could have been prevented if there were guards aboard the train to check the platform before taking off.
“I’m sitting here with one arm and one leg less because guards were removed from those trains,” Mr Stewart said.
His account of the horror incident comes as a train union and the NSW government are fighting over whether to make changes to a new train fleet which would allow guards to prevent accidents like the one Mr Stewart was in.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union said this week it would strike again over the issue, vowing to halt trains between midnight and 4am next Thursday.
The union is demanding Premier Dominic Perrottet put in writing a promise he’s made to improve the New Intercity Fleet.
The union has said the guards on the train won’t be able to prevent accidents if the trains aren’t modified so that new CCTV screens, communication buttons and door controls are added.
“If those changes aren’t made, it will lead to loss of life on the network and the maiming of customers. It’s not safe,” RTBU rail operations secretary Craig Turner said.
Mr Perrottet promised to make the modifications, which are estimated to cost $264m, but the union has said it won’t stop protesting until they get a written agreement.
Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope this week slammed the union in a blistering statement.
“This dispute has never been about safety, it is about exorbitant pay demands, job protection, and the egos of union leaders,” he said.
He said the offer to change the trains had already been put in writing and “any suggestion otherwise is purely a delaying tactic by the unions to provide cover for further industrial action”.
But the union, in justifying its continued protest, said the government’s signed document wouldn’t be legally binding and that they wanted a signature on a union-drafted deed instead.
The deed battle is raging at the same time as the union and government are negotiating a new enterprise agreement.
The union says it wants a 3.5 per cent pay rise in the new agreement, while the government claims the union is demanding an effective increase of 16.5 per cent.
While the union action over the New Intercity Fleet as escalated in recent months, the issue is far from new.
The union has been kicking up a fuss over the trains as far back as 2018, when the Gladys Berejiklian government raised fears it would staff the new trains with drivers only.
The transport minister at the time, Andrew Constance, eventually agreed to make sure at least two guards were on the trains at all times.
He made that promise shortly after meeting Mr Stewart, and the two appeared together alongside RTBU secretary Alex Claassens to announce the news.
“I recognise the drivers and guards who have been expressing very real and very serious concerns about the functionality of these trains,“ Mr Constance said at the time.
“The reason we are here today is because of people like Martin, and I want to make this crystal clear: we are not going to have driver-only operations on the New Intercity Fleet.”
The RTBU has since said that was an empty promise because train guards wouldn’t be able to do their job properly without changing the trains.
As recently as May, Mr Tudehope threatened to block any modifications to the $2.8bn fleet, saying they are “safe, world-class trains that will enormously improve the experience for commuters, especially those with a disability”.
Mr Stewart said he thought highly of Mr Constance for siding with him over the train guards.
“I take him at his word and I think he’s a kind person, and I’m trying to be a kind person too,” he said.
“He promised it and I think he intends to deliver it; it’s a promise in progress.”
Mr Stewart said his near-death experience changed everything for him.
Apart from destroying his two limbs, the accident also ripped off his ear and caused severe friction burns which required a long and painful recovery process.
Losing his right hand severely impacted his capacity to read braille, his marriage collapsed in the wake of the accident and he still suffers from phantom pains.
But Mr Stewart said he isn’t bitter.
“I have accepted what happened and have no resentment whatsoever,” he said.
“How can you survive when a train goes over you? It’s just unbelievable.
“I just can’t imagine how it’s happened. But I’m going to take advantage of it, that’s for sure, and lead a very good, productive and positive life.”
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