The Ghan involved in incident with cattle truck near Alice Springs
Many passengers on the iconic tourist train have been forced to book last minute flights out of Alice Springs, as its expected departure last night was cancelled after a crash.
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A “trip of a lifetime” has soured for hundreds of passengers on tourist train The Ghan after a crash left them stranded in the Northern Territory.
A cattle truck hit the train on Sunday about 50km north of Alice Springs, derailing plans to continue on to Manguri and Coober Pedy overnight.
Passengers instead spent the night on board the train at Alice Springs station, many attempting to book flights out instead of continuing on the iconic rail journey.
“No one knows what’s going on,” said passenger Phillipa Edwards.
“My friend Claire was given this trip as a 50th birthday present but still had to put $4000 towards it.
“She’s a single mum, a primary school teacher – she’ll never be able to afford this again.
“That’s the sad bit … for her it really is the trip of a lifetime.”
Ms Edwards said the passengers had been given half an hour off the train on Monday morning to “walk on the platform” before being “herded back on to sit in the stuffy air”.
“Morale is still okay but people have started booking flights out of Alice.
“Many of us need to be in Adelaide for connecting flights and the scant info we have is that it might not happen.”
Ms Edwards booked a flight out of Alice Springs on Monday and said Claire would continue on The Ghan but had been forced to cancel booked accommodation in Adelaide.
In a statement operating company Journey Beyond said the train had been cleared to continue on to Adelaide, a day later than planned.
“All guests safely disembarked the train yesterday (Sunday) and travelled by coach to Alice Springs,” a spokeswoman said.
“In Alice Springs guests enjoyed an off train experience at Simpsons Gap, followed by dinner under the stars at the Telegraph Station before reboarding.
“They spent the night stabled at the Alice Springs terminal.
“Pacific National conducted final checks this morning and have now cleared the train to resume its journey to Adelaide.
“Guests will enjoy lunch and a tour of Alice Springs before boarding The Ghan this evening.
“The Coober Pedy experience has been postponed by one day, with the new arrival in Adelaide set for Wednesday morning, one day later than originally planned.”
She said The Ghan’s scheduled trip departing Adelaide to Alice Springs on Wednesday was not impacted at this stage.
Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said investigations into how the crash occurred were underway.
“The mere fact that it struck the locomotive and not the passenger carriages, it’s extremely lucky that no one was injured,” he said.
“Once the truck and the train had been separated an assessment was done, and the train was able to make its way back into Alice Springs under its own steam, to have further assessment done on the second locomotive.
“The track was structurally assessed and determined to be okay for all other commercial and passenger trains to continue to travel on that particular part of the track.
“We’re determining whether there was any particular cause to the crash. It’s a marked train crossing location and why the truck went into the intersection and struck the locomotive is yet to be determined.”
‘Completely smashed in’: Ghan passengers recount moment cattle truck collided with iconic train
September 16: One person was taken to hospital and hundreds of passengers on iconic Australian tourist train the Ghan have been impacted after a cattle truck crashed into one of its carriages.
Emergency services received multiple reports of a collision between the train and truck about 50km north of Alice Springs just after 10am on Sunday.
Northern Territory Police confirmed the Ghan was travelling south towards Alice Springs when a cattle truck collided with the second locomotive at the Arltunga level crossing, causing significant damage to both the train and the truck.
The driver of the truck was treated by paramedics at the scene for shock and was later transported to Alice Springs Hospital for further care.
There were no injuries reported among the passengers on board and it is understood no cattle were harmed.
One of the passengers on board, Melbourne woman Phillipa Edwards, said things could have been a lot worse.
“To be honest, if you’re going to be hit by anything at least it’s on the Ghan with a fully stocked bar and excellent staff,” she said.
“We didn’t feel it, but we were in Carriage B and I was at the window on that side, so if it had been a few seconds later it could’ve been very different.
“The front of the truck was completely smashed in.
“It was a massive truck, a huge, huge truck, and all the cows were standing there in the sun hours later.”
Ms Edwards said the Ghan staff had done an “amazing job” keeping everyone calm, despite five hours waiting to find out what was going on without reception.
They were eventually ferried to Alice Springs on a bus, and taken to Simpsons Gap for some sightseeing in the afternoon.
Another passenger James Alderson said “everything was calm” during the crash.
“We gently came to a stop and then we lost power for a while,” he said.
“Then power came back on, we knew then something was happening.”
The Ghan passengers were then treated to lunch, Mr Alderson said, and the staff were “courteous and helpful” when the passengers had to disembark from the rural location.
“We had to walk through the spinifex, but they put mats down for us, assisted everyone,” he said.
NT WorkSafe was notified of the incident, and the Rail Network Controller was also informed.
Initial reports stated all rail services in the area had been suspended and disruptions to the rail network were expected to continue for several days due to the train being unable to be moved, however at 4pm NT Police advised services would return to normal shortly, with no disruptions to freight routes expected.
“The Ghan is making its way back to Alice Springs for repairs,” a police spokeswoman said.
NT Police said the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident was ongoing.
The Ghan, operated by Journey Beyond, travels between Darwin and Adelaide departing Saturdays and Wednesdays from April to October with tickets starting at $3705 per person and a minimum 283 people on board.
“We are relieved to confirm that fortunately no injuries were sustained by passengers, train drivers or crew,” Journey Beyond communications manager Cheree McEwin said.
“All guests have safely disembarked the train and are in coaches headed to Alice Springs. Upon arrival in Alice Springs guests will take part in an off train experience at Simpsons Gap, followed by dinner before reboarding.
“It is expected that the train will depart on time this evening as it continues the journey to Adelaide.
“We are fully committed to the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew and will undertake a full investigation, engaging with all relevant authorities, into the events leading up to this incident.”
Passengers were en route to spend the night in Alice Springs before their next stop in Manguri and Coober Pedy on Monday and the final stretch to Adelaide, when the crash occurred.
Investigations into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing and the incident was reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
A spokesman for the bureau said it was gathering further information and would only launch an investigation if it thought safety lessons could be gleaned.
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