Australia: Fatal train accident highlights infrastructure decay

The three-carriage train was only 35 minutes into a four-hour trip south from Swan Hill to Melbourne when the northbound truck struck the side of the second carriage, ripping it apart and stripping all the seats. But for the fact that only 40 people were onboard, the death toll could have been far higher. It is the worst rail disaster in Australia since January 1977, when a bridge collapsed on a commuter train at Granville, in Sydney, killing 83 people.

The accident happened in the early afternoon as the experienced truck driver, Christiaan Scholl, made a weekly round trip of some 2,000 kilometres from Wangaratta in north-eastern Victoria to the South Australian capital, Adelaide. Scholl was badly injured in the crash.

Among local residents, the level crossing is notoriously dangerous. The Murray Valley Highway, a major trucking route, bends just before it intersects at a 45-degree angle with the straight rail track. For a northbound truck, trees obscure the view of a southbound train, and sun glare can exacerbate the lack of visibility. Both the road and rail speed limits—100 and 90 kilometres per hour respectively—allow for considerable speed. Warning bells and flashing lights were reportedly operating at the time of the crash, but there are no protective boom gates to halt road traffic.

Read More