Sydney train speared: Investigators hunt for answers after track pierces train carriage
Updated Thu 16 Jan 2014, 10:52am AEDT
A metal rod pushed through the floor in the third carriage. Photo: Passengers heard a loud hammering sound before the piece of metal tore through the carriage floor. (Audience submitted: Syed Shah)
Safety experts are working to find out how a length of steel track speared up through the floor of a Sydney commuter train during yesterday's peak hour.
Seven hundred passengers had to be taken off the train after its third carriage came off the tracks near Edgecliff just before 6.00pm yesterday.
The incident caused disruptions to the line between Bondi Junction and Martin Place.
Crews worked through the night to clear the track in time for this morning's peak hour commute.
Sydney Trains chief executive Howard Collins said the metal which pierced the floor was a piece of "channelling" from the track itself.
But he says it is still too early to know if it was caused by a faulty track, or an issue with the train.
"We believe it's a piece of metal channelling which sits on the track, as to why that went through the floor and what caused it, it is too early to say," he said.
"We're working with our safety regulator, we're working with the experts in that area.
"I've been down on site. We've been carrying out a thorough investigation and obviously when we get to the root cause, we'll let people know.
"We will get to the bottom of this, it is very important to understand what caused this incident and so we can understand how we can eliminate it in the future."
A passenger on the train, Syed Shah, says it was lucky there were not a lot of people on board.
"I got on the train at Bondi Junction. There was a weird smell, like a tyre burning or rubber burning," he said.
"There was a weird sound, like something was hammering. It was really loud all the way to Edgecliff.
"After Edgecliff, between there and Kings Cross, the feeling was like some of the wheels were not moving.
"That was my own perception. I felt like we were not on the track and then the train stopped.
"I was in the carriage where the steel rod came through. There was a lady and two girls, it came really close to them.
"It was really scary. The train stopped for a second and then it started moving again.
"That was the scariest part. Everyone was screaming and running around to the different cabins."
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