Trains Derails Onto Main Road

Added by Annika L. Krugel on March 3, 2011

Eight carriages of a train that came off a private railway track in southern NSW caused major damage but luckily noone was injured, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred at about 9:10 am on Thursday morning and resulted in serious damage to Audley Road in Narrandera.

The road will be closed for at least two to three days as a result of the accident while the smashed train carriages are salvaged, police told ninemsn.

Inspector Craig Thorp said: “We are very lucky there was no injuries.”

The accident, which is thought to have been caused by a communication breakdown, occurred when the train driver accidentally hit the stationary carriages that then derailed and went through a barrier and crashed down an embankment onto Audley Road.

Local resident Isaac Audet arrived at the scene after hearing “a loud bang like an earthquake.’

The railway track and trains are managed by a private company and are used primarily for transporting flour from the Narrandera mill in Whitton Street.

Independent Transport Safety Regulator and police will investigate the accident further.